Colts’ loss to Jacksonville looks even worse after Week 7

The Indianapolis Colts would be in a far more comfortable position if they hadn’t lost to the Jaguars in Week 1.

After seven weeks of the NFL season, two essential truths have become clear: All the Jacksonville Jaguars defense does is allow 30 points, and the Colts only scored 20 points on the depressing unit in a dispiriting Week 1 loss.

While we’re sitting here on a bye preparing for a nightmarish November slate, our minds unfortunately couldn’t help from drifting back to the unfortunate way this season began. Felled by a Marlon Mack injury, Philip Rivers threw two interceptions and the soon-to-be-vaunted defense couldn’t hold a fourth quarter lead against the dregs of the AFC South.

Several weeks later, now, the entire Jaguars roster has regressed to the point of implosion, just as we all predicted. The hammer is even coming for Gardner Minshew now, who hardly seemed to be the problem with this poor roster when we faced them, and still isn’t among their main issues now. And yet the loss remains on our ledger. That smudge doesn’t go away.

If the Colts had joined every other Jaguars opponent this season in scoring 30+, they would’ve pulled off a (still relatively sweaty) Week 1 win, and would be sitting at 5-1 entering a crucial against the Lions, Ravens, Packers and Titans twice.

As we knew it would, though, this sour opening loss has lingered, and despite a 4-2 start, a 5-6 record is very much in play as the powerful opponents pile up.

Philip Rivers and the Colts have been inconsistent week to week, and the gunslinger cemented his reputation by leading a frantic comeback last week against the Bengals, who raced out to a large lead. That’s the true issue with the Colts, after all — you simply never know when a defense like the Browns is going to trick Rivers into collapsing, and you can’t count on a Bengals-esque explosion every week.

But the playoff picture would be much clearer if the Colts had only set the tone and done what every other Jaguars opponent has done on offense this year.

And that loss is, once again, lingering as a tough stretch approaches.

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