If you want to witness an unmitigated disaster, buckle up and watch the Indianapolis Colts play football in Jacksonville. Seriously, don’t turn it off.
Expect more creative ways to disappoint the stampede sporting blue each Sunday, but this pathetic performance in Duval County must have reached the lowest level of embarrassment for an owner who decides to take hand-written notes on the sidelines. The Colts gave into their annual humiliation ritual, falling 42-7 to the Jaguars at EverBank Stadium.
The latest loss extended their road losing streak against their division rival to 12 consecutive games as Indianapolis hasn’t won in Jacksonville since 2014, back when Barack Obama was still the President of the United States. 12 years later, the Colts waited til Halloween weekend to visit their annual house of horrors.
There was no fight, no identity. The most obvious thing watching was Daniel Jones getting benched in garbage time. Indianapolis was outclassed in every phase of the game, surrendering four touchdowns in the first half. The final score was ugly, but the on field performance should have yielded a running clock.
The first offensive snap offered a brief showcase for star running back Jonathan Taylor to rip off a 19-yard run to stretch the field on the opening play. The seventh-year tailback is now on the trading block after his season-low 23 rushing yards on eight carries.
The next seven offensive plays and two drives produced a combined three yards for the Colts. Indianapolis punted on five of its first six true drives in the first half, while Taylor and Downs coughed up a fumble on the lone drive that didn’t result in conceding a punt. Instead of a punt, it was a cartoonish double reverse passing play that handed that ball right back to the Jaguars four plays after their own turnover. What on Earth could be the excuse for this trick play call and execution on first down?
Jacksonville responded with a 12-play, 103-yard opening drive that began at the Jaguars’ own 2-yard line, but the stampede couldn’t get off the field. The Jaguars opening drive was ignited on a 46-yard completion to tight end Brenton Strange that flip the field before quarterback Trevor Lawrence connected with receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a 12-yard touchdown to take a lead they would never relinquish.
The Colts’ offense continued to sleepwalk through the motions as the Jaguars pounced into the end zone four times. Lawrence found tight end Nate Boerkircher for a 31-yard touchdown after the lost fumble, stretching Jacksonville’s lead to 14-0. With under two minutes remaining in the first half, running back Bhayshul Tuten ripped through the heart of Indy’s defense and broke through three tackles for a 39-yard rushing touchdown.
The only encouraging moment of the first half came from defensive end Jaylahn Tuimoloau shed the chip, then beat his blocker with an inside move and strip-sacked Lawrence. Rookie Caden Curry recovered the fumble to seize possession in Jacksonville territory and give the offense a chance to cut into the 21-point deficit.
Instead, with 25 seconds remaining before halftime, Jones targeted tight end Tyler Warren, but the timing of the throw was slightly early, while the route was slightly slower than expected. The pass tipped off the hands of Warren and was intercepted by Rayuan Lane, who sprinted 92 yards for a pick six. Jacksonville went into the locker room with an insurmountable edge as the Colts had handed the Jaguars a touchdown out of sheer incompetence.
Whatever was said at halftime clearly did not matter for a coach who seems to be a lame duck on the flight back to Indy. The Colts found the end zone midway through the third quarter, putting together their only respectable offensive drive of 13 plays. Jones connected with Laquon Treadwell over the middle for 18 yards. The offense caught a brief rhythm as Jones hit Taylor out of the backfield for 15 yards, then found Warren for 10 more yards before rookie Seth McGowan bulldozed his way for a 16-yard run. Jones found Josh Downs wide open in the corner of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown to salvage the shutout.
It was a nice sequence, but hardly something worth celebrating when the team was already trailing by five touchdowns. Jacksonville answered with another scoring drive, finished off with a 25-yard touchdown reception by Tuten from Lawrence. The Colts defense allowed six plays of 25 or more yards, while just one play from the offense went for more than 20.
Jones completed 19-of-28 passes for 144 passing yards and one touchdown, but threw two interceptions before Steichen turned to backup QB Anthony Richardson Sr. to start the final frame. Richardson completed both of his passes for just eight yards, which matched his passing production over the last two seasons.
There were a couple rookies who stood out, while buried underneath the wreckage. Rookie linebacker CJ Allen collected 10 tackles and his first career sack, delivering his most productive outing of the season. Tuimoloau forced a fumble and Caden Curry recovered it. McGowan added 29 rushing yards on five carries, finishing with more rushing yards than Taylor.
The front office deserves its own share of the blame based on the decision to commit to Jones with a contract extension following a season-ending Achilles injury. The acquisition of Sauce Gardner was supposed to transform the broken secondary from last season, but the price Indy paid is not worth it when Gardner’s inability to catch turns takeaways into solid, but frustrating pass breakups. Gardner recorded two pass breakups Sunday but could not fetch the game-changing turnover this defense desperately needs to be able to win, let alone compete.
The Colts have reached rock bottom before, but Sunday’s punishing loss was another reminder that there might not be a floor if Taylor is traded away before the trade deadline. Indianapolis hosts the struggling Dallas Cowboys next Sunday inside Lucas Oil Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
