JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars still don’t know how to lose to the Colts at home.
Jacksonville won its first game in front of the home fans since late September with a 42-7 blowout of the Colts on a rainy afternoon at EverBank Stadium.
Beating Indianapolis in Jacksonville has become a tradition. The Colts haven’t won a game in Jacksonville since Sept. 21, 2014. The Jaguars have 12 straight home wins over Indianapolis although one of those came as the home team in London.
The Colts (2-6) didn’t seem positioned to give much of a challenge to the AFC South-leading Jaguars, especially this week. Indianapolis spent most of the past week making trades (DeForest Buckner, Quenton Nelson) as they tumbled into NFL fire sale territory before the trade deadline.
The Jaguars (5-2) find themselves on the other side of the aisle. They lead the division by three games and have clicked under second-year head coach Liam Coen.
Since he was hired last year, the Jaguars are 18-6 in regular-season games. Barring a massive collapse, they’re headed for a second straight AFC South title.
They flipped things in a hurry before halftime, shaking off a sluggish start and going to work on the Colts.
Trevor Lawrence had a 31-yard scoring pass to rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher before Bhayshul Tuten ripped off a 39-yard touchdown run to put them in front 21-0.
Lawrence lost a fumble after he was sacked with under two minutes to play to put the Colts in position for points. But Rayuan Lane III picked off a Daniel Jones pass and went 92 yards the other direction for a pick-six and 28-0 halftime lead. Lawrence was pulled early in the fourth quarter after going 10 of 14 for 210 yards and three touchdowns.
“Winning your division is really important but I think for us, it’s really just going week by week,” Lawrence said. “It’s not something we thinking oh, we’re a few games up. We’re in a good spot. We can relax. That’s not really at all how we think. We got a lot of football left.”
It was the first game at EverBank Stadium since a Week 3 romp over the Patriots. Jacksonville played at Cincinnati in Week 4, then consecutive games in London followed by the bye week. Construction on the team’s new stadium forced the lengthy road trip.
“We haven’t been at home much. Wanted to be able to put on a show for our home fan base and give the people some excitement,” Coen said. “Hopefully we can get back here in a couple of weeks and get some more of that. ”
Defense strong all game
The Jaguars got the huge interception from Lane, but didn’t stop there. Bryan Thomas Jr. recovered a fumble and Branson Combs had an interception. The defense racked up four sacks, too.
“I mean, it’s really cool and I think it just enforces the next-man-up mentality,” Lane said. “Obviously on the first play of the game or something, we had somebody go down so just being able to step up and be able to make the plays and help my team out.”
BTJ finds the end zone
It was a nice start for embattled receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who has been the subject of rampant trade rumors during his inconsistent start after going catchless in back-to-back games in London. Coen and other Jaguars players have stood by Thomas during his struggles. Lawrence hit Thomas for a 12-yard touchdown on Jacksonville’s first offensive series, perhaps a bit of a salvo from Coen and the Jaguars that they’re still believers in Thomas.
Stars on offense
Tuten had a remarkable game for the Jaguars. He rushed for a career-high 104 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Tuten also had 55 yards and a touchdown receiving. His 159 scrimmage yards are the most by a Jaguars player since Travis Etienne in 2023 (184 in a Week 5 game in London against the Bills). Fellow running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. added 41 yards rushing and a touchdown on just six carries.
“I think I had a good practice all week being intentional in the run game and my reads and my fits and that kind of stuff,” Tuten said. “We have been working on the screen game for a long time now, just go out there and just make the plays when they come to me is my biggest thing. I think I played fast and physical today and I played worry-free.”
Rookie tight end Boerkircher has started to carve out his role with the offense. His 31-yard catch was the longest in his NFL career. He’s up to 83 yards and two touchdown catches this season. He’s the first rookie tight end in franchise history to have touchdown catches in back-to-back weeks. Not bad for a player whom general manager James Gladstone was panned for selecting higher than expected in the draft.
Injuries sting against the Colts
The major storyline Sunday was the injury bug. Safety Eric Murray left with an elbow injury and didn’t return. Jacksonville was already playing without injured safety Antonio Johnson due to an ankle injury. Those absences allowed Lane to come in and shine. In addition to the pick-six, Lane also had a play that was nearly a sack of Jones.
“Rayuan with the huge interception. That kind of really broke the game open,” Coen said. “It was a massive play to stay focused throughout the tip and be able to control that ball and take it to the house. He’s made a number of those plays, right?”
Defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton went out with a right knee injury on a play that led to a Bryan Thomas Jr. fumble recovery. Hamilton has been Jacksonville’s best defensive line player in the run game this season.
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