The good, the bad and the ugly from Indianapolis Colts game
The good, the bad and the ugly from the Jaguars’ 24-0 victory Sunday over the Indianapolis Colts at TIAA Bank Field.
Up: Dominance
It’s been almost five years — a 45-7 demolition of the Houston Texans in December, 2017 — since the Jaguars thoroughly dominated an opponent to the extent they did the Colts from the opening gun.
Jonathan Taylor, the NFL’s leading rusher last season, had only 4 yards on five carries in the first half. The Jaguars’ suffocating defense never let him have any running room until Indianapolis was down 24-0.
More from the Jags’ win:
‘We have to keep it going’: Jaguars plan to build on 24-0 shutout win over Indianapolis Colts
Glowing Report Card: Jaguars’ grades reflect a near-perfect day against Indianapolis Colts
Trevor Tracker 2022: How do Trevor Lawrence’s first two starts compare to 2021? Here’s how
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence methodically picked apart Gus Bradley’s Cover 3 defense, completing 25 of 30 passes on a lot of underneath routes.
Lawrence only completed eight passes that went beyond 10 yards, but his efficiency meant the Colts died a slow death.
Lawrence’s QB rating of 121.5 was a career-high and only his second above 100, the other being 111.9 in January’s 26-11 home win over Indianapolis.
Down: 4th quarter slowdown
This goes into the nit-picking category.
With the Jaguars holding a 24-point lead going into the fourth quarter, head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor went ultra-conservative.
The Jaguars had three straight three-and-outs, plus a turnover on downs in their final possession.
They ran 13 plays and attempted just three passes, accumulating just 23 yards and no first downs in the last 15 minutes.
The 58,360 paying customers didn’t seem to mind the offense going nowhere with a Colts goose egg on the board.
Up: Trevor’s bodyguards
After allowing Lawrence to get hit 10 times and sacked twice in Week 1, the Jaguars’ offensive line made sure he had a clean pocket against Indianapolis, which didn’t come close to a sack and registered only two quarterback hits.
Left tackle Cam Robinson rendered pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue almost invisible. The former Jaguar had just two tackles and one hit on Lawrence.
Up: Takeaway city
It’s obvious the emphasis defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell placed all offseason on getting turnovers is working.
After an NFL-low and franchise-low nine takeaways in 2021, the Jaguars have three in each of their first two games.
Safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and Andre Cisco, along with rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd, all had their first interception as Jaguars.
Lloyd’s pick was the direct result of a Matt Ryan pass being tipped at the line by Foley Fatukasi. Going into the two Monday night games, the Jaguars lead the NFL with a +5 turnover margin.
Up: Saluting centenarian veteran
One of the coolest moments and loudest ovations from the TIAA Bank Field crowd came when the Jaguars honored Jesse Mary Dunbar as the “Veteran of Game” recipient.
Dunbar, an Aviation Machinist Mate in the Navy, served in World War II as she overhauled and repaired aircraft for fighter planes.
The Niagara Falls, N.Y. native turned 100 this year.
Up: Avoiding yellow flags
One of the more disturbing Jaguars numbers from Week 1 was drawing an NFL-worst 13 enforced penalties, including seven pre-snap infractions.
They cut that number significantly by being flagged just three times for 19 yards.
Besides a Cam Robinson holding call, the Jaguars had two pre-snap penalties as Chris Claybrooks was flagged for a false start on a fourth-down punt and the Jaguars had another penalty for too many men on the field.
Down: Running room
The Jaguars did a much better job this week with their pass-run balance by attempting 30 passes and 37 runs, which is easier to do when a team constantly plays with a lead.
The only down side was the Jaguars accumulated just 96 rushing yards and averaged only 2.6 yards per attempt.
Had it not been for James Robinson’s 37-yard touchdown run, the numbers would have looked a lot worse. On the flip side, it was a good sign to see J-Rob handle a 23-carry load, easing any concerns about his health coming off an Achilles injury.
Up: Colts’ nightmare rolls on
In a hard-to-explain scenario, at least given the Jaguars’ awful record the past eight years, they managed to post their eighth consecutive home win (one London game included) over the Colts.
That’s easily their best streak against any opponent.
During that eight-year home run, the Jaguars have outscored Indianapolis by an average margin of 29-13.
Up: View from the top
With the win over Indianapolis, the Houston Texans (0-1-1) losing and the winless Tennessee Titans (0-1) playing Monday night at Buffalo, the Jaguars stood alone Sunday night atop the AFC South with a 1-1 record.
The significance of that is this franchise hasn’t been alone in first place since after Week 2 in 2018. The Jaguars stood 2-0 then following wins over the New York GIants and New England Patriots.
Up: Josh Allen
Whether it’s the presence of No. 1 overall draft pick Travon Walker on the other side, the collective push of a better defensive line or just his NFL evolution, pass-rusher Josh Allen is off to an impactful start in 2022.
After forcing a fumble and two tackles for losses in Week 1, the 2019 first-round pick had two sacks of Colts’ quarterback Matt Ryan, including one where he got by left tackle Matt Pryor to force a fumble that the Colts recovered. Allen looks like he’s motivated and ready to have a double-digit sack season like he did as a rookie (10.5 sacks).
Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Not much to complain or be negative about in Jaguars’ Up-Down drill
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