Colts Vs. Jaguars: Five Takeaways

The Indianapolis Colts secured their first win of the season against a familiar AFC South opponent. By halftime, the Colts led the Jaguars 30-0 and finished the game  44-17. All three phases for this Colts team played excellent on Sunday and the Colts played a 60-minute game. In this article I will explain five things I saw during the Colts vs. Jaguars game.

1) Andrew Luck being Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck was almost flawless in this game. During the first drive, the Colts’ quarterback sailed a few balls high, like he tends to sometimes do. However, the Colts still managed to drive down the field for a field goal and would find a way to score on every drive in the first half. Luck finished his day completing 31 of 39 passes for 370 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Luck also had three of his eight incompletions on dropped balls,and one of those drops would have given Luck five touchdowns on the day. This is the type of day that the Colts need to consistently get from Luck if they plan on being a true contender.

2) Offensive line shining

Coming into this season, the offensive line was one of the Colts biggest concerns. You need a competent offensive line in the NFL to help protect your quarterback and the Colts need it to help establish the run game they desire. Through three games this season the new offensive line looks to be working out well. This Sunday the entire offensive line put on quite the show for the second week in a row. Andrew Luck had great protection throughout the game and the running backs were able to find some big running lanes. If this Colts offensive line can continue to grow, then the Colts have a real shot at being the best offense in the NFL.

3) Coach Pagano had the Colts ready

One thing that has always seemed weird to me about Coach Pagano is that he is more known for his motivation than his in-game coaching, but the Colts have seemed unprepared multiple times under his command. You would assume if his best asset is getting players to buy into his system and him as a person, then he would be able to have that team ready every Sunday. Yet last season there were numerous times the Colts came into a game and looked like they just didn’t want to even be there. After a failed comeback attempt and then blowing a lead in the next game, it was nice to see Pagano have his team prepared to play from whistle to whistle.

4) Rookies showing off

Zach Kerr (UDFA) had another good game, and it looks like the coaches are starting to notice his impact as well. By my count, Kerr got the most defensive snaps out of every player on the Colts roster. Part of that was the injury to Jones and the nature of the game, but once again, Kerr showed off his abilities in the opportunities given to him.  Jack Mewhort also had a really good game and showed how powerful of a downhill blocker he can be. Donte Moncrief saw an increase in playing time due to an injury to T.Y. Hilton and because the game was a blowout.  He ended up with four receptions for 55 yards. Moncrief showed off his natural talents in this game and made one of the best catches of the Colts season when he went up and got the ball on a backs shoulder throw. Sunday was a good day for the rookies and hopefully, they’ll continue to get more opportunities to grow.

5) Trent broke a big run

Coming off his best game as a Colt, if you exclude those fumbles,  Trent went back to looking like the same old player against the Jaguars. He missed holes, was late to react and had trouble getting to full speed. However, Trent did show a lot of promise on his big run of the day. On the 27-yard run by Richardson, he showed off some of the talents that have held him back from being a good running back. First off, he realizes that the play design is attacking a closed hole and he makes a nice little cut move into the correct hole. Right there he shows off the vision and decision making that have been lacking. He then actually accelerates through the hole, instead of waiting to get hit. Once he gets into the open field, he runs through an arm tackle past another defender and then drags the tackler for a few extra yards.  These are the types of runs that the Colts expected from Trent when they sent a first-round pick the Browns for him.