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Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars beat Colts for first win of season: Key takeaways

7 October 2024Last Update :
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars beat Colts for first win of season: Key takeaways

Vikings vs Jets score and NFL Week 5 updates: Highlights, schedule, inactives, predictions, odds and analysis

By James Boyd, Jeff Howe and Lauren Smith

Rookie kicker Cam Little connected on a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play, and the Jacksonville Jaguars collected their first win of the 2024 season Sunday with a 37-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium.

The Jaguars, who entered the week as the NFL’s only remaining winless team, led much of the way and by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but had to hold off a late comeback bid to push their record to 1-4.

Trevor Lawrence threw for 371 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rookie Brian Thomas Jr. caught five passes for 122 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Tank Bigsby rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard run in the fourth that gave the Jaguars a 34-20 lead with 5:09 left.

The Colts (2-3) answered with back-to-back scoring drives, eventually tying the game on Joe Flacco’s 65-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with 2:40 to play, but Jacksonville responded on the next series with Little’s go-ahead field goal.

Flacco made his first start for the Colts, filling in for injured starting quarterback Anthony Richardson (oblique). Flacco threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. Pierce had three catches for 134 yards and the touchdown.

Any Jags win helps

Style points be damned, the Jaguars aren’t in a position to apologize for any type of win at this stage. They were the last team to claim a victory this season, holding off backup Flacco and surviving a late collapse in front of their home crowd.

Lawrence, on his 25th birthday, easily played his best game of 2024 and he guided the Jaguars to a game-winning field goal in the final minute. Lawrence badly needed this after the rocky start.

So, too, did Doug Pederson and a coaching staff that has come under fire due to a mistake-filled opening month that too often resembled the late collapse in 2023. While it’d be foolish to ignore the fact that Flacco led two touchdown drives in the final five minutes to erase a 34-20 deficit, the Jaguars needed any type of boost after a brutal early-season schedule.

We’ve seen what this Jaguars core is capable of accomplishing when at its best, as Jacksonville went 15-5 during a 20-game stretch from 2022 to 2023. Whether that was a tease or not remains to be seen, but the Jaguars at least have some sign of life. If they can somehow win next week in Chicago, they’ll be favored in Week 7 against the New England Patriots with a chance to build serious momentum near the midpoint of the season. Otherwise, this would be nothing more than a feel-good moment during a season that’s got no more room for error. — Jeff Howe, NFL national insider

Flacco kept Indy in it

Richardson, a Florida native, was held out Sunday at Jacksonville due to a right oblique injury. He was replaced by veteran backup Flacco, and while the Colts stalled on offense throughout the game, they made some big-time plays down the stretch in a gut-wrenching loss to the Jaguars.

After Flacco threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Pierce to tie the game with 2:40 remaining, the Jaguars’ Little nailed a game-winning, 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left on the ensuing possession.

Flacco completed his first nine passes, including a perfect 7-of-7, on the Colts’ opening drive that ended with Flacco tossing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr. However, it was tough sledding for Indianapolis for the rest of the first half. Flacco was strip-sacked just before halftime, leading to a 30-yard field goal by Little that gave Jacksonville a 13-10 lead heading into the break.

Flacco responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mo Alie-Cox early in the fourth quarter that kept Indianapolis within striking distance, trailing 20-17, before Pierce went off later in the frame. The third-year wide receiver finished with three catches, all in the fourth quarter, for 134 yards to mark the third 100-yard receiving game of his career. Flacco completed 33-of-44 pass attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns, but was sacked on the final play of the game. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer

The curse lives on

The Colts have now lost 10 straight road games against the Jaguars (including a “road” loss in London in 2016), which upholds one of the most bizarre skids in the NFL. Flacco became the eighth different starting QB for Indianapolis during this span. However, more than the different personnel under center, it’s the Colts’ defense that did them no favors.

Indianapolis surrendered a back-breaking 65-yard touchdown run to Bigsby in the fourth quarter that gave Jacksonville a 34-20 lead. He racked up 101 yards on just 13 carries. The Colts also struggled to contain Lawrence, who was not sacked or even hit in Week 5. The 2021 No. 1 pick helped snap the team’s nine-game losing streak with him as the starting QB. Lawrence, who threw an 85-yard touchdown to Thomas in the second quarter, had not won a game he started since Week 12 of last season. — Boyd

Major injury

Colts starting right guard Will Fries injured his right leg during the third quarter. It looked like an air cast was placed on his right lower leg, and Fries was eventually carted off the field. Fries was replaced by undrafted rookie Dalton Tucker. — Boyd

Required reading

  • What’s behind the Duval County curse? Analyzing the Colts’ 9-game road losing streak to Jacksonville
  • What I’m seeing from the Colts: Indy’s QB coach breaks down Anthony Richardson film and more
  • Colts don’t want to limit Anthony Richardson, but his body keeps giving them reasons to

(Photo: Courtney Culbreath / Getty Images)

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