Colts vs. Jaguars: Final Player Grades, Analysis for Indianapolis

Final Score: 

Indianapolis: 27, Jacksonville: 10

The Colts came up with a big win in Jacksonville Thursday night, their first double digit win of the season. The win puts them at 6-3 and in firm position to get a playoff spot. 

It was a complete team performance tonight, taking advantage of a poor Jacksonville squad to get the big road win. 

Keep this slideshow open throughout the game, as it will be updated with grades every quarter and individual post-game player grades. 

Quarterbacks

Andrew Luck: B+

While it wasn't Luck's best performance of the season, he did exactly what the Colts needed him to do to win this week. 

Luck was a little risky, throwing into tight windows and with defenders in his face. It led to some great plays and big yardage, but it also led to an interception in the second half, and a few other passes that very easily could have been intercepted. Nevertheless, his quick advancement as a rookie is what allows the Colts' offense to be as advanced as it is, and as explosive as it is. 

Luck finished with a line of 18/26 for 227 yards, an interception, and two rushing touchdowns. His five rushing touchdowns for the season is one behind league leader Robert Griffin III.

Running Backs

Vick Ballard: A-

Ballard had his most impressive game of the season running the ball in my opinion. His cuts were sharp, he had good vision, and he ran hard all night. He's been very versatile this season, and has had his moments, but this week felt like his breakthrough in running the football. He finished with 48 yards on 12 carries. 

Donald Brown: C+

I wanted to see more from Brown tonight. Granted, a large portion of his carries came when the Colts had a lead and were trying to grind the clock out, but Brown looked a step slower than usual tonight. Props to him for running hard in a lot of traffic, but I would like to see more cuts from him as the most agile back on the roster. 

Wide Receivers

Reggie Wayne: A

What can you say about Wayne that hasn't already been said? He is the go-to guy every week, and the opposing team still hasn't figured out how to stop him. He finished with eight catches for 96 yards, continuing his 5-catch, 70-yard streak that has gone on all season. If he didn't have a drop early in the game, this would be an A+. 

Donnie Avery: B

Avery continues to be inconsistent, as he has all season. After a fantastic catch in the second quarter for 44 yards, Avery was fairly quiet. He got another chance at a big play in the second half, as Luck placed a perfect throw over the top, but Avery dropped the easy catch. He finished with four catches for 65 yards. 

T.Y. Hilton: C

Hilton was quiet for most of the game, and failed to get a catch on the night. He did get involved on the ground though, with two end-around runs that went for 19 and 11 yards.

LaVon Brazill: C

Brazill had a great 21-yard catch-and-run on a slant play, but later had a drop on third down. But, Brazill has shown the speed and ability to be a valuable asset for the future. 

Tight Ends

Dwayne Allen: A-

Allen only had two catches tonight, but 31 yards, including a 27-yard gain in the third quarter to keep moving the chains and keep the clock moving. Allen continues to show good blocking skills as well as the athleticism to make plays in the passing game. 

Wesley Saunders: C-

Saunders is just a guy, filling in in blocking situations until Coby Fleener can get back on the active gameday roster. He blocked okay tonight, but he's not anything long term, and doesn't play like it. 

Offensive Line

Anthony Castonzo: B+

This seemed like one of the better games for Castonzo, who got out in the run game early blocking downfield. He kept Luck relatively clean from blindside pressure, similarly to the last time the Colts played the Jaguars. 

Joe Reitz: B

Reitz did a good job in run blocking, always seeming to be out in front on any downfield play. Reitz did give up a sack in pass protection, but was pretty clean for most of the day. 

A.Q. Shipley: C-

Shipley did not impress in his second start of the season, he just isn't quite athletic enough to get out on screens or draws, nor is he big enough to stone some defensive tackles.

Mike McGlynn: C+

The night started out poorly for him, as his ineptitude aided in a Luck sack on third down in the redzone in the first quarter. McGlynn, as usual, also didn't get much push in the run game. Fortunately, he settled down as the game went on. 

Jeff Linkenbach: D+

Link reminded Colts fans why he failed at right tackle last season, giving up two sacks this week, including a sack-fumble combo in the second half.  

Defensive Line

Cory Redding: C

Redding didn't provide much from a pass rush point of view for most of the game, but he did have a tipped pass at the line that led to the game-clinching interception, the Colts' third turnover of the night. 

Drake Nevis: Inc.

Nevis left the game early in the first half, and was inconsistent prior to that point, getting blown backwards on a short first down conversion, but also getting a stop on the next play. 

Fili Moala: B-

Moala seemed more involved this week than he has all year, getting penetration in the run and pass defense. He got several hurries on Blaine Gabbert, as well as a couple penetrations against the run that don't show up on the stat sheet, but forced running plays to fall apart. 

Antonio Johnson: B

Any time your defensive line contains a running attack to under three yards per carry, your nose tackle gets a good grade for the day. I didn't specifically watch Johnson, but I also didn't notice him getting dominated like we often have this season. 

Linebackers

Jerrell Freeman: B-

Freeman had a better game this week than he did against MIA, where he was just lost. He got involved early by flying around and making tackles, helping stymie the Jaguars' running game. The Colts' big lead meant that there was not much running going on by Jacksonville, so Freeman didn't rack up the stats, and he wasn't great in coverage. Nevertheless, a positive game for him. 

Moise Fokou: A-

Fokou played a lot against JAX, due to his role as a nickel linebacker. He played hard, easily the most ferocious hitter for the Colts on the night. He only finished with 2 tackles (according to NFL.com, which may be revised), but he also had a pass defense and a forced fumble. 

Jerry Hughes: B+

The Colts were getting consistent pressure on Blaine Gabbert this week, and a lot of that was due to Jerry Hughes, who had a nice game after two poor weeks in a row. Hughes finished with two tackles, a sack, and three quarterback hits. 

Dwight Freeney: C+

I give Freeney a C because he once again failed to show up on the stat sheet, finishing without so much as a quarterback hit. However, as I said with Hughes, the Colts were able to get pressure on Gabbert, and that was partially because of both outside linebackers. 

Secondary

Cassius Vaughn: C-

Vaughn continues to be a head-scratcher at corner. He'll make some plays look impressive, having tight coverage. At other times he'll make a play without even meaning to, such as using the back of his helmet to knock down passes. No matter what happens though, he always follows it up with an egregious celebration, pronouncing his dominance over the receiver. 

Darius Butler: A-

He didn't have the best coverage all night, but it's hard not to give an A to a guy who got two picks, a touchdown, and a fumble recovery on the night. 

Josh Gordy: B

He was hit with a silly illegal contact penalty early in the game, but settled down to have a pretty good game, both in coverage and other ways. He had a sack on a blitz, as well as a great hit on third down in the second half to keep the Jaguars short of the first down, forcing a punt. 

Antoine Bethea: A-

Bethea was in cleanup mode tonight, taking care of those pesky Jacksonville receivers who got past the initial wall of defense. Bethea finished the game with a team-leading seven tackles, as well as a sack.

Tom Zbikowski: C+

Zibby continues to take poor angles on plays, leading to a terrible attempt at a tackle on a 52-yard catch and run by Cecil Shorts III. However, he did have a few tackles, including a sack in the second half. 

Special Teams

Whole Unit: A

The special teams in general on Thursday night was efficient: not used much, but worked well when necessary. Adam Vinatieri had two field goal attempts on the night; both were good. Pat McAfee had three punts, two of which were downed inside the 20, one inside the five. The third punt was a 57-yard boomer that was fair caught on the Jacksonville 21. It's fair to say that he out-kicked rookie sensation Brian Anger today. 

McAfee's kickoffs were all touchbacks but one, which was returned to just the 16-yard line, a great job by the coverage team. 

Coaching

Bruce Arians: A-

Arians, while some of the playcalling is still questionable, did a great job on several levels. First, he prepared the team for a short week on the road, and got a blowout performance out of the team. Second, he challenged wisely (two challenges both overruled). Third, he finally was aggressive in the second half with a lead, which allowed them to add to their lead and milk the clock by picking up first downs. 

Greg Manusky: A-

With injuries decimating the secondary, Manusky's defense completely shut down the run, and made Blaine Gabbert try to beat them through the air. They finally got some turnovers, picking off two passes (Darius Butler returning one for a touchdown) and forcing a fumble. More encouragingly, the Colts' blitzes finally were able to land, with three defensive backs getting a sack this week. Now Manusky has a long week to prepare for Tom Brady.