The Indianapolis Colts found themselves victorious on Sunday, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 23-17.
It was another instance where the Colts won yet it hardly feels like a victory after the game. They once led by 17 points but in the fourth quarter let the lead get as close as three points as the Jaguars had a stretch of amassing 11 unanswered points over much of the second half.
However, at the end of the day, the Colts did win and finally pull themselves back to .500 with a record of 5-5. Here are some of my main observations from the Colts' victory. I'll be nice and put the positives first.
—Defense came up big when needed. While the Jaguars did mount a bit of a comeback, they only scored 17 points on the day and turned out 331 yards of offense. The Colts forced the Jaguars to go three-and-out seven times, held No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence's offense to 152 net passing yards, and 5-of-15 on third down (33.3%). The Colts also put consistent pressure on Lawrence, sacking him three times and hitting him eight, as well as taking the ball away once late to seal the game. It wasn't the Colts' best day defending the ground game, as Jacksonville's 179 yards were the second-most the Colts have allowed this season.
—Kwity Paye stacking outstanding performances. The Colts' first-round pick finally got his first career sack on Sunday, but he's been putting loads of pressure on opposing quarterbacks for a few weeks now. Whether it's been pressuring or hitting quarterbacks himself or forcing their trajectory into a teammate's path, Paye has really come on strong recently. Midway through his rookie season, the timing is right for this rookie pass rusher. A cherry on top of Sunday's game was the Colts' next pick after Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo, also notching his first sack and forcing the game-saving fumble.
—Kenny Moore II, Isaiah Rodgers, Rock Ya-Sin: studs. Whether it's the personnel or the scheme, the play of the Colts secondary has been lousy at times recently. However, it was lock-tight on Sunday. Particularly with starters Kenny Moore II, Isaiah Rodgers, and Rock Ya-Sin, they held tight to their assignments and rarely let plays get by them. Moore and Rodgers harassed Lawrence's passes with breakups and made things tough for Jacksonville on third downs particularly.
—Another second-half roller coaster. As lifeless as Jacksonville's offense was in the first half, that's what the Colts' unit looked like for much of the second half. They held a 20-9 lead going into halftime and were then outscored 8-3 in the second half. The Colts went three-and-out five times, including twice in the second half. Per Josh Wilson, at the start of the fourth quarter, "On the seven drives since their last TD, the Colts have gained 111 yards on 29 plays (3.8 avg.). Scored three points and punted six times." Something I couldn't help but notice was the number of plays the Colts ran that went right into gangs of Jaguars defenders. Were those things not spotted before the snap? Consistently allowing unblocked pass rushers, running into loaded fronts, and throwing screen passes right into a defender's wake isn't exactly a recipe for success. It took a sack-fumble while nursing a six-point lead with 50 seconds remaining in the game to ice it.
—Pass protection: not great! The stat sheet will show Colts quarterback Carson Wentz was only sacked once, but he was under duress all day. As mentioned, there were frequently free rushers allowed to bear down on him, and the offensive line had plenty of instances where they were beaten like a drum. There were particularly many leaks from the left side, including some from All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson (who was hampered by an ankle) and quite a few from left tackle Eric Fisher. Wentz had a pretty forgettable day outside the fault of the protection, but it wasn't a banner day for his linemen either.
—Wentz's reckless play is in his DNA. While Wentz has certainly rebounded from the awful 2020 season he had with the Philadelphia Eagles, he gets plenty of grief for the mistakes he makes now with the Colts. To make my current evaluation of him clear, I believe the Colts can be successful with him as their quarterback, and while Wentz makes some special plays, that same gene is also going to lead to some egregious errors. That was on display Sunday, although the plays didn't carry as much consequence as we've seen before. On a 3rd-and-3 from the Colts' own 18-yard line, Wentz threw the ball to running back Jonathan Taylor with his left hand while being brought down by a defender. On the surface, it's a risky play, but cool that he can pull it off at the same time. The big issue is that it elicited shades of a huge, boneheaded play that he recently made against the Tennessee Titans that helped cost the Colts the game. It was nearly the same play, just with a different outcome and not backed up quite as much. With a play that went so comically bad before, you'd think Wentz may never attempt it again, let alone a mere two weeks later in a similar area of the field. As special as Wentz can sometimes be, the Colt will have to live with the mistakes that come from that same mentality.
What were your biggest takeaways from Sunday? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!
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