Colts Overcome Sloppy Start to Down Jaguars, 23-3

The Indianapolis Colts turned the ball over three times in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts managed to clean up the mistakes in the second half on their way to a 23-3 victory.

The Jaguars managed to bring pressure early and often against a shaky Colts offensive line. They sacked Andrew Luck five times, four of which came in the first quarter.

The Colts settled down as the game pressed on, but only held a 6-3 lead at halftime. Two touchdowns in the third gave the Colts a comfortable lead that they wouldn’t come close to surrendering.

The defense played an outstanding game following their second worst performance of the season. The Jaguars were held to 194 total yards and turned the ball over twice. After giving up over 200 rushing yards to the Patriots, the Colts held the Jags to just 80 on Sunday.

The defense also had a pair of turnovers and held the Jags to just 3-for-12 on third down. Three sacks and seven more QB hits assure that Blake Bortles will be sore tomorrow.

Luck struggled early, but settled down in the second half. He completed 21-of-32 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown. He also had three fumbles, losing two of them. Luck saw his streak of consecutive 300+ yard games come to an end this week, putting the final number at eight.

Luck eventually had to take things into his own hands and was forced to scramble frequently on Sunday. He had eight carries for 49 yards.

The rushing attack managed to show up this week, even with the patchwork offensive line. Trent Richardson had 42 yards and a touchdown while Dan Herron, making his first start of the year, had 65 yards on the ground.

Herron’s solid game didn’t come without some problems. He fumble twice, but only lost one of them. He also had five receptions for 31 yards.

T.Y. Hilton celebrated a 73-yard touchdown reception by cradling the football like his newborn daughter. He barely made it to the stadium in time for kickoff and promised to get a touchdown just for her. Hilton finished with four receptions for 122 yards and the touchdown.

Josh Cribbs was impressive in his debut with the Colts. He returned a punt for a touchdown, only to have it called back on a penalty. He opened up the game with a big 46-yard kickoff and averaged nearly 10 yards per punt return.

The win, coupled with a loss by the Texans, gives the Colts a two game lead in the AFC South.

Up next the Colts will host Washington.