The Indianapolis Colts have won two straight games to improve to 2-2 on the season. Next up is a matchup with the winless Jacksonville Jaguars–although the Colts know not to take any trip to Jacksonville lightly.
For more on this Jaguars team, Zach Goodall, the managing editor of Jaguars Wire, provided us with some insight recently. Click here for more.
In a nuanced game like football, there is always a lot to keep our eyes on each week and a lot that will go into determining the outcome. However, when it comes to the Colts versus Jaguars, below are what I believe to be the big ticket items.
Colts run defense vs. Jaguars RBs
The Colts run defense has been much improved over the last two weeks but this week they’ll face a Jaguars run game that has been one of the most efficient in football through four games. As a unit, the 5.7 yards per carry that Jacksonville is averaging is the second-most this season.
Travis Etienne, who leads the team in carries with 46, is averaging 4.6 yards per rush, while Tank Bigsby is averaging an impressive 8.1 yards per carry on 21 attempts.
For some context, Chicago and Pittsburgh entered their matchups with the Colts, both averaging under 4.0 yards per rush as a team. In the first two games of the season, we saw how quickly things can spiral when the opponent has the ability to run the ball.
A big day for the Colts WRs?
The Colts will likely be without Anthony Richardson who has been downgraded to doubtful for this game, but a big day in the passing game still exists for this Colts team.
Through four games, this Jaguars pass defense has struggled, allowing 7.7 yards per pass attempt, which is the third-most in football, along with giving up the second-most passes of 20-plus yards. The Jacksonville secondary as a group also has forced just eight pass breakups and has no interceptions.
Can Colts secondary limit Brian Thomas?
An already thin unit entering the season is dealing with more injuries. Kenny Moore has been ruled out and Sam Womack was added to the injury report on Saturday. Collectively, the Colts are allowing 7.1 yards per pass through the air and that ranks 25th.
Thomas, a first-round pick by the Jaguars in April, is second on the team in targets and has provided the big play ability to this offense. He is averaging 16.2 yards per catch with his four receptions of 20 or more yards tied for the fifth-most among all receivers.
Navigating injuries
Injuries are unfortunately something that the Colts have had to navigate this season. Heading into Jacksonville, the Colts will be without Samson Ebukam, DeForest Buckner, Jonathan Taylor, Ryan Kelly (doubtful), Kwity Paye, Kenny Moore, Tyquan Lewis, and Anthony Richardson (doubtful).
In addition to that group, Josh Downs missed two games to start the year and Julian Blackmon missed one.
Overcoming missing that many key contributors certainly won’t be easy, but it will require a total team effort to do so, and doing the little things right, like not turning the ball over, controlling the time of possession, and winning the field possession battle will go a long way in helping the Colts win this game.
Last week we saw Sam Womack, Chris Lammons, and Tanor Bortolini, among others step up to help the Colts secure that win.
Can the Colts win in Jacksonville?
The last time the Colts beat the Jaguars away from Lucas Oil Stadium was in 2014. That’s nine consecutive road losses to Jacksonville. As ESPN’s Stephen Holder noted, the Jaguars are dominating the turnover battel in these games with a plus-15 margin. Of course, what happened in past years has zero bearing on this game, but I imagine this current losing streak is hanging over the team.