Indianapolis Colts lead the Jacksonville Jaguars in first half of Week 18 final

The Indianapolis Colts may be second in the AFC South, but they're ending 2024 with a losing season no matter what. So their Week 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars is their chance to redeem themselves from an embarrassing Week 17 loss, and end their season on a high note.

While the Jaguars have a worse record than the Colts, they've also beaten Indianapolis in five of their last six meetings. In this match, the Colts would be playing without Anthony Richardson, with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco leading the offense in what could very well be his last NFL game.

The Colts started the game with their offense on the field, and Flacco immediately started off the game on a high note, with a first down pass to Drew Ogletree, then Michael Pittman, Jr., and then concluded the drive quickly with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce.

The Jaguars responded by driving down the field too, with help from an encroachment penalty from the Colts, and as Jacksonville made their way into Indianapolis territory, the Colts defense offered little resistance. And the Jaguars had no trouble getting a touchdown of their own.

Unfortunately, the Colts didn't respond as well as they would have liked; Flacco connected with Josh Downs, but was then immediately sacked. On 2nd and 18, he threw to Downs again for a gain of 12, but was still short of the first down. That drive came to an end when Downs let the ball bounce right out of his hands, and the Colts were forced to punt it away.

Oddly, neither of the Colts' first two drives featured a handoff to Jonathan Taylor, arguably the best player on the Colts roster.

On the next drive, the Colts defense made more of a stand, forcing the Jaguars to go three-and-out. And the offense used Taylor for the first time in response, and with good results; he easily got the first down. Taylor ran for another four yards, and then Flacco missed a pass intended for Pittman, who was under heavy coverage. On 3rd and six, he made a completion to Pittman, but it appeared to be just short of the first down. In typical Steichen fashion, the Colts went to go for it on fourth down, and Flacco ran it in himself for the first down... only for the referees to measure the spot and find he was inches short.

That gave the Jaguars fantastic field position to start with, on the Colts 49 yard line.

The Jaguars certainly took advantage, easily making their way down the field until the end of the first quarter. While the Colts were able to keep them from scoring another touchdown, the Jaguars were able to pull into the lead with a 53-yard field goal.

Flacco and Taylor responded with an impressive offensive drive. Taylor ran for nearly 30 yards before Flacco threw a 26-yard bomb to Pittman. Another nine yard run from Taylor brought the Colts into the red zone, as they fought to reclaim the lead.

One final six yard run from Taylor got them the touchdown, and a four point lead.

The defense came out firing in response to that touchdown, with Kwity Paye sacking quarterback Mac Jones, and overall, the Jaguars were forced to go three and out.

Taylor again came out swinging, with two runs for the first down before jogging off the field and was replaced by Tyler Goodson. Flacco connected with him for six yards, and then had an incompletion intended for Adonai Mitchell. A pass to Downs saved the drive, only for Flacco and Mitchell to again miss connecting again. Taylor came back in and ran for two first downs, again keeping the drive alive.

Under pressure, Flacco nearly threw an interception, and then attempted a pass to Kylen Granson under pressure once again, which was missed. Matt Gay ended up coming out to kick a field goal, giving the Colts a seven point lead.

At the two minute warning, the Jaguars had the ball again, and Jones threw a bomb to Brian Thomas, Jr. to get them into the end zone. They couldn't manage to take advantage, though, wasting all three chances to get a touchdown, and settling for a field goal instead.

With less than two minutes to go, the Colts led 17-13.

Flacco tried to lead the Colts on a quick drive to widen the lead even more, and attempted a deep pass to Pittman that was broken up by the Jaguars defense; the referees ended up calling pass interference, giving the Colts the first down.

On second down, Flacco managed to escape a sack, nearly dropping the ball in the process, and tried to connect with Mo Alie-Cox in the end zone, but the Jaguars defense was able to break up the play. He then ran to escape another sack, and attempted a desperate pass to Trey Sermon that was unsuccessful. Matt Gay came out to kick another field goal, putting the Colts at 20-13 to end the half.