The Indianapolis Colts were once again embarrassed by the Jacksonville Jaguars and there’s plenty of blame to go around.
In Week 2, the Indianapolis Colts returned to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. After a disappointing tie with the Houston Texans in Week 1, Indianapolis couldn’t afford to lose to the Jaguars. Despite the curse of playing in Jacksonville or being down a couple of key players, Indy wouldn’t lose to the Jaguars, right? Wrong. Not only did the Colts lose but they were embarrassed.
The Jaguars shut out Indianapolis, winning the game 24-0. Although Indy was down some key contributors, going on the road and getting blowout by a divisional opponent is unreasonable and there are a lot of people at fault. Let’s take a look at three reasons Indy was embarrassed on Sunday.
3. Colts’ offensive line remains a huge problem
Just like last season, Indianapolis is still struggling to protect the quarterback and that was a major problem on Sunday. Matt Ryan was sacked five times and was hit many more times than that. The unfortunate part is that many fans could see this coming.
It was evident last year that the left tackle position was a spot the Colts needed to address. However, Ballard refused to sign or trade for any proven left tackles. Instead, Indy decided to go with Matt Pryor, who’s been a backup throughout his career, and an unproven rookie in Bernhard Raimann. So far, neither of those two has been able to offer stability for the offensive line.
Pryor struggled with Jacksonville’s Josh Allen all game, and whenever Raimann entered the game, he wasn’t any better. But it wasn’t just the left tackle position. The Jaguars were getting pressure from everywhere and it really hindered Matt Ryan and Indy’s passing game. If the Colts are going to turn things around, it will start up front.
2. Gus Bradley and the defense was out-schemed
Something Indianapolis did add this offseason was a defensive coordinator. Not necessarily by choice, but after Matt Eberflus took the head coaching job with the Chicago Bears, the Colts moved on with Gus Bradley. He inherited a talented defense that also added Yannick Ngakoue and Stephon Gilmore as well.
Unfortunately, Bradley and that defense did not have a great day on Sunday. While there were some player errors and plenty of room for the guys on the field to improve, Bradley was also simply out-schemed.
Trevor Lawrence had an easy day for Jacksonville, completing 25-of-30 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He threw zero interceptions and also wasn’t sacked at all. A lot of Lawrence’s completions were easy throws to open receivers.
This isn't a criticism of Jacksonville. It's actually a criticism of the Colts' inability to adjust. Like, why is E.J. Speed matched up with Christian Kirk over the middle like on the last play?
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) September 18, 2022
That’s because the offensive play calling was always one step ahead of Bradley and the defense. If Indy was playing a conservative zone, Lawrence would find a shallow receiver. If the Colts went man, Jacksonville always schemed the perfect matchup like Christian Kirk on EJ Speed.
The defense has to be better, they have plenty of talent. Things will also likely improve once Shaquille Leonard is back on the field. But, on Sunday, Indy’s defense was put in a lot of bad situations schematically and Bradley has to do a better job in the matchup of coaches moving forward.
1. Frank Reich didn’t commit to the run
Jonathan Taylor finished the game with nine carries for 54 yards. The Colts aren’t going to win many games when their best player has that stat line. Unfortunately, Taylor wasn’t limited to that because the Jaguars just shut him down— that would be easier to accept. Taylor’s production was so low because Frank Reich and Indy didn’t commit to the run.
After Indy’s first drive, the Colts had three straight three and outs. In those three drives, Taylor had just three carries for two yards. Indy then had two five-play drives where Jonathan Taylor only touched the ball twice, a reception for nine yards and a carry for five. It’s usually a recipe for disaster when the best player on the field isn’t involved in the play.
Taylor is the engine of this offense and Jacksonville isn’t all that good against the run. There’s no reason that Frank Reich shouldn’t have called Jonathan Taylor’s number more on Sunday, especially since Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce were out.
Getting the run game going would’ve helped open up the passing game and also would’ve neutralized Jacksonville’s pass rush. Instead, Jonathan Taylor only had 10 touches and the offense failed to score at all. That can’t happen again.
The Colts have a lot of things to fix and they need to fix them fast or this season will quickly slip away and Indianapolis will begin focusing on how things can be better next year.
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