The Jacksonville Jaguars appeared set to cruise to a blowout win against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6. While the team still won by 17 points, mistakes on both sides of the ball in the fourth quarter left a sour taste in the mouths of a lot of Jaguars players after the 37-20 win.
Offensively, the Jaguars had zero first downs on four possessions (a fifth was three kneel downs) in the fourth quarter and committed their only turnover of the game during the frame.
“We gotta finish better than that,” Jaguars tight end Evan Engram said in the locker room after the win. “Obviously, a win is a win, we played great today. Defense played great; offense made big plays. We got in the red zone, scored touchdowns. We gotta finish better than that. That fourth quarter, we’ve got to be a little bit better putting the game away.
“It just comes down to staying aggressive, staying disciplined. We had a couple false starts. A three-and-out, had a turnover. We were in the red zone, got limited to a field goal. We got points, but we just want to finish better. It’s just little, small things. Obviously, we had the lead so it didn’t kill us, but we gotta be sharper than that.”
The defense wasn’t particularly effective late in the game either. The Colts scored their only two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes and had a few explosive plays.
“We still left something out there,” Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen said. “20 points. I am disappointed that we gave them that. But there is still room to grow. We are not where we need to be, but we are definitely heading in the right direction.”
Ultimately, it’s nit-picking for a Jaguars team that would much rather be dissecting ways to improve after a win than figuring out how to turn things around after a loss.
“This is the NFL, you see it each week where a team is way up and the other team comes back,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “Obviously, you’re excited, team’s playing well, you got that type of lead at halftime. The message has always been and always will be that we’ve got to finish the game.
“The game’s never over, the game’s never out of reach. Obviously, we experienced that a year ago. So my message to the team is always that we’ve got to continue to play for 60 minutes.”
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