Colts Rediscover Their True Philosophy: Crushing Other AFC South Teams

The Indianapolis Colts ran the ball down Jacksonville's throat, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Trent Richardson vaguely resembled the type of running back Indianapolis thought he was when they traded for him, mixing in some really impressive gains. The philosophy that these current Indianapolis Colts are founded on succeeded.

Oh, you thought we were talking about the run-first, ask-questions-later mentality that failed the Colts against both Philadelphia and Denver? No, no. We were talking about the real foundation that these Colts are founded on: playing the AFC sunbelt all-stars in their division. 

Team	DVOA	DAVE	Week 3 Result
TEN	5.5% (14)	-2.9% (20)	L 33-7 @ CIN
HOU	0.1% (18)	-6.8% (24)	L 30-17 @ NYG
IND	-30.8% (28)	-8.8% (26)	W 44-17 @ JAX
JAX	-53.1% (32)	-23.6% (32)	L 17-44 v. IND

The Colts got healthy by doing what they've done for most of the Andrew Luck era: feeding on the cupcakes of the AFC South.

The Jaguars were down 30-0 before the first half was over, under a deluge of barely-covered passes to tight ends (both Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen caught touchdowns) and an offensive line that pushed around the Jacksonville front seven. Chad Henne was sacked three times by a team that had one total sack in its first two games. In one half. 

The Jaguars turned to Blake Bortles in the second half, and he provided some big plays in garbage time against a highly flammable defense. By then, it was too late to undo the buttkicking that had already unfolded. 

Let it not be lost on the Colts that this was a win built on the pass, rather than the run. Andrew Luck was 22-of-27 for 244 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Henne was 4-of-7 for 33 yards. That, not the rushing attack, was the reason the Colts were able to build such a dramatic lead. Not that Chuck Pagano and Pep Hamilton will ever find that message under their pile of 1980s' catchphrases. 

As I pointed out last week, the Colts were bound to rebound from this 0-2 start. They have an incredibly easy schedule over the rest of the season. Only home dates against the Bengals and Patriots loom as real tests for Indianapolis. 

More importantly, this was a huge weekend for the Colts because the rest of the AFC South's collective reaction to their stumble was to hot potato any thoughts of contending away from them as quickly as possible. The Jaguars couldn't even compete against a team with zero pass rush. The Titans were thoroughly spanked in Cincinnati, and the Texans bandwagon started taking some bumps as soon as Ryan Fitzpatrick was made to play from behind. 

Tennessee, which is next on the docket for the Colts, allowed Andy Dalton to catch a touchdown this week. They've watched Jake Locker morph into an egg after a good first start against the Chiefs. Starting cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson committed four penalties against the Bengals, and the defensive tackling still seems to be an adventure.

Is it concerning that the Colts seem to lose a quality player in every game? Sure. T.Y. Hilton's ankle injury will be a story to watch coming out of this game. 

But as long as the Colts have Luck, their game plan to win the AFC South is better than any other one out there. Even if it is merely by default. 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.