JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Don’t look now, but those disrespected, ridiculed, and mocked Jaguars are atop the AFC South standings. Think teams will start taking them seriously now?
Don’t count on it.
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On a nasty, rainy afternoon at EverBank Stadium, the Jaguars lit up the Colts 36-19 to move into sole possession of first place in the AFC South.
Travis Etienne scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, and Trevor Lawrence tossed two more as the Jaguars won their 11th consecutive game over Indianapolis in Jacksonville.
The expectation of a thrilling battle for the top spot in the AFC South never happened. The Jaguars (9-4) were dominant from the get-go and even more so when Colts quarterback Daniel Jones left with an Achilles injury.
But even with Jones instead of backup Riley Leonard, it likely wouldn’t have mattered.
The Jaguars turned a pair of takeaways into touchdowns in the first half, controlled the Colts on defense, and moved the ball well all game long behind Lawrence and Etienne to declare with authority that they are contenders in head coach Liam Coen’s first season.
“I think our guys took control of the moment, I guess you could say, in terms of understanding that, yeah, this was a big game in a lot of ways, and I think our guys have responded in so many ways in these big games, right?” Coen said.
“You look at Kansas City, San Francisco, some of those moments where I think they ultimately always kind of feel disrespected, and that’s something that continues to feed our team.”
The Jaguars host the Jets in Week 15 and will almost certainly be heavily favored to win that one.
The closing stretch promises to be an entertaining one. Jacksonville visits Denver in Week 16 in a game that could be for one of the top two seeds in the AFC. They close with a trip to Indianapolis against the sinking Colts and then wrap up at home against the woeful Titans.
While the Jaguars would need some help to move up from the No. 3 seed that they’re currently in—the Patriots and Broncos are two games ahead of Jacksonville—it’s not a stretch to think that it could happen.
Who’d have projected anything close to this back in training camp? Coen said there’s no chance that Jacksonville will get any sort of respect from across the league. And that’s fine for him.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever really get it. That’s the beauty of it,“ he said. ”It ain’t coming. You know that. It’s not. And that’s the beauty of it. And that’s totally fine.”
Jaguars start quick
Jacksonville grabbed hold early and never let up.
Devin Lloyd picked off Jones’ first throw of the game, and Etienne turned that into a 3-yard touchdown just five plays later.
Lawrence hit Jakobi Meyers for a 14-yard touchdown pass late in the opening quarter to keep that connection going. It’s the third consecutive game that Meyers, who Jacksonville dealt for at the trading deadline, had a touchdown catch.
“Starting fast was something we didn’t really do a great job of at times this season, and I think we’ve done a better job of executing early in games and also taking the momentum and using it. Like actually coming and playing complementary football,” Coen said.
The Jaguars also saw some flickers of life from struggling receiver Brian Thomas Jr. He had a couple of catches in the opening half, none better than a one-handed grab on third-and-5 that went for 39 yards.
“We’re super confident right now. Especially when you get a big win like this,” Thomas said. “We have to come in next week just ready to go with no slip ups, no nothing. Like Trevor said, every one is a big one now. Come out there keep fighting and keep going.”
Lawrence continued his steady play, avoiding taking a sack or turning it over, despite the nasty conditions. Lawrence finished 17 of 30 for 244 yards.
“I just feel like this team has done a really good job of really staying focused on the task at hand, taking it week by week, regardless of—I mean, this season we’ve had some crazy games. We’ve had a lot of adversity, had a lot of great learning experiences," Lawrence said.
“We’ve been through a lot. Every week, I think we respond the right way. We don’t always necessarily play our best. There’s things that are going to happen in the game that you’ve got to make up for, and you’ve got to make plays and have each other’s back. I think that’s the great thing about this team, we’ve shown we can win however we need to, whether it’s offense picking up the defense, defense picking up the offense, special teams making huge plays.”
He continues to build a rapport with Meyers and has really connected with Tim Patrick. Lawrence hit Patrick on a 7-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the opening half for a 28-10 lead. That chemistry is significant considering how Thomas has struggled with both health and confidence, and rookie Travis Hunter (injured reserve) and Parker Washington (hip) are both out.
Etienne had 74 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns on 20 carries. Thomas led the Jaguars with 87 yards receiving on three catches. Patrick (five catches, 78 yards) and Meyers (four catches, 39 yards) also had big games.
“At the end of the day, I feel like no one likes us except for us. I feel like it just goes along with just being in this organization, what the organization has been for quite some time. We’re not going to get the respect. We kind of don’t even care. As long as we know what we’ve got inside the locker room, and we can go out there and take it,” Etienne said. “It’s no better feeling that being disrespected and having an extra chip on your shoulder, playing with an extra edge. It gives extra motivation each and every Sunday.”
Defense handles Colts
Lloyd’s fifth interception of the season continued his career year and infused EverBank Stadium with some much-needed early energy.
Jarrian Jones recovered a Jonathan Taylor fumble in the second quarter that Etienne stamped with a 28-yard touchdown run and a 21-7 lead.
And Greg Newsome II, acquired during a midseason trade for Tyson Campbell, finally showed something after a disappointing start in Jacksonville.
Newsome battled receiver Michael Pittman for a ball early in the fourth quarter and wrestled it away from him for an interception. Jacksonville’s drive after that Newsome pick ended on downs at the Indianapolis 9, the only takeaway of the game that Jacksonville failed to convert into a touchdown or a field goal.
Josh Hines-Allen made up for that stall on downs, sacking Leonard for a safety one play after that. He’s now had a sack in four straight games and is up to seven on the season.
Taylor had 74 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries for Indianapolis, but had a relatively muted afternoon. Leonard scored a garbage-time touchdown for the Colts with just under two minutes to play.
Even if the respect isn’t coming atop the AFC South, Coen doesn’t care.