In Week 14 of 2025 our Indianapolis Colts will travel to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Knowing the party was hitting the road, I sat down with Gus Lodge of Big Cat Country, SB Nation’s Jaguars blog. You can find him on Twitter @gus_lodge or @duval22dotcom. We swapped questions and answers about both the Jaguars and the Colts and what follows is what I’ve learned about this week’s enemy.
You can find my answers to his questions here.
Chris Shepherd: If you believe the headlines, Trevor Lawrence is bad, Brian Thomas Jr. is a bust and Liam Coen is a cornball most well known for his inability to pronounce the word “Duval” like a normal human (maybe this one’s true?). Yet, they’re 8-4, in first place in the AFC South. What is going right for the Jaguars this season and what does everyone “get wrong” when discussing this team?
Gus Lodge: My first instinct was to call Lawrence the most misunderstood element of the Jaguars. I don’t blame casual fans for thinking that he isn’t franchise quarterback material, but anyone who watches closely should be able to see that Lawrence has always elevated the team far more than he’s limited it. This year’s passing game recently found its footing thanks to the Jakobi Meyers trade deadline acquisition, as Brian Thomas Jr. couldn’t handle the slot role in Liam Coen’s offense and Travis Hunter’s development as a receiver started slow. Lawrence absolutely has to cut down on turnovers and be more consistent in general, but he did have a pretty perfect game last week in Tennessee. He’s good, I swear.
With that off my chest, I do think Coen is the most misunderstood part of the Jaguars. He’s known nationally as an offensive wizkid who’ll occasionally have an odd comment (have you seen what he said this week?). But the dude can coach. The Same Old Jaguars reappeared this season in collapses in Weeks 2 and 10, but time and time again, Coen rallied the troops and responded. His first season as head coach has been a win, no matter how it ends. Team owner Shad Khan said in reference to the hires of Urban Meyer and Trent Baalke in 2021, “This time, I got it right.” Jags fans ridiculed the statement for years. On this swing, Khan’s bat connected. The fact that Coen is a Football Guy through and through hasn’t quite been reflected by national media, but it’s what has this team at 8-4.
Chris Shepherd: The Jaguars defense has faced the fewest rushing attempts in the league this season. Is this front seven so good that teams have been unwilling to try their luck or has this been a product of game situations dicating opponent play calling?
Gus Lodge: Like most binary questions, the answer falls somewhere in the middle. Jacksonville ranks eighth in average time of possession when excluding overtime (31:33), so they’ve naturally faced a high rate of dropbacks as teams try to come back against them. That said, they’ve faced the fewest rush attempts because the front seven is indeed quite good. The Jaguars have been a pass-funnel defense for years now, largely thanks to DEs Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen (who’s generated more pressures than any other defender since the Week 8 bye, by the way). They crash the edges like rhinos — Shane Steichen should run Jonathan Taylor straight up the gut on Sunday.
Chris Shepherd: Who are some under the radar Jaguars that Colts fans might see make a play this Sunday?
Gus Lodge: Coen called OL Cole Van Lanen “the Swiss Army knife” after he started the game at right guard (in place of Patrick Mekari) before switching midgame to left tackle (in place of Walker Little), so he’ll be expected to start if Mekari or Little misses this week’s game; seventh-round rookie RB LeQuint Allen is an absolute dawg and please to watch in pass pro and special teams; UDFA rookie Danny Striggow and free agent pickup Dennis Gardeck are real thumpers in the run game; and second-year CB Jarrian Jones ranks first in Coverage, Tackling, and Overall PFF Grade among 111 corners since the Week 8 bye. He’s as due for a big play as any other Jaguar.
Chris Shepherd: If you were an offensive coordinator charged with creating a game plan to exploit the Jaguars defense what would that plan look like? Who would you target? Who would you avoid?
Gus Lodge: Gameplan around Hines-Allen and Walker by running far, far away from them (or directly at them on some sort of trap or counter play). Jacksonville’s defensive tackles and cornerbacks are positions to target in the run game, and the safeties should definitely be tested in both phases. Eric Murray may be returning from injured reserve for this game, and to their credit, current starters Andrew Wingard and Antonio Johnson have improved greatly in recent weeks… but those are the guys I’d be going at. And first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile is already a natural at disguising coverages and creating free pass rush lanes, so make sure you have a plan against the blitz.
Chris Shepherd: Same question, but now you’re a defensive coordinator going after the Jaguars offense. How do you stop it? Who do you take away?
Gus Lodge: The slot receiver is the most important non-quarterback in Coen’s offense, so go ahead and circle Jakobi Meyers’ name in red ink. If you can cover in-breaking routes by Meyers and take care of business against the run, the Jaguars’ offense will start to sputter. Their go-to run concept is mid zone (some call it tight zone), which is exactly what it sounds like: a merging of inside zone and outside zone. It forces opposing defenders to move laterally just enough to create cutback lanes for Jacksonville’s ‘lightning and lightning’ RB duo of Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten. Your best bet against both the run game and pass game is to be aggressive up front and disrupt the backfield, as it will slow Etienne and Tuten, and picking up stunts has been a serious issue for this offense all season. Find a way to heat up Lawrence before he can leave the pocket, ideally without leaving Meyers or Thomas one-on-one in coverage. (Gus Bradley’s defense was child’s play; the football nerd in me is ecstatic to watch Lawrence/Coen against Lou Anarumo for seasons to come. Sunday should be fun! Thanks for the exchange, Chris!)
I can’t thank Gus enough for answering this week’s questions. Make sure you head over to Big Cat Country and @gus_lodge on Twitter to check out his work.
As always, go Colts.
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