Joe Flacco and the offensive players did their job on Sunday in Jacksonville. The Indianapolis Colts defense, however, did not.
After bouncing back from two poor defensive outings at the start of the season with two strong performances, it seemed like Indy’s defense had made progress.
Instead, the Colts took a step back against a team that had one of the weakest offenses in the league.
“Joe did a remarkable job of just keeping us in it,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said after the 37-34 loss, which marked Indy’s 10th straight road loss to the Jaguars.
“Can’t say enough about Alec Pierce and the job he’s doing this season. Defense, we’ve got to do our part. We didn’t do our part today, that’s the moral of the story.”
How bad was it?
The previously winless Jaguars (1-4) came into the game ranked 25th in total offense, 28th in passing offense, and tied for 29th in scoring.
On Sunday, Trevor Lawrence completed 28 of 34 passes, achieving a career-high 371 yards and two touchdowns, as the Jaguars gained a season-high 497 yards. They nearly scored as many points in this game as they had in their first three games combined (40).
Indy allowed 14 plays of 10 or more yards, including an 85-yard touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr. and a 65-yard touchdown run by Tank Bigsby. They also gave up completions of 11 and 14 yards that helped set up Jacksonville’s game-winning drive.
After Sunday’s games, the Colts now have the second-worst run defense and the fourth-worst passing defense in the league. As a result, calls to replace defensive coordinator Gus Bradley are increasing each week.
If Indy can’t find a solution soon, their chances for the playoffs will also disappear, as they now sit two games behind the defending AFC South champion, Houston.
