Colts 33, Jaguars 13: What Did We Learn From the Jaguars’ Lopsided Loss?

After the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Indianapolis Colts 33-13 in a crucial AFC South game on Sunday, what did we learn about the team during one of its worst 2019 performances?

In a blowout loss, there’s only so much you can learn, with most of it being negative. That’s the case in the Jaguars 33-13 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts, as the Jaguars needed to win this game to stay in the thick of things in the AFC playoff race, but in true 2019 Jaguars fashion, they blew that opportunity.

‘Foles speed ahead’ was what the Jaguars official Twitter account tweeted out prior to this game, but Foles hit a speed bump at 100 miles an hour, so it was Foles speed ahead into a loss. He went 33-for-47 for 296 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

The first drive showed a lot of promise after Foles went three for four with a touchdown strike to Chark. Things were looking up and the Jaguars lead 7-0.

But following that drive, we started to learn that the Jaguars rush defense had not improved in the slightest bit following the bye week. The Jaguars have struggled against the run all season, especially in its last game in London against Houston where they let Carlos Hyde rush for 160 yards. In this game, they allowed not one but two 100 yard rushers. 

Jonathan Williams was the leading rusher with 112, Marlon Mack added 109. The defense allowed over 200 yards rushing - in another game where the defense and the coaching staff looked extremely underprepared. We discussed on The JaguarMaven Podcast how this game was going to be won in the trenches, and the Colts offensive line dominated the Jaguars defensive line. The tackling from those in the second and third levels was atrocious all game long to boot.

Another thing we learned was the offensive line couldn’t hold up against this subpar Indianapolis pass rush. The pass protection has been a problem all year, but Minshew was able to escape the pocket and create plays with his feet. Foles just lacks that sort of ability and is much more of a true pocket passer.

All-in-all we didn’t learn too much we didn’t already know. The run defense was bad, Foles looked average and the offensive line couldn’t hold up. Changes need to be made up and down this team, from the coaching staff to the players. 

This was the Jaguars chance to continue to be in the playoff discussion, but this loss ended all hope that the Jaguars would play in January. Expect some changes to be made later on in the season or during the offseason. Because what the Jaguars have now is not the answer and it hasn’t been for a long time.

It keeps seeming like the Jaguars can get you hyped and make you feel like the team is going to finally piece it together - but once they get on the field on Sunday, all or most of that goes away. The hype fades away and the reality sets in - this team is a badly coached team that doesn’t have a reliable passer under center. The team just played differently when Minshew was out there, more often looking motivated, hungry and playing to win. 

The Jaguars fall to 4-6 on the season and it’s time again to start looking at draft boards. They will have to win out the rest of this season to have much of any hope at the playoffs.