Indianapolis Colts vs Jacksonville Jaguars: Beyond the Box Score

Sep 21, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) breaks free of Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Abry Jones (95) during the second quarter at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

This Indianapolis Colts team was in need of a win and they achieved one in dominating fashion over the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 44-17 win on the road.

Offense was the name of the game on Sunday with amazing performances in the pass and running games. Andrew Luck threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns while Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson combined for 122 yards on the ground. The receivers were crisp and the Jacksonville defense had no answers for this high-powered offensive attack.

A great game led to several things that Colts fans can take away from this game:

Dominant cornerback play:

Vontae Davis and Greg Toler both had incredible games against the Jaguars. Both starting CBs came away with an interception on the day, something that the Colts have been looking to get more of. In addition to the starters, the role players did well in limited time. Darius Butler, who always seems to have fantastic games against Jacksonville, was there on two pass breakups (almost interceptions). These guys didn’t have fantastic performances against Denver and Philadelphia, but showed up in Jacksonville on Sunday.

Running game still going strong:

Trent Richardson turned in his second consecutive positive performance of the year with his efforts against Jacksonville. As time goes on and Richardson’s role becomes clearer, it’s starting to become obvious that Trent won’t be a featured back in Indianapolis. However, he may have found a niche in a timeshare with Ahmad Bradshaw. He averaged just above four yards per carry, something that Trent Richardson has been striving towards for a while. Bradshaw helped out immensely by grabbing 65 yards off of nine carries. The system is working right now for this offense and the backs look good at this point in the season. If Richardson can maintain this positive running and Bradshaw stays healthy, the Colts may just have something good going in the backfield.

The offense we’d been waiting for:

When an outsider looks at the Indianapolis Colts’ receiving box score, it can be confusing and misleading that there weren’t statistical giants. That’s because the Colts were finally able to utilize the offense that they’d been building up to all offseason. The desire is to have a playmaker open on every passing down and it clicked against the Jaguars. Amazingly, the Colts had six receivers that caught at least four catches. The field was finally spread and Andrew Luck could find all of his targets. There may not be the statistical monsters of last year (i.e. T.Y. Hilton in 2013), but this offense is tough to stop in the passing game. A good running game certainly helps.

Luck has his head on straight:

Not to discredit the Colts’ offense, but the Jaguars’ defense looked terrible on Sunday. They were leaving huge playmakers like T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne wide open for first downs. Andrew Luck used his head and took advantage of a shoddy defensive effort from Jacksonville. Recently, Luck has been making some questionable decisions that lead to costly turnovers in the passing game. Against the Jaguars, Luck made only one bad decision that was eventually batted down. He went into this game with the intent of being smart and didn’t force anything.