Colts Stave off Furious Jaguars Second Half Comeback

The Colts defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 29-26 (one off from my prediction) at home. This game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Colts offense was dominant, shredding the vaunted Jacksonville defense. Andrew Luck carved up their secondary for 29 points in the first half. In the second half, the Colts put a zero on the board. The offense sputtered, largely because the defense was on the field for most of the second half.

Andrew Luck was surgical in this game, throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns. His one interception was a dropped pass by Mo Alie-Cox that was intercepted by Telvin Smith. Eric Ebron had a day, recording a hat-trick of touchdowns. Two were through the air and another was on a jet sweep on the goal line. Ebron has been fantastic this season with seven touchdowns. The Colts offensive line struggled to run block against the stout Jaguars defensive line but did not give up a sack again. It hasn’t conceded a sack since the beginning of the Patriots game.

The Colts defense, aside from a few sporadic stops, was poor. The game ball goes to Kenny Moore, who forced a fumble to end the game. He was shut down in coverage, recording two pass defenses. In his first game as a Colt, second round rookie Tyquan Lewis starred. He lived in the backfield, putting constant pressure on Blake Bortles. Anthony Walker racked up 10 tackles and one tackle for loss. The Colts defensive line seems to have regressed to the mean, not sacking Bortles after a strong start to the season.

The Jaguars offense was methodical; Bortles lived off of screens and check downs. Nathaniel Hackett called a fantastic game, making life easy on Blake Bortles, who passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Donte Moncrief had himself a revenge game, catching three balls for 98 yards and a touchdown. In his first game back, Leonard Fournette toted the rock 24 times for 53 yards and a score.

Aside from one punt inside the five, the Colts special teams unit was awful. Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal and the kick return team gave up multiple big returns. Penalties continued to plague the Colts, giving up seven for 45 yards.

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With this win, the Colts stay in the AFC South playoff race. The division crown is looking less likely with the success of the Texans and Titans but anything can happen. The Colts will look to extend their win streak to four games against the Titans next week.

Ben Pfeifer is the Managing Editor of the Colts for Full Press Coverage, the AFC South Division Editor, and head NBA editor. Want to continue the discussion? Contact Ben Pfeifer on Twitter @Ben_Pfeifer_, @FPC_NBA and @FPC_Colts.