Jaguars vs. Colts: Indianapolis Grades, Notes and Quotes
Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Jason Myers missed a pair of game-winning field goals—one in overtime and one at the end of regulation—and the Indianapolis Colts survived a rough day to win their second straight game in Week 4.
With no Andrew Luck and a poor performance from Frank Gore, Indianapolis was forced to rely on Matt Hasselbeck and its deep receiving corps to make the difference in the AFC South clash. It wasn’t pretty, but the veteran did just enough to power the team to victory in the absence of their superstar quarterback.
A fumble by Gore into the end zone that cost the Colts a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter was the last semblance of offense Indianapolis would see before the game-winning drive, as the team was given chance after chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter and overtime but sputtered to three straight three-and-outs.
A pair of big plays were enough on the final drive, though, to secure the win as Indianapolis improved to 2-2, with both wins coming against AFC South opponents.
The Colts will look to complete the trifecta against a Texans team that is coming off a 48-21 loss against the Atlanta Falcons and is dealing with its own quarterback issues. Indianapolis proved it can win without Luck, but through four games the team hasn’t looked as good as many expected and is lucky to be at .500 right now.
Position Grades for Colts
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Position | Grade |
QB | B+ |
RB | D |
WR | B |
TE | B |
OL | C |
DL | B |
LB | C+ |
DB | D |
Special Teams | A |
Coaching | C |
The story of the day against Jacksonville was how Indianapolis would perform without its star quarterback, but after a long and successful career, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Hasselbeck played well in relief duty. He put up decent numbers and did just enough to help Indianapolis secure its second straight victory.
It was supposed to be the Frank Gore show without Luck in for the Colts, but the veteran running back was mostly shut down by Jacksonville. Unable to get anything going throughout, the running back also fumbled the ball inside the 5-yard line for the second time this year, costing the Colts a chance at taking the lead.
The receivers had another good day, as is expected at this point, and made things easier on Hasselbeck, but the real standout in the passing game was Coby Fleener. After a drop on his first target of the game, the tight end turned things around and had his best game of the season so far.
Week 4 was actually a slight improvement in pass protection for the Colts offensive line, who did a slightly better job of protecting Hasselbeck than they have Luck this year. But after making strides in Week 3 in run blocking, against the Jaguars things were worse than they have been all season, with holes never materializing for Gore.
On the other side of the ball, the linebackers and defensive line both had decent games, as they have all season, but the pass rush was once again almost completely absent until late as the Colts sold out to help their struggling cornerbacks. At one point on third down in the third quarter, Indianapolis only rushed two players hoping to prevent a conversion. It didn’t work, as without a pass rush Blake Bortles could make whatever throw he wanted.
The return of Darius Butler to the secondary was supposed to be at least a slight improvement over where things have been so far this year, but Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson were the latest pair of receivers to have no trouble against the Colts. Butler was terrible, Vontae Davis struggled, Jalil Brown got hurt and the safeties were almost non-existent.
For the first time this season, the special teams looked as good as billed, with Pat McAfee his usual self in the punting game and Adam Vinatieri finally breaking through and kicking his first field goal of the season.
Andrew Luck Sits, Matt Hasselbeck Steps in
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For the first time in his three year career in the NFL, Andrew Luck was not the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, being forced to sit out with a shoulder injury. Enter veteran Matt Hasselbeck, who took the reins with the hope of getting another win against the AFC South.
After having three of his first four passes dropped, Hasselbeck turned things around with the help of his receivers and led the Colts to a decent offensive performance through the air.
The running attack was largely inept throughout, forcing Hasselbeck to throw early and often. With T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief putting in solid performances and Coby Fleener stepping up, the Colts were able to secure a much-needed victory.
Hasselbeck did what Luck hasn’t done at all this season by not throwing an interception in the game and looked more efficient than the former No. 1 overall pick, who has been off his game all season.
It will be curious to see how long Luck is out with his injury now that the Colts know they have a more than capable backup who can win games if their star is still feeling pain in his shoulder during practice next week.
Another Week, Another Injured Cornerback
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You just can’t make this stuff up anymore. After getting Darius Butler back from injury against the Jaguars, it took less than a quarter for the Colts to lose yet another cornerback.
Jalil Brown, who has been starting in place of the injured Greg Toler and Butler for the past couple of weeks, was taken to the locker room midway through the first quarter against Jacksonville, leaving Indianapolis with just three healthy cornerbacks in Butler, Davis and Josh Thomas.
Although Davis has yet to miss a start this year, he missed a half against the Jets in Week 2 with a concussion. Toler looks no closer to returning after a week without contact in practice, and Butler did not look to be much of an improvement over Brown.
Unless Thomas is a star and no one knows it yet, the Colts' cornerback situation is bad and doesn’t look to be getting better anytime soon with even Davis taking a step back from where he was last season.
A big matchup against Tom Brady and the Patriots looms large in two weeks, and unless the Colts can figure out some sort of a solution to their secondary problems it could be another ugly outcome for Indianapolis.
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Frank Gore Takes Huge Step Back
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Luck was ruled out of the game early Sunday morning, which led many to believe that the Colts would lean on their workhorse running back, Frank Gore, to pick up the slack against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Coming off of a big game against the Titans, it was a fair assumption to make. Gore finally looked comfortable in the Indianapolis offense and should have seen an increased role against Jacksonville.
His first carry went for five yards, which is not a bad start. After that, however, there wasn’t much running room for Gore, who struggled to get going and fumbled into the end zone in the fourth quarter to cost Indianapolis a shot at taking the lead. The 22-yard carry in overtime made up for that mistake slightly, but it wasn’t enough to wipe away the bad taste.
A big factor was the crowding of the line by Jacksonville and a poor run-blocking game by the offensive line, but after averaging more than six yards per carry in Week 3, the Colts expected Gore to have another big game, and he did not deliver.
All problems for the Colts offense can be charged to the offensive line this year, but Gore hasn’t helped as much as needed. Indianapolis has a lot to figure out offensively, and you can add the running game back to that list.
Chuck Pagano on the Win
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It has to be said the Colts were lucky to get their second win of the season against Jacksonville on Sunday. A pair of missed field goals and a fumbled snap that took the Jaguars out of field-goal range in the fourth quarter and overtime cost the Jaguars the game.
But after a rough start to the season, coach Chuck Pagano isn't pulling any punches, admitting he is happy to get a win no matter how it comes, per Kevin Bowen of Colts.com:
"Chuck Pagano opens up with: “No one said it was going to be easy. We will take them however we can."
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowenColts) October 4, 2015"
Regardless of the coachspeak involved, Pagano's point is a good one. As poorly as the Colts are playing, getting a win is huge and could be the difference between a playoff spot and watching from home by the end of the year.
Pat McAfee on Adam Vinatieri Stepping Up
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The season wasn't off to a great start for Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who missed each of his first two attempts on the season. But on a day where the rest of the league saw some of the worst kicking play in memory, the Colts veteran returned to form and was the difference in the game.
A 54-yard make in the first quarter opened the scoring and a 27-yard chip shot in overtime gave the Colts their second straight win. Punter and holder Pat McAfee, who was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week last week, praised the place-kicker for his ability to step up when called upon, per Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star:
"Pat McAfee: "The reason Adam Vinatieri is Adam Vinatieri, and the reason he'll be in the Hall of Fame, is because he delivers like that."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 4, 2015"
With so many issues offensively, the Colts will be glad to have their kicker back to his best as they head into Houston for a Thursday night matchup.
Matt Hasselbeck on Getting the Start
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Losing a player as talented as Luck would doom most NFL teams, but that wasn't the case for the Colts, who turned to veteran backup Matt Hasselbeck with their star forced to sit with an injury.
Hasselbeck looked like a player reborn in the start, going 30/47 for 282 yards and a touchdown in the win. You wouldn't have been able to tell based on his play, but as Keefer reported, the veteran was getting caught up in the excitement of the moment before coming out to the field:
"Matt Hasselbeck: "I was wayyyyy too geeked up coming out of the tunnel. I couldn't even hit Frank Gore on some Pop Warner throws early."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 4, 2015"
The big day by Hasselbeck was arguably better than any Luck has put together so far this year and should give the Colts more confidence should their starter have to sit out again against Houston.
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