Jacksonville hasn’t played a home game since Sept. 27, and the Jaguars come off the bye to host an Indianapolis Colts team that fired its general manager and was booed on its own field in Week 6. The 34-31 loss to Houston at Wembley still stings, but the AFC South leads by two games.
Indianapolis must first get past a trip to undefeated Minnesota, carrying the most turnover-worthy plays of any quarterback room in the league. Regardless of what happens there, here’s what Jacksonville should be encouraged and worried about in Week 8.
Encouraging signs for Jaguars vs. Colts
Foye Oluokun against Daniel Jones’ turnover habit
Daniel Jones has six interceptions and three lost fumbles in six starts, and PFF credited him with 15 turnover-worthy plays, the most of 35 qualified quarterbacks. He threw two more picks against Tennessee. “I don’t think it was consistent enough,” Jones said after the loss.
Foye Oluokun is the wrong linebacker for that attitude. He led all NFL linebackers with two interceptions and allowed a 49.7 passer rating, the best at the position, per Action News Jax. Travis Hunter added a touchdown catch and an interception in London, so the ball-hawks are there for the quarterback who continues to force throws.
Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. against a soft run defense
Indianapolis is last in the NFL in EPA per rush under defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and is allowing 122.5 rushing yards per game. DeForest Buckner can still get to the quarterback, but PFF grades his run defense at 45.3, 95th out of 129 interior defenders. Akeem Davis-Gaither was the best on the Colts’ defense against Tennessee with nine tackles and a 90.4 PFF grade, and the Titans still found room early.
Jacksonville ranks 14th in rushing at 112.8 yards per game. Tuten led the team with 388 yards on 94 carries in a backfield that used to be shared, and Rodriguez averaged 5.0 yards per carry against Houston. “We gave up so many yards there last game,” Rodriguez said Tuesday, according to Jaguars.com.
Trevor Lawrence at home against a banged-up secondary
Trevor Lawrence had 14 touchdown passes and four interceptions, and he threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns without being sacked in London. Liam Cohen noticed. “Trevor gives me a lot of confidence on a weekly basis as a play-caller,” Coen said in his press conference on Monday.
Sauce Gardner is out for the week with a mild calf strain, and his replacement, Cam Taylor-Britt, picked up a 36-yard pass interference flag and a 29.0 PFF coverage grade against Tennessee. A Duval crowd that hasn’t seen this offense in over a month should get a lot of flak.
Causes for concern for Jaguars vs. Colts
Photos by Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn
Jonathan Taylor after Houston found cracks
Jonathan Taylor had 492 yards and seven touchdowns on 122 carries, and he ran for 94 yards on 21 attempts against the Titans despite a fumble. He even emerged as a trade deadline name, which says more about the Colts’ season than his play. “It’s up to us. Nobody’s coming to save us,” Taylor said after the loss.
Houston ran for 114 yards on 25 carries against Jacksonville, more carries than Coen said his defense usually sees. Ventrell Miller posted an 84.3 run-defense grade, but Coen pointed out the missed tackles. “I thought their backs made some good cuts and we missed some tackles,” he said. Taylor was built to punish exactly that.
Josh Downs and Keenan Allen work the middle
Jacksonville has allowed about 320 passing yards per game over the past three weeks and ranks 30th at 273.8 for the season. Jourdan Lewis allowed four catches on four targets from the slot in London, Jarrian Jones gave up six of eight with a 42.8 PFF grade and Montaric Brown missed two of the last three games with a hamstring injury.
Indianapolis can attack that spot. Keenan Allen caught eight of 11 targets for 82 yards against Tennessee, and Josh Downs had 24 catches for 289 yards, with Downs on third down getting extra attention. Eric Murray blamed the communication and offered a simple fix. “Just being on the field together, watching more tape together,” Murray said. The bye gave them two weeks of exactly that.