O-Zone Late Night: Jaguars 37, Colts 20

Oct 15, 2023 at 10:48 PM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars got what they needed in the style they wanted Sunday.

They needed a victory to take sole possession of first place in the AFC South, and their third consecutive victory came in the fashion they wanted in a one-sided, 37-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium.

It was their most comfortable victory of the season, with the Jaguars taking a 21-3 halftime lead and maintaining a 31-6 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Colts cut into the lead for a few anxious moments, but rare are NFL games without such moments.

The worst Jaguars news of the day: A knee injury sustained by quarterback Trevor Lawrence with 3:04 remaining. Head Coach Doug Pederson said he expects an update Monday. Lawrence walked from the field and was walking without a brace afterward. Stay tuned.

This was a complete victory, the sort that division champions win. So much for jetlag and not being able to win in Jacksonville. This was a good day for the good guys. On to New Orleans.

Let's get to it …

Mandy from Jax

Why roll out your franchise quarterback when the game is in the bag and risk injury? The fourth-quarter play-calling sucked. Sorry for the language. But … totally uncalled for, O!

I admit I am a little amused by postgame ire following a 17-point victory that moved the Jaguars into first place. As Lawrence said afterward, play-calling with a huge fourth-quarter lead is something of a balance. You want to continue to be aggressive, but you also want to play it somewhat safe and drain clock. As for rolling Lawrence out on 3rd-and-7 from the Colts 16 with just over three minutes remaining and a 14-point lead … yeah, it's going to get criticized. And that's fair. Pederson said afterward that Lawrence could have done a better job getting down sooner given the situation. Said Pederson, "Definitely wouldn't change the scenario or the situation."

Amy from Orange Park, FL

First things first. Is Trevor okay and will he play on Thursday Night?

I think so and I think so. That's an early guesstimate. I expect we'll have a better idea Monday afternoon.

Leon from Austin, TX

Zone: A Win is a Win, but I feel the offense isn't able to keep the Jaguars in games compared to the defense. I feel Trevor is "forcing" throws to wide receiver Calvin Ridley rather than spreading ball around. Hopefully, just me, what about you?

I say the Jaguars won by 17 points and never led by fewer than 10 points in the final 44 minutes Sunday. I also say they're 4-2 and in first place in the AFC South with a season sweep over a division rival. I also say that I don't know if the Jaguars would have beaten the Buffalo Bills last week without four or five big passing plays to wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

Mark from High Springs, FL

Comfortable. The weather was comfortable, comfortable lead, the players looked comfortable on the field.

Winning by 17 is cool. Fans like it. Some fans, anyway.

Sascha from Cologne

Hey John, seems like the O-line is still a big issue. That's not good if you consider how much they have invested in recent years.

This was the much-ballyhooed, oft-hyped, typically-awesome First Email of the Game – and it once again showed at least somewhat the perils of associated with Email Firstness during games. The Jaguars' offensive line isn't perfect, and I expect it will continue to be a storyline at times. But the offensive line wasn't the overriding theme of the day.

Gero from Wenden, Germany

Hello, John. After an almost perfect first half they stopped playing football in the second half. I know that there are new adjustments for the second half but why stopping to separate as an offense and as a defense to invite Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II to throw deep passes?

The NFL is hard. All players and coaches involved are professionals. The Jaguars won by 17 points Sunday.

Richard from Jacksonville

This defense is pretty good.

The Jaguars' defense has forced 15 turnovers in six games. The unit has allowed 21 points or fewer in five of six games. It has played well enough to win in five of six games. It is a good defense.

Andrew from Little Elm, TX

Through two and a half quarters Sunday, the Jags had 17 points off turnovers. This team is learning what it takes to win. I like it.

I expect the Jaguars were always well aware of the need to score points off turnovers. They're certainly doing it better, though. That matters in this league a lot.

JT from Palm Coast, FL

First complete game of the year. All three phases finally clicked in unison. Beautiful to see!

Winning is cool. Fans like it. Some fans, anyway.

Mike from Azores

Hey, John. The next game is Thursday. Sit some guys: Ridley, wide receiver Christian Kirk, running back Travis Etienne Jr., outside linebacker Josh Allen. I'm sure they could use the rest.

Are you serious, Clark?