Colts vs. Jaguars: 5 Pressing Questions in Pivotal Matchup

Horseshoe Huddle caught up with Jaguar Report beat reporter John Shipley and asked five questions about Sunday's Colts-Jaguars matchup.

The Indianapolis Colts are already in must-win territory this year, as they have kicked off AFC South divisional play with a disgusting 0-2-1 record. It goes without saying that each of the remaining divisional games this season are pivotal if the Colts want to have any chance at the AFC South crown.

The Colts square off against the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend, a team that they had some struggles with back in week two. The Colts were overmatched early in this past match-up, as the Jaguars beat them 24-0 in Jacksonville.

With the game being in Indy this time, do the Colts stand a better chance of at least being competitive? I sat down with Jaguars' Beat Reporter John Shipley of Jaguar Report to get the latest scoop on this Jacksonville team.

HH: The Jaguars really struggled to score points last week against the Texans. Was this more of something the Texans' defense did or was the Jaguars offense committing self-inflicted wounds?

JS: It was another case of the Jaguars simply beating themselves. The Jaguars racked up over 400 yards of offense and got past Houston's 40-yard line six times, but they just seem to go haywire in the red-zone and in critical situations. It doesn't even seem as if it is because of one issue, either.

Trevor Lawrence had an awful red-zone interception and a few other missed reads, but they also had a holding penalty wipe out a first-down at the two-yard line and some really ill-timed drops. The offense was good until they really needed to be.

HH: The Jaguars' defense is having a great start to the season so far. If you were an Offensive Coordinator against them, what would be your preferred plan of attack to find success?

JS: I think the best way to get after this Jaguars defense is to use their aggressiveness against them. The Jaguars love to blitz and leave the middle of the field vacated, so I would personally utilize plenty of slip screens from the running back position to force them to have some doubt about pinning their ears back.

The more creative teams have been in terms of getting the ball to their skill players, the worse the defense has been.

HH: The Jaguars were having a ton of success with stunts and different fronts to rush the passer earlier this season. Has that success maintained in recent weeks?

JS: Not in the last two weeks. The Jaguars' worst games in terms of generating pressure has seemingly been the last two games. The Eagles game made sense because of both Jalen Hurts' legs and the Eagles' offensive line, but Houston seemed to have answers for the Jaguars' front each time they tried to run some pass-rush games.

HH: I know there have been some struggles early this year with the offensive line, particularly at left guard and at center. Have those cleaned up in recent weeks or are those still susceptible spots to attack for a defense?

JS: The Jaguars will have a new face at left guard this week. Ben Bartch started the first five games but dislocated his knee against Houston and will be out for the rest of the year. In his place will be veteran guard/center Tyler Shatley. Shatley has started 33 games in his career and is really respected inside the building, but he wasn't starting over Bartch for a reason.

As for rookie center Luke Fortner, he had a really rough showing against the Colts in Week 2 but is fresh off the best game of his rookie season so far. This week will be a good test to see how much he has improved.

HH: What is your confidence level, as a Jags fan/writer, heading into this match-up?

JS: I don't think this Jaguars team has done enough to instill a high level of confidence in really anything they do. They are such a young team that it has become hard to know which one will show up each Sunday.

I think the Jaguars should win this game, but they should have won last week too, and they should have also won in Week 1. Until they win the games they are supposed to, each week is a coin flip.

Need your fill on daily Colts' content? Head over to the Locked On Colts' YouTube channel where Jake Arthur and myself hit on all the major topics surrounding this team. Hit that subscribe button while you are there!

---

Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

Follow Horseshoe Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.