Luke Farrell immediately felt unbridled joy from the moment he entered the Jacksonville Jaguars“Post-match festive locker room.
When an NFL franchise goes 270 days without a win and starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s winless streak goes back five weeks, that’s a lot of pent-up tension to release.
“You can’t single out one person in the crowd who celebrates more than anyone else,” Farrell said. “It was chaos when we walked in here, everyone was giving hugs, high-fives, everything.”
Without a doubt, for a few moments anyway, the Jaguars earned the right to party like it was 1999, especially with the way a comatose offense awoke from its September slumber with stunning efficiency.
But there’s one big caveat to Sunday’s tougher-than-it-should-be 37-34 win over Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium: The defense outside of Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen still stinks.
![Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker (44) reacts to his sack against Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, October 6, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Colts on a 37-34 basket. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://www.jacksonville.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/10/06/NFTU/75547832007-jki-100524-colts-jags-64.jpg?width=660&height=439&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Next stop…Tom Coughlin entering Pro Football HOF should follow Pride of Jaguars entry | Gene Frenette
Additionally, the still-horrible pass coverage might not allow the 1-4 Jaguars to get back into the AFC playoff race.
Negativity aside, at least the Jaguars — despite leading by 14 points in the fourth quarter — could rejoice in seeing the offense tear off big chunks of yards in decisive moments that were completely absent from the first four games.
No one seemed more relieved than head coach Doug Pederson, who was visibly irritable after last week’s road loss to the Houston Texans.
“I think there’s a weight on everyone’s shoulders, right?” Pederson said. “Not only [Lawrence]. It’s also a weight on my shoulders. Now you can leave me alone for at least a week.
The Jaguars racked up 497 total yards of offense, exactly 211.5 yards above their season average heading into the game. Lawrence ultimately looked like a No. 1 draft pick instead of a pedestrian quarterback, hovering near the bottom of the league in several meaningful categories.
After running just two plays of 35+ yards all season, the Jaguars had three 60-yard passes: an 85-yard touchdown run by Brian Thomas Jr., a 65-yard touchdown run by Tank Bigsby and a 61-yard reception by Christian. Kirk – that was 21 quick points.
“Having to play 14 or 15 times, multiple times throughout the game, it’s a little tough to maintain,” Kirk said. “So when you’re able to have those explosives and get your offense down the field and score points, you’re setting yourself up for success.”
Bad Colts defense is welcome
After averaging 15 points per game through four weeks, Jacksonville and Lawrence managed to come out on top against the worst defense in the NFL. The Colts, who haven’t won at EverBank since 2014, were allowing 400 yards per game and they kept giving.
Breakdown after breakdown began when Thomas, lined up in the right slot against zone coverage, drifted toward the sideline in the third quarter and surprisingly found himself all alone.
With cornerback Dallis Flowers caught in no-man’s land, Lawrence and Thomas made an easy 30-yard throw and catch, with the LSU rookie receiver’s 22 mph speed sprinting the remaining 55 yards to the zone goals.
Thomas (5 catches, 122 yards) is emerging as a top weapon, someone who should soon earn Rookie of the Year status. There are only five games left, but he is on pace for a 1,350-yard season.
“When I saw the guy do the trigger, I thought maybe Trev threw the ball to someone short,” Thomas said. “So I looked back and I saw it in the air and I was like, ‘That can’t be true.’
“I realized they had made a mistake in their coverage and I was wide open.”
Indianapolis’ suspect defense was an easy pick most of the day. Unlike last week’s Houston Texans game, Lawrence didn’t miss his guys in the open field.
“The coaches did a good job putting the game in his hands,” Kirk said. “When they do that, he feels at his best. They relied on him, they trusted him. Today, Trevor really took control. When he is at his best, he can take us far.
Kirk also fell behind the secondary on a Trevor bomb, setting up a 4-yard TD reception from Brenton Strange, as part of a wild fourth-quarter scoring eruption that saw the two teams combine for 41 points.
It turned out that the Jaguars’ pyrotechnic offense, including Bigsby having his first 100-yard rushing day, would need all those points, capped by Cam Little’s 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left being the difference.
For a franchise that hadn’t tasted victory since New Year’s Eve against the lowly Carolina Panthers, and for a quarterback who had gone empty in his last nine starts, getting up and down the field was a refreshing change.
The Jaguars’ offense came up big in almost every significant moment, except for the three-and-out on its penultimate possession that allowed Indianapolis to score a tying touchdown.
“It gives you confidence for myself and for the team,” said Lawrence, who also celebrated his 25th birthday. “Even the way the match went, we obviously had control and then it got a little crazy at the end. He thought it was good to continue to face adversity and find a way to finish when things didn’t go perfectly.
Can the defense be properly repaired?
Even if the Jaguars weren’t about to throw cold water on a shootout victory, defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen should be very dismayed that his unit can’t stop games from lighting them up .
Once again, 39-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco put on an aerial clinic against a beleaguered secondary, just as he did last December when he threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns for the Cleveland Browns in a 31-27 victory.
The Jaguars were in complete control, leading 20-10, with the defense quickly driving Indianapolis off the field to go two possessions into the second half.
Everything fell apart from that point on. The Colts had a touchdown, a field goal, a touchdown, a touchdown. In 12:14, the Jaguars gave up 24 points as two Flacco passes of 45 and 65 yards to Alec Pierce turned a 34-20 lead into a 34-34 tie.
For Tom Coughlin’s sake, were the Jaguars really going to blow this game and essentially ask the NFL coroner to end their season by falling to 0-5?
On a day when Jacksonville’s first coach saw his name in the Pride of the Jaguars, his team threatened to spoil a big moment as the defense continued to struggle to cover.
Without Travon Walker, who recorded three sacks and a fumble that led to a three-pointer just before halftime, the defense would have been a complete failure. Walker used his power to take down Colts right tackle Braden Smith.
Hines-Allen, who also had a sack, was baffled by a postgame question as he learned how many points the defense gave up in the fourth quarter.
“Twenty-four in the fourth quarter? Really ? said Hines-Allen. “Well, that’s not good. Obviously, I can’t do this every week.
“I know they have both deep balls [to Pierce]but 24. We can’t let this happen. Situational football.
The Jaguars are awaiting the return of defensive starters Foye Oluokun, Tyson Campbell and safety Andrew Wingard from injury, but one has to wonder if that will be enough to fix their terrible pass coverage.
A mandatory double sweep in London
Aside from a first-quarter sideline confrontation with receiver Gabe Davis — who was furious he didn’t get the ball on a third-down passing play that wasn’t a first down — and a deep ball interception that he forced double coverage, Lawrence was pretty much on point.
The biggest question is whether he can continue to be this accurate in the next two games in London. The Jaguars will face much better defenses like the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots.
Lawrence understands that what he and his teammates did to the Colts doesn’t make up for all the missed opportunities that put them in the AFC South cellar in the first place.
“You play 60 minutes. It’s cool when everything clicks and it pays off and you have a chance to win a game like that,” Lawrence said. “But it’s just one game. We can’t go wild over a game, but we’re going to celebrate because we’ve worked hard and it’s important to us. We’re going to use it to propel ourselves.
It’s already happened. The Jaguars have had five straight wins in each of the last two seasons, winning the last five in 2022 to advance to the playoffs. Last year’s five-game spree started with a London sweep of the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills, so this team knows it can get hot.
“We just need a win,” safety Antonio Johnson said. “By putting this W on the board, the train will start moving.”
The Jaguars better get going quickly. They’re still three games behind the Houston Texans, who led the same Bills team that routed Jacksonville on Monday Night Football.
It was refreshing to see the Jaguars in a celebratory postgame mood, but beating the Colts like that didn’t assuage so many concerns.
Unless this defense can flip a switch, this victory could just be a temporary band-aid.
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