Three Things to Watch For: Week 9, Colts vs Jaguars

Fourteen days without Colts football after back to back wins has been rough. We finally get it back as the Colts host the Jaguars for their first matchup up of the season.

Marlon Mack had back to back 100+ rushing yard games helping the Colts crush the Bills and Raiders. The duo of Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines proved to be extremely effective as they combined for 210 rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. If the Colts start the game off strong with another great rushing game, they will allow Andrew Luck to have a strong play-action game and overall fast-paced offensive attack to score fast and often.

On the other side, the Colts’ front seven have to stop running backs Carlos Hyde and more importantly Leonard Fournette. Fournette has been battling an injury the past few weeks, hopefully with that being more recent Fournette has a tough time picking up any good yardage or any chunk plays forcing Bortles to throw the ball.

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The Colts offensive line won back to back “offensive line of the week” when they manhandled the Bills and Raiders. Going against a better Jags defensive line, this will be a huge test for them especially when they have not given up a sack since week 5. The Jags elite defensive line will be the toughest of the year and will most likely show if the Colts’ offensive line is the real deal.

Another thing the Colts’ offensive line will have to show is that they can help the Colts’ running backs get another good rushing day with multiple touchdowns and over 200 yards. The Colts’ pass rush has been absent the past few weeks not getting many pressures and sacks. With the Jaguars having a spotty offensive line at best I expect Kemoko Turay, Margus Hunt, Tyquan Lewis, and Al Woods to all have good days at their respective positions.

This game means everything for the Colts. This is their first of three back to back home games two of which being against division rivals. Head coach Frank Reich was quoted saying “this is a statement game” which in fact it is. If the Colts can beat the division leaders from last year against a great rusher and defense, I would not be surprised if the Colts make a strong playoff push against by far the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL.

The Colts will need to be firing on all cylinders allowing Luck to throw for a decent amount, Mack to have another great day, no dropped passes by the receiving core, another huge day by the tight ends, the front seven not allowing the Jags rushers to rush for more than 120 yards at best, and no deep passes or good plays in general by below average quarterback Blake Bortles. Here’s another side note, Jaguars’ cornerback Jalen Ramsey said that Luck just simply “isn’t good” but if you look at their last matchup, I hate to break it to you Jalen, but you are the one who’s not good in this rivalry.