Colts at Jaguars: Behind Enemy Lines

The Indianapolis Colts hit the road to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in London this week. The Colts are hoping to kick off a winning streak while the Jaguars are desperate to avoid an 0-4 start to the season.

The Colts hold second place in the AFC South at 1-2 and can improve their standing dramatically with a win over the 0-3 Jaguars. We got in touch with Black and Teal to get some intel on this week’s foe. Editor Daniel Lago gave us the good’s on the Week 4 matchup.

Here’s what Lago had to say about Sunday’s game in London:

1. The Jags were the hot team in the media, with many picking them to make the leap to the playoffs finally. Were people overestimating the team or have they not lived up to expectation?

It’s a little bit of both, but I would say if anything the expectations were probably too high considering the track record of the team under head coach Gus Bradley. The national media has only picked up on his overall record in recent weeks (now at 12-39), but we haven’t seen anything over the last 3+ years to indicate Bradley is a good coach capable of leading a winning football team.

In the first three weeks, we’ve seen the Jaguars lose all three games in vastly different ways – poor clock management and play-calling against the Packers, being awful at everything against the Chargers, and no killer instinct against the Ravens. The Jaguars are a fairly talented team and are probably capable of finishing 8-8, but not with this coaching staff and not this season.

2. What is going on with Blake Bortles? His efficiency metrics haven’t really improved over the past two seasons and he’s turning the ball over more frequently. Is there any doubt creeping in on his future?

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There’s clearly something wrong with Blake Bortles this season and it’s shown up both statistically and in the win-loss record. He’s making poor decisions and his accuracy has been inconsistent. Many are citing a regression in his mechanics but there’s likely more of a mental component playing a part. There’s certainly some doubt creeping in and it’s starting to look like the rest of the 2016 season is really a tryout for Blake to show whether or not he’s a salvageable project for the next coaching staff.

3. No team has made the postseason after an 0-3 start since 1998. What are the expectations for the Jags heading forward for 2016?

The postseason is out of the question if you ask most fans and it’s hard to really stay positive for the rest of the season. We’re all out on Bradley as the coach and don’t see how he can get this team to a place where he isn’t fired at the end of the year. This is the same team that finished with 5 wins last year in terms of strategy and preparation, so I’d be shocked if they put together more than that over the last 13 games. This is another lost season it seems and it’s very disappointing.

4. Who has to step up for the Jaguars to come away with a win in London? Is it solely on Bortles or is there another player who needs to contribute?

I think Andrew Luck is going to eat up this defense on Sunday so it’ll be on the offense, and specifically Bortles, to keep up and try to outscore the Colts. Blake hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm over the first 3 games and that’s partially on the playcalling, so I expect them to open it up a little more on the first few drives to get him going.

Besides Blake, the Jaguars absolutely need to get something out of the running game. Chris Ivory was signed to bring some consistency to the rushing attack and his success predicates what the team does on offense overall.

5. What is your prediction for Sunday? Who wins and why?

Even with a banged up and underwhelming defense, the Colts should be able to steamroll the Jaguars. Bortles has been pretty bad in recent weeks and it’s hard to see how he gets better this week without either a huge boost from the running game or a completely different philosophy on offense.

The Jacksonville defense looks improved but T.Y. Hilton is a bad matchup for Jalen Ramsey and the middle of the defense should be easy pickings for Luck. The Colts pour dirt on the Jaguars’ season this Sunday.

Jaguars 20 – Colts 34