How the Jaguars Broke the Colts

The Jacksonville Jaguars got their first win of the season by beating the Indianapolis Colts. They did it through the air.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) smiles after wide receiver Christian Kirk (13), not shown, caught a reception during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars edged the Colts on a field goal 37-34. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are feeling good. It took them five weeks, but they secured their first win of the season on Sunday, a 37-34 victory over an AFC South rival in the Indianapolis Colts.

The offense looked more competent than it had all season. The Jaguars were able to establish the run and verticality in the passing game. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had one of the best performances of his career -- 28 of 34, 371 yards and a touchdown.

122 of those yards were by way of rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. Of those 122 yards, 85 yards were on just one a play, Thomas' lone touchdown. The long ball was crucial to the Jaguars' victory.

"Felt good to connect on some of those this week," Lawrence told reporters after the win. "Felt like we had a great plan, and we had some opportunities for those shots. And kind of worked out, got the right looks. The guys did a good job on the outside winning, playing fast, and obviously putting the ball where it needed to go. With Brian's, we kind of put their zone defenders in a bind there. They chose wrong. We had Brian over the top. Something that we had a good plan for and took advantage of it. So, credit to him for finishing the run. I don't know, he hit 22-something miles an hour, which is pretty crazy. So that was fun.

It wasn't the only home run ball Lawrence connected on. Lawrence-to-Christian Kirk was good for 61 yards. However, the Thomas play signaled to something larger at play. Thomas is one of the best young weapons in the league, blossoming more with each passing week and performance.

There are many traits that make Thomas special, but his third-gear might be the X-factor among many elite traits and tools.

"There's not that many guys like it," Lawrence said. "Obviously, you see a few around the league that are fast and can break away. If they get in the open field, there's nobody that's going to catch them on the other side of the ball. He's definitely one of those guys. So the more we can find opportunities to get him the ball in those situations, we're going to score a lot of points with him. But I thought beyond that, just being in the right spot, doing the right thing, he did a nice job today. I thought we played the game on schedule. We weren't perfect. You're never going to be perfect in this league. Obviously, there's still some stuff to learn from. ... I thought he did a great job of playing smart, being in the right spot."

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