A sack and fumble recovery preserved a nail-biter for the Colts, who survived a rally to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-17 on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Trevor Lawrence escaped pressure and moved up in the pocket where he was sandwiched by Colts defenders, sacked with 52 seconds left and lost the ball to seal Jacksonville’s seventh defeat of the season. Consecutive completions to James Robinson had put the Jaguars in Colts’ territory with 1:02 on the clock.
Lawrence was sacked three times and fumbled twice, losing one.
Jonathan Taylor rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown for the Colts (5-5).
A second-down holding penalty on Colts left tackle Eric Fisher dashed a chance to put the game away with less than three minutes remaining. Indianapolis settled for a 37-yard field goal and six-point lead as it kicked the ball back to the Jaguars just before the two-minute warning.
Jacksonville (2-7) edged to within a field goal at 20-17 with 10:34 to go on Robinson’s 1-yard plunge and a 2-point conversion from Lawrence to tight end Dan Arnold.
A 17-0 advantage in the first quarter didn’t turn into the runaway win the Colts appeared headed toward.
Taylor, who rushed for 109 yards in the first half, went off right guard for 34 yards on the first play of the game and scored a rushing touchdown for the seventh consecutive game to give the Colts the 17-0 edge.
Indianapolis had only a 29-yard field goal on the next seven possessions it had after going ahead by three scores.
A punt block and touchdown at the 8:32 mark in the first put the Colts on top 10-0. Linebacker E.J. Speed picked up the blocked punt at the Jacksonville 12 and shoved through a tackle attempt by Jaguars punter Logan Cooke for six points.
–Field Level Media