Colts fail to end winless drought in Jacksonville as Trevor Lawrence has career day to celebrate 25th birthday

Two disastrous finishes in both halves cost the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday’s 37-34 defeat against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Indianapolis dropped its second AFC South contest as rookie kicker Cam Little drilled a game-winning field goal from 49-yards out to earn the first win of the season for the Jaguars.

It may be time to discuss the mess left behind in another cursed trip to Duval County, which was extended to 10 consecutive losses. It’s unfathomable to experience a decade-long drought against a divisional opponent. Indianapolis walked into Jacksonville missing eight starters. Could second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson have played if the stakes were higher? Of course, but the Colts chose to restrict him from getting wounded any further in rainy conditions on natural grass at EverBank Stadium. This lopsided battle was lost before the opening kickoff, but I digress.

Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence had lost nine consecutive starts, the longest winless drought from any active NFL QB. With Jacksonville’s season essentially on the line, Lawrence played the best game of his career. He celebrated his 25th birthday by throwing two touchdowns and securing his seventh career game-winning drive. Lawrence completed 28-of-38 passes and hit career-highs with an 82.4% completion percentage, 371 passing yards and 10.9 yards per completion. The same cycle continued as another player had a career-best performance against the Colts.

Indianapolis was the only team to offer Joe Flacco a contract this offseason. The 39-year-old made his 186th career start, fourth-most among active QBs. Flacco connected with receiver Josh Downs three times on the opening drive to set up first-and-goal. After three consecutive stuffs, Flacco ran play action and hit receiver Michael Pittman Jr. at the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Colts an early 7-0 lead. In his first start with his fifth franchise, the 19-year vet completed his first nine passes and finished 33-of-43 passing for 359 yards with three TDs.

The Colts replacement-level reserves were not prepared and showed their lack of awareness after being tricked to leave assignments twice in the first half. Lawrence treated running back Tank Bigsby on a screen for a 28-yard gain to waltz inside Colts territory. Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart stuffed Bigsby in the backfield to stall out the Jaguars’ second drive and force a 23-yard chip shot from Little. Jacksonville scored with a one-play, 10-second drive as Lawrence connected with rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. up the sideline for an 85-yard receiving TD to give the Jaguars a 10-7 lead. Lawrence took advantage of a busted coverage as neither Nick Cross or Dallis Flowers stayed with Thomas running straight for the end zone.

Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones had just made his second highlight of the game and punched the football loose, which allowed Chris Lammons to recover the fumble and swing the pendulum by giving the offense a chance to take the lead before halftime. Indianapolis’ drive lasted just three plays as Jaguars’ defensive tackle Travon Walker bull-rushed right through tackle Braden Smith into Flacco and knocked the ball free for a strip-sack. Jaguars’ linebacker Josh Hines-Allen recovered the fumble and returned it into Colts territory to gift a 30-yard chip shot for Little to give the Jaguars a 13-10 halftime lead.

Jaguars’ running back Tank Bigsby built off his career best performance from 90 rushing yards against the Dolphins on Monday Night Football to 101 rushing yards against the Colts six days later. After the Colts punt unit allowed a 53-yard return by Devin Duvernay to set up the Jaguars inside the red zone, Bigsby bulldozed his way over a stampede of Colts defenders for an 18-yard touchdown on the next snap.

Flacco led a reputable fourth-quarter comeback, ignited on Alec Pierce’s fourth reception of 40-plus yards this season, which is the most in the league. Colts running back Trey Sermon finished the drive with a one-yard TD to cut the deficit to 34-27 with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter. After the defense forced a three-and-out, Steichen fed Sermon for an 11-yard gain to set up another deep shot. Flacco delivered a 65-yard pass to Alec Pierce for a TD to tie it up 34-34 with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter. Pierced led the Colts with a game-high 134 receiving yards on three catches.

I’ll save you from the terror on the screen. Walker ended the game with his second sack to let the clock roll down to zeros. The Colts have yet to boast a record above .500 and must bounce back from this defeat with upcoming matches against divisional opponents before a brutal gauntlet in November.