What Did We Learn From the Jaguars’ 38–20 Romp Over the Colts?

What takeaways can we have from Jacksonville's season-ending win over Indianapolis?

Week 17. The end of the season and the end of an era in Jacksonville. In many ways, it could also represent a new beginning for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but this week 17 game felt like a typical week 17 game for Jacksonville: a game that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, a battle of two non playoff teams that meant very little.... but a win is a win. 

The Jaguars played one of its most complete games on the offensive side of the ball and the defense finally caused some turnovers and made some plays after failing to do so for the better part of the last two months. 

So, what did we learn in the Jaguars 38-20 victory against the Indianapolis Colts? 

Well, we learned that this season had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day this was the second best season as far as wins go for the Jaguars since 2010. Jacksonville finished its 2019 campaign with a 6-10 record and Gardner Minshew’s sixth win as a starter for the Jags the most by a rookie quarterback in franchise history. 

Minshew shattered every rookie record for a Jaguars quarterback. Most wins, most passing yards, most passing touchdowns. He did it all. One big takeaway from this game is that Minshew looked like a guy that deserves a shot to be the starting quarterback for the Jaguars in 2019. He not only shattered every Jaguars rookie quarterback record, but he had better stats than every rookie quarterback in the NFL this season. 

He had more wins, less interceptions, and almost as many touchdowns as each of the other rookie passers, three of whom were first-round picks. After having a season as he did in 2019 it’s hard to deny that Minshew doesn’t deserve a chance to have a full 16 games in 2020. 

Whether that’s a competition between him and Foles, or him, Foles and a rookie quarterback is yet to be seen, but the competition should be open for Minshew to be the guy.

Minshew wasn’t without his faults in this game, however. When it came to deep and intermediate passes, he was on the money. But in the short check down game, he was off at times. He and the two inexperienced running backs that were in (Ryquell Armstead and Devine Ozigbo) were not on the same page, including missing Armstead for a touchdown on the first series of the game. 

Numerous short passes were off the mark or dropped by the rookies, and Minshew did throw one interception while targeting Armstead. But otherwise, Minshew did everything right in the game other than consistently make the easy connections.

We also learned that Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole saved their best work for Week 17. Westbrook reeled in seven passes for 72 yards and a touchdown, while Cole had 3 catches 67 yards and a touchdown as well. Cole again proved how good of a deep threat he is, catching a beautifully placed 45-yard pass from Minshew. 

Despite his lack of size, Westbrook was also impressive across the middle and in the short passing game as well. He had solid hands and ran good routes vs. tight coverage, two areas he had struggled in earlier in 2019.

Defensively, we learned this was the best game the Jaguars pieced together maybe all season long. Jacoby Brissett completed 48% of his passes for 162 yards and no touchdowns, finding no rhythm in the entire second half. Jacksonville also forced Brissett into two fumbles, one of which was a scoop and score by Calais Campbell.

The run defense was not the best per usual, as they allowed 132 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, but this was actually lower than their season average, so that is a positive. For example, Marlon Mack had only two yards rushing in the second half after a dominant first half. 

The defensive line stepped up and showed out as almost everyone in the rotation made plays. From Yannick Ngkaoue to Dawane Smoot to Taven Bryan, everyone got in on the action. Ngkaoue, of course, caused that fumble that Campbell picked up and scored.

We also learned just how Duval feels about Ngkaoue. He was the biggest topic of discussion following the game and the fans at TIAA Bank Field were even chanting “Pay Ngkaoue” as the game came to a close. Ngkaoue and the front office changes will take center stage as the week goes on. Hopefully, his play helps the people in charge make the obvious decision to sign him long term.