Colts vs Jaguars: Next Day Analysis

We don’t overreact at Horseshoe Heroes. We’re here to give you a realistic breakdown of the Colts after each and every game.

It feels like the Colts stole a game this week, and they really might have. No Andrew Luck, a lethargic offense, and injuries on defense yet the Jaguars were unable to find a way to win on Sunday. 

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The Colts even gave the Jags a few gifts in the form of a goal line turnover and a bad pass interference penalty on third and long, yet the Jags couldn’t close. They gave everything right back, especially on the Colts lone touchdown drive where three penalties on three separate third downs kept the drive alive for the home team. It felt like neither team really wanted to win on Sunday.

It was bad football all over the field from both teams, but the Colts season hopes managed to stay alive with the win.

Here’s what stood out from Sunday:

• Misses. The Colts were bailed out in this game by two missed field goals (three if you include the one Pagano called a timeout on). Jason Myers missed at the end of regulation from 53 yards out (twice) and then again from 48 yards out. Neither distance is a gimme, but certainly makeable for a NFL kicker (even for a rookie). The Colts literally dodged two bullets in this game and had no business winning on Sunday.
  • Even though he’s had a horrible season, I fully expect Josh Scobee would have hit either of those with room to spare had he been playing. They could have gotten a 10-yard holding penalty on the 53-yarder and he still would have hit from 63 out, because that’s what Scobee does against the Colts.
• Age is Just a Number. The Colts were led today by two of the oldest players in the NFL. Hasselbeck at 40 and Adam Vinatieri at 42 (the oldest in the league). Not only did Vinatieri hit all three field goals he attempted, but he nailed his first one from 54 yards out with room to spare. Hasselbeck wasn’t perfect, but asking a 40-year old QB to drop back for passes 50 times and managing to deliver even in overtime is impressive. The Colts wanted a quality backup, and we always joked about having the top two QBs in the division, and they’ve got him.
• Weak Roster. Some of this is due to injuries, but the Colts don’t have a very good roster overall. If this team were better overall, they wouldn’t have been in a dogfight with a very weak Jaguars team. We saw Jags receivers running free across the field, Blake Bortles have all day to throw, and the Colts struggle to move the ball. Saying they did enough to win would be a false statement when the opposing kicker misses a pair of game winners. Bortles did more with errant passes than the defense did to slow down the Jags offense.
  • The Colts receivers not named ‘Donte Moncrief‘ have to figure out how to get open more consistently. A few times we saw T.Y. Hilton slow up on routes and it cost the team big gains. Andre Johnson, against a team he has DOMINATED, was a literal no-show.
  • The pass protection was decent, but that says more about the Jaguars lack of a pass rush. It’s why they drafted Dante Fowler Jr with the third pick (who promptly tore his ACL in camp). The Jags pass rush was about as effective as the Colts Sunday as Hasselbeck had a lot of time to throw.
  • Vontae Davis is having a rough year. He made one play on a pass breakup on third down, but was consistently being burned on crossing routes, or being called for a hold. Shadowing top receivers hasn’t really worked for him this season, but injuries have thrust him into this role.
• All-Pro Kicking. The brightest point for the Colts Sunday was the kicking duo of Vinatieri and Pat McAfee. Vinatieri is now the Colts all-time leading scorer and has become the first player to score over 1,000 points for two different NFL teams. McAfee is clearly the best punter in the NFL, and could be looking at another weekly award. McAfee averaged 47.8 yards per punt and is an underrated part of the defense. McAfee hampered the final three Jaguars drive with a trio of 50-plus yard punts.
• 15 Straight. The Colts tied an NFL record by winning 15 straight games against division opponents. The AFC South has been worse than ever over the past two seasons and the Colts haven’t lost since 2012 at Houston against a division foe. Two straight 6-0 seasons against the Jags, Texans, and Titans is a great step towards making the playoffs every year. They’ll have a chance to set the record on Thursday when they play the Texans.

The Colts won’t have much time to get ready for the Houston Texans this week. The Colts sit at 2-2 and have a clear lead in the division. A win against the Texans, and the Colts will have all but locked up another division crown. This division is painfully bad and 7-8 wins will likely win it this season.