Jaguars Game Day: Match-ups, storylines, predictions for Sunday at Indianapolis
JAGUARS GAMEDAY
JAGUARS (3-3) AT COLTS (2-4)
1 p.m., CBS, 1010-AM, 92.5-FM, 99.1-FM
THREE STORY LINES
KEEPING DEFENSES HONEST
The Jaguars run plenty of zone read plays with quarterback Blake Bortles and usually tailback Leonard Fournette. Bortles needs to be more aggressive in keeping the football and turning the corner. The Rams’ defensive ends last week were crashing down and tracking Fournette, but Bortles didn’t run any keepers. Bortles has three keepers for 48 yards (16.0 average), 11 scrambles for 75 yards (6.8 average) and three kneel-downs (minus-3 yards). “We always talk about erring on the side of handing it off and giving it to the guys that are getting paid to run the ball,” Bortles said. “Every time you hand off, you make sure you’re keeping an eye on what they’re doing for future plays.”
CONTAINING GORE/MACK
The Colts rank 20th in rushing offense, but have two solid backs in veteran Frank Gore and rookie Marlon Mack. Gore leads the team in carries (85) and yards (288), and Mack is averaging 4.8 yards on 27 attempts. They have two different styles – Gore’s power vs. Mack’s speed – for the Jaguars to contend with. “[Gore] is a guy that’s powerful, he breaks tackles and when he gets his shoulders going north and south, good things happen for him,” said Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash. “[Mack] has got really good speed, good elusiveness and tries to get to the edge.” The Jaguars rank 31st in the NFL against the rush.
SURVIVE ON SPECIAL TEAMS
The Jaguars have already swapped out their kicker, signing Josh Lambo and cutting Jason Myers, and they have next week’s bye to review the bottom of the roster. The goal against the Colts should be to survive the game without any major gaffes – no long returns allowed, no punts blocked, no fumbled punts, no key penalties, etc. On kickoffs and punts, respectively, Lambo and Brad Nortman might be told to keep it simple (no directional kicking). That would eliminate a degree of difficulty and also allow the Jaguars to assess if they have the right cover men in place for the final half of the season.
TWO KEY MATCHUPS
CB JALEN RAMSEY VS. COLTS WR TY HILTON
Opposing quarterbacks have a 44.8 rating when targeting Ramsey in man coverage – 14-of-32 passing for 168 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Ramsey has seven other pass break-ups. Last week, the Rams looked the other way (1 of 2 for 10 yards). The Jaguars’ trend of facing a receiver who was neutralized the week before continues Sunday. Hilton is fourth in yards (485) and yards per catch (19.4), but was targeted only four times (one catch) in Monday’s loss at Tennessee. It makes sense for Ramsey to travel with Hilton, which could include snaps operating from the slot.
LT CAM ROBINSON VS. COLTS OLB JABAAL SHEARD
Robinson struggled like the rest of the offensive line against the Rams last week, getting booked for two quarterback hits (one each by Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald) and two penalties (illegal hands to the face and holding). Robinson had a tough go in Week 2 at Tennessee and responded well against Baltimore. Sheard, signed as a free agent after spending 2016 with New England, plays one of the Colts’ rush linebacker spots and can line up in two- and three-point stances. He has 2 1/2 sacks and 16 tackles this year.
STAT THAT MATTERS
-76
Point differential in the second half for Indianapolis. The Colts have been outscored 38-19 in the third quarter and 85-22 in the fourth quarter (3-3 in overtime). They have led at halftime of their last five games but are just 2-3.
THE JAGUARS WILL WIN IF …
They force inexperienced Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett into multiple interceptions on his team’s side of the field. … Leonard Fournette overcomes an ankle injury to reach 100 yards for the fourth time this year and third consecutive week. … The Jaguars take advantage of Indianapolis’ 30th-ranked pass defense, including a first 2017 touchdown for Marqise Lee.
THE COLTS WILL WIN IF …
Rookie tailback Marlon Mack uses his slashing running style to find cutback lanes against the Jaguars’ 31st-ranked rush defense. … Receiver TY Hilton, after only one catch last week, is prioritized by play-caller Rob Chudzinski and posts his third 100-yard game. … Free safety Malik Hooker adds to his interception total (currently has three) and returns one for a touchdown.
Ryan O’Halloran/Times-Union
ROSTERS
JAGUARS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. School
3 Brad Nortman P 6-2 214 Wisconsin
4 Josh Lambo K 6-0 216 Texas A&M
5 Blake Bortles QB 6-5 236 UCF
7 Chad Henne QB 6-3 222 Michigan
10 Jaelen Strong WR 6-2 220 Arizona State
11 Marqis Lee WR 6-0 196 USC
17 Arrelious Benn WR 6-2 228 Illinois
19 Max McCaffrey WR 6-2 200 Duke
20 Jalen Ramsey CB 6-2 208 Florida State
21 A.J. Bouye CB 6-0 191 UCF
22 Aaron Colvin CB 6-0 193 Oklahoma
23 Tyler Patmon CB 5-10 188 Oklahoma State
24 T.J. Yeldon RB 6-1 223 Alabama
25 Peyton Thompson S 5-10 184 San Jose State
26 Jarrod Wilson S 6-2 210 Michigan
27 Leonard Fournette RB 6-0 228 LSU
29 Lafayette Pitts CB 5-11 194 Pittsburgh
30 Corey Grant RB 5-11 203 Auburn
31 Jalen Myrick CB 5-11 200 Minnesota
33 Chris Ivory RB 6-0 223 Tiffin
39 Tashaun Gipson S 5-11 212 Wyoming
40 Tommy Bohannon FB 6-1 246 Wake Forest
42 Barry Church S 6-2 218 Toledo
43 Matt Overton LS 6-1 243 Western Washington
44 Myles Jack LB 6-1 244 UCLA
50 Telvin Smith LB 6-3 215 Florida State
51 Paul Posluszny LB 6-2 232 Penn State
52 Donald Payne LB 5-11 217 Stetson
53 Blair Brown LB 6-0 238 Ohio
55 Lerentee McCray OLB 6-3 249 Florida
56 Dante Fowler Jr DE 6-3 255 Florida
60 A.J. Cann OL 6-3 315 South Carolina
64 Chris Reed OL 6-5 310 Minnesota State
65 Brandon Linder C 6-6 315 Miami
69 Tyler Shatley C 6-3 310 Clemson
72 Josh Wells OL 6-6 306 James Madison
73 John Walker OL 6-5 330 Middle Tennessee
74 Cam Robinson OL 6-6 320 Alabama
75 William Poehls OT 6-8 344 Montana
77 Patrick Omameh OL 6-4 327 Michigan
78 Jermey Parnell OT 6-6 326 Mississippi
80 James O’Shaughnessy TE 6-4 245 Illinois State
83 Ben Koyack TE 6-5 258 Notre Dame
84 Keelan Cole WR 6-1 194 Kentucky Wesleyan
88 Allen Hurns WR 6-3 201 Miami
89 Marcedes Lewis TE 6-6 280 UCLA
91 Yannick Ngakoue DE 6-2 246 Maryland
92 Sheldon Day DT 6-1 294 Notre Dame
93 Calais Campbell DL 6-8 300 Miami
94 Dawuane Smoot DE 6-3 264 Illinois
95 Abry Jones DT 6-4 318 Georgia
97 Malik Jackson DL 6-5 290 Tennessee
99 Eli Ankou DT 6-3 290 Red Lion Christian Acad.
COLTS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. School
2 Rigoberto Sanchez P 6-0 195 Hawaii
4 Adam Vinatieri K 6-0 212 South Dakota State
7 Jacoby Brissett QB 6-4 235 NC State
10 Donte Moncrief WR 6-2 216 Mississippi
11 Quan Bray WR 5-10 183 Auburn
12 Andrew Luck QB 6-4 240 Stanford
13 T.Y. Hilton WR 5-9 178 Florida Intl
16 Scott Tolzien QB 6-2 215 Wisconsin
17 Kamar Aiken WR 6-2 216 UCF
20 Darius Butler S 5-10 192 Connecticut
21 Vontae Davis CB 5-11 207 Illinois
23 Frank Gore RB 5-9 212 Miami
25 Marlon Mack RB 6-0 210 USF
27 Nate Hairston CB 6-0 195 Temple
28 Chris Milton CB 5-11 196 Georgia Tech
29 Malik Hooker S 6-2 212 Ohio State
30 Rashaan Melvin CB 6-2 196 Northern Illinois
31 Quincy Wilson CB 6-1 206 Florida
32 T.J. Green S 6-3 211 Clemson
33 Robert Turbin RB 5-10 216 Utah State
34 Matt Jones RB 6-2 239 Florida
35 Pierre Desir CB 6-2 198 Lindenwood
41 Matthias Farley S 5-11 209 Notre Dame
42 Kenny Moore II CB 5-9 190 Valdosta State
44 Antonio Morrison ILB 6-1 241 Florida
46 Luke Rhodes LS 6-2 238 William & Mary
47 Darrell Daniels TE 6-3 246 Washington
48 Darnell Sankey ILB 6-2 250 Sacramento State
50 Anthony Walker ILB 6-1 242 Northwestern
51 John Simon OLB 6-1 250 Ohio State
52 Barkevious Mingo OLB 6-4 239 LSU
57 Jon Bostic ILB 6-1 245 Florida
58 Tarell Basham DE 6-4 266 Ohio
59 Jeremiah George ILB 5-11 234 Iowa State
62 Le’Raven Clark OT 6-5 311 Texas Tech
63 Isaiah Williams OL 6-3 306 Akron
67 Jeremy Vujnovich OT 6-5 300 Louisiana College
68 Kyle Kalis OL 6-4 302 Michigan
72 Mike Person C 6-4 300 Montana State
73 Joe Haeg OL 6-6 305 North Dakota State
74 Anthony Castonzo OT 6-7 311 Boston College
78 Ryan Kelly C 6-4 309 Alabama
80 Chester Rogers WR 6-1 184 Grambling State
83 Henry Krieger-Coble TE 6-4 248 Iowa
84 Jack Doyle TE 6-6 262 Western Kentucky
85 Brandon Williams TE 6-3 260 Oregon
90 Grover Stewart DT 6-4 333 Albany (Ga.) State
91 Hassan Ridgeway DT 6-3 318 Texas
92 Margus Hunt DE 6-8 298 SMU
93 Jabaal Sheard OLB 6-3 265 Pittsburgh
95 Johnathan Hankins DT 6-2 325 Ohio State
96 Henry Anderson DT 6-6 301 Stanford
99 Al Woods DT 6-4 330 LSU
SCHEDULES
JAGUARS (3-3)
Date Opponent Time
Sept. 10 at Houston W, 29-7
Sept. 17 Tennessee L, 37-16
Sept. 24 Baltimore (London) W, 44-7
Oct. 1 at New York Jets L, 23-20 (OT)
Oct. 8 at Pittsburgh W, 30-9
Oct. 15 Los Angeles Rams L, 27-17
Nov. 5 Cincinnati 1 p.m.
Nov. 12 San Diego 1 p.m.
Nov. 19 at Cleveland 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 at Arizona 4:25 p.m.
Dec. 3 Indianapolis 1 p.m.
Dec. 10 Seattle 1 p.m.
Dec. 17 Houston 1 p.m.
Dec. 24 at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Tennessee 1 p.m.
COLTS (2-4)
Date Opponent Time
Sept. 10 at Los Angeles Rams L, 46-9
Sept. 17 Arizona L, 16-13 (OT)
Sept. 24 Cleveland W, 31-28
Oct. 1 at Seattle L, 46-18
Oct. 8 San Francisco W, 26-23 (OT)
Oct. 16 at Tennessee L, 36-22
Oct. 22 Jaguars 1 p.m.
Oct. 29 at Cincinnati 1 p.m.
Nov. 5 at Houston 1 p.m.
Nov. 12 Pittsburgh 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 Tennessee 1 p.m.
Dec. 3 at Jaguars 1 p.m.
Dec. 10 at Buffalo 1 p.m.
Dec. 14 Denver 8:25 p.m.
Dec. 23 at Baltimore 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 31 Houston 1 p.m.
TEAM STATISTICS
Jaguars|Colts
Record|3-3|2-4
Points for|26.0 (2)|19.8 (T20)
Total offense|335.5 (5)|301.2 (27)
Rushing offense|165.8 (14)|97.5 (20)
Passing offense|169.7 (5)|203.7 (26)
Points against|18.3 (7)|32.5 (32)
Total defense|311.7 (9)|410.0 (31)
Rushing defense|145.7 (31)|114.2 (19)
Passing defense|166.0 (3)|295.8 (30)
( ) – League ranking.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
JAGUARS
PASSING|Comp |Att|Yds|TD|Int|Rating
Blake Bortles|74|135|827|7|4|78.2
RUSHING |Att |Yds |Avg |Lg |TD
Leonard Fournette |109|466|4.3 |90 |4
Chris Ivory |38|159|4.2|19|0
RECEIVING |Rec |Yds |Avg |Lg |TD
Allen Hurns |18|207|11.5|20|2
Marqise Lee|15|208|13.9|35|0
DEFENSE
Tackles – Myles Jack 48, Telvin Smith 48, Calais Campbell 28, Tashaun Gipson 27 and Barry Church 27. Sacks – Campbell 8, Yannick Ngakoue 4, Dante Fowler 4, Malik Jackson 1.5 and Lerentee McCray 1.5. Interceptions – Gipson 3, Smith 2, Jalen Ramsey 2, A.J. Bouye 2. Fumble recoveries – Jack 1, Smith 1, Ngakoue 1, Fowler 1, Aaron Colvin 1 and Abry Jones 1.
INJURIES
Out – C Brandon Linder (illness). Questionable – RB Leonard Fournette (ankle), FS Tashaun Gipson (neck) and WR Marqise Lee (knee).
COLTS
PASSING|Comp |Att|Yds|TD|Int|Rating
Jacoby Brissett|98|164|1,209|3|3|81.1
RUSHING |Att |Yds |Avg |Lg |TD
Frank Gore|85|288|3.4|21|2
Marlon Mack|27|130|4.8|35|2
RECEIVING |Rec |Yds |Avg |Lg |TD
TY Hilton|25|485|19.4|63|1
Jack Doyle|24|213|8.9|31|1
DEFENSE
Tackles – Jon Bostic 45, Matthias Farley 41, John Simon 37, Antonio Morrison 32 and Rashaan Melvin 28. Sacks – Simon 3, Jabaal Sheard 2.5 and Nate Hairston 2. Interceptions – Malik Hooker 3, Melvin 2, Farley 1 and Simon 1.
INJURIES
Out – QB Andrew Luck (shoulder) and ILB Anthony Walker (hamstring). Questionable – DB T.J. Green (hamstring), TE Darrell Daniels (knee) and C Ryan Kelly (knee).
PREDICTIONS
RYAN O’HALLORAN
JAGUARS 27, COLTS 17
A gigantic point of the season for the Jaguars, who have the better personnel than the Colts and can improve to 2-0 in division road games. The defense posts four sacks and three takeaways and the Jaguars go into the bye 4-3.
Season record: 1-5
JOHN REID
JAGUARS 31, COLTS 10
Haven’t made a correct pick all season and blaming it on the Jaguars, who have been on this pattern of win-lose. They lost this past Sunday to the Los Angeles Rams, so this is the week to pick the Jaguars to beat the Colts on the road.
Season record: 0-6
PHILLIP HEILMAN
JAGUARS 24, COLTS 10
The game-changing Jaguars defense shows up and harasses Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett into two turnovers. Marqise Lee gets into the end zone for the first time this season to pace the Jaguars’ offense.
Season record: 0-6