Jaguars vs Colts - The Shutout
JT: The Streak is Eight
We wanted a win. What we got was a lesson. Your Jacksonville Jaguars taught not only the Indianapolis Colts a lesson in how football is played at TIAA Bank Field, but today JAX put the rest of the AFC South on notice. This was no fluke. This was no one time event. This is your new Jacksonville Jaguars, and this is expected. What happened today at The Bank is what WOULD have happened week one but for one overthrow, one dropped pass, and a defense that thought they had it all wrapped up with a bow. The best part about the display of total Jacksonville domination, that we were fortunate enough to witness in person, is that now they know. Now the team knows what they can do. They are aware of their capabilities and there doesn’t seem to be too many limitations.
The scene was set, the fans were loud, and the storms stayed away helping your Jacksonville Jaguars shut down the best running back in the entire NFL. A man who rushed for over 1800 yards and 18 TDs last season. A beast of a runner who put up 160+, including 70 yards in the fourth quarter alone, in week one against the Houston Texans. Today, in The Bank, Jacksonville made Jonathan Taylor obsolete. Taylor had 9 attempts for 54 yards and one reception. According to Jaguars.com, Taylor rushed for a whopping four yards on five first half carries. That is just an amazing statistic, like the fact that left-handed people make 10% less than right-handers. I never knew that, but it’s all beginning to make sense. I’m left-handed and nobody is paying me a dime for this witty prose I’m throwing your way.
I said it in the pre-game write up and the Halftime Speech column. This game was the defenses to lose. It was their showcase from the beginning. Their big screen debut. It was the front seven against Jonathan Taylor. In the next edition of JagsCast (which will be posted Monday Sept.19) we talk about how the Jaguars defense was built for games like todays. If they had lost, then Pederson and Baalke would have failed. Turns out, everything’s sunshine and puppy dogs in Duval because not only did the Jaguars defense prevail but they thrived. They had three key interceptions and twice made the Colts turn the ball over on downs when deep in Jacksonville’s territory. The JAX defense played up to and beyond the level of talent they faced. Now that they know, they can’t unknow, you know? They can’t go back to mediocrity, not after this command performance. We expect better, fans expect better, the coaches expect better and most importantly this particular group of players expects better from themselves. There is no reason at all why Jacksonville can’t win the AFC South this year. Only they can stop themselves because the Colts, Texans and Titans certainly won’t beat the team that showed up at The Bank today. Well done Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell, well done.
Now, let’s talk about Trevor Lawrence and his offense. Lawrence, at points last week, looked like a deer in headlights. He made some ill-advised passes. He held the ball too long (or the O-line needed to block better. We can go back and forth about which of those things was the actual problem). But what we can’t go back and forth about is T-Law's week two performance. He was exactly who we knew he was (I will take any opportunity to reference Dennis Green). He was efficient, 25-30 for 235 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. He moved the offense down the field methodically with short over the middle passes. He even threw some screen passes this week (something that should have been done last week). Head Coach Doug Pederson called many more running plays today than last week. Between James Robinson (23 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown), who has solidified himself as the Jaguars starting running back, and Christian Kirk (six catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns), Trevor Lawrence just had to be accurate, patient, and go through his progressions in a timely manner. Lawrence did just that against Indianapolis. In addition, the Jaguars offensive line was on-point today. The game the Jaguars played, to use a reference I’ve used before, was a seat at the perfect blackjack table. Jacksonville played it exactly how it was drawn up. No deviation, all execution. Trevor Lawrence summed it up perfectly when he said “We really played well, dominated the game. We should celebrate.” Yes you should, Trevor, yes you should. Lawrence also brings a needed element of maturity because he followed that up by saying, “when we come in tomorrow, we have to flip the script and get ready to roll.” Funny that Lawrence used the word “script” since they are headed to La La Land to face the formidable Los Angeles Chargers. But in the meantime, Duuuval will celebrate their Jaguars.
Let us know what you thought of that phenomenal football display in the comment section below.