Colts vs. Jaguars: Indianapolis, Grades, Notes and Quotes

For so long it seemed like the Colts were unbeatable against the AFC South. With a league record of 16 straight wins against division opponents, Indianapolis had used its dominance of the Jaguars, Titans and Texans to make playoff runs in recent years.

But by early in the third quarter, something that has been manifesting all year became abundantly clear: This isn’t the same Colts team it has been in the last few seasons. And with that came a seemingly inevitable loss to an AFC South opponent, in this case the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After jumping out to a 13-3 lead before halftime with a fumble recovered for a touchdown, the Colts allowed Jacksonville to get back into the game and pull away with a string of quick, odd touchdown plays.

A fumble recovery before the half, an 80-yard strike that was poorly covered by the safety and a punt return saw the Jaguars take a 51-16 victory, meaning the Colts will have to wait with bated breath to see if Houston can upset the Patriots on Sunday night and jump it for the division lead.

Here’s a look at what went on during the Colts' second straight embarrassing defeat.

Position Grades for Indianapolis

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Quarterbacks: D

This isn’t entirely on Matt Hasselbeck, because he was dealing with constant pressure from the Jaguars pass rush, but he looked very much a backup quarterback instead of the player he was through his first four starts.

Something seemed off for the veteran quarterback, with far too many missed passes, poor reads and an inability to feel pressure from behind contributing to an ineffective Colts offense and another defeat.

Running Backs: B-

The Colts clearly were hoping to maintain a much more balanced offensive attack against the Jaguars than they had done in recent weeks, and while the quarterbacks didn’t quite live up to their side of the bargain, Frank Gore and the running backs played well.

Zurlon Tipton did a good job as a receiver out of the backfield, while Gore worked with what he was given—which wasn’t much—and ended up putting together a decent workhorse performance despite the huge defeat.

Wide Receivers: A

It might sound odd that in the same game Hasselbeck struggled through and left to Charlie Whitehurst, who played much worse, the Indianapolis wide receivers still had an outstanding game.

T.Y. Hilton is an absolute monster and remains one of the league’s best receivers after another huge game, while Donte Moncrief bounced back with a strong performance compared to the week before.

Tight Ends: F

After a week of Dwayne Allen discussing how he hasn’t lived up to expectations to this point in the season, he manages just two catches for negative yards. Coby Fleener is usually the savior of the Colts tight ends, but even he had a bad game against the Jaguars.

Hasselbeck did miss a wide-open Fleener in the first half that would have resulted in a big gain or a score, but overall the duo played their worst game this year and weren’t at all a part of the offense.

Offensive Line: D

It might not be this simple, but the Colts aren’t going to find much success in the league moving forward if the offensive line doesn’t improve this offseason.

The team has been able to cover the cracks for years, but all of it came to a head this year and the offense has struggled as a result. Hasselbeck, and Luck before him, couldn’t find any time to progress through his reads having to throw the ball earlier than he wanted, killing any offensive success the Colts could have had.

Defensive Line: C

It was all about the pass rush for the defensive line, which has been up-and-down all year and continued that trend to the extreme Sunday against the Jaguars.

A great first half was followed by a terrible second half, with the pass rush disappearing entirely and the run game finding holes that weren’t there earlier in the game. The line was the standout defensive unit, but that wasn’t saying much against Jacksonville.

Linebackers: C-

Were it not for some pretty atrocious tackling by the linebackers against the run game, this grade probably would have been a lot higher.

While the linebackers were active in the pass rush, a rare occasion to this point in the season, and were usually in position to stop the run, they couldn’t bring down T.J. Yeldon on first contact, which kept Jacksonville drives alive.

Defensive Backs: D

Injuries are starting to pile up for the Colts defensive backs, but that still isn’t an excuse for another terrible outing against the Jaguars. Things were going all right through the first half, but then the second half started and everyone was reminded of how bad the secondary can be.

On Jacksonville’s opening drive of the second half, Dwight Lowery attempted to jump a receiver, allowing a long touchdown for Allen Hurns that turned the game around entirely. Even if the pass rush was better this week, the secondary proved they hold some of the blame for the team’s struggles against the pass.

Special Teams: C

It was a typical game for the Colts special teams. Pat McAfee was having a phenomenal day, Adam Vinatieri refused to miss any kick and overall things were going well for the best kicking unit in the league.

But the punt return for a touchdown the special teams allowed in the third quarter all but sealed the Colts' fate and was unforgivable from a unit that has had its deficiencies stopping returns at times.

Colts Pass Rush Proves Just How Important It Is

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The biggest critique of the Colts last week was their inability to get pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. When a quarterback of his capabilities is given unlimited time to pick out his receivers, it will more often than not result in an ugly loss.

So with Blake Bortles the team’s next opponent, many were wondering if things were going to get ugly for a second straight week, especially if the Colts couldn’t find a way to pressure the quarterback.

In the first half, though, the Colts found ways to get pressure on Bortles and kept the Jaguars offense in check throughout. With three sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries, the pass rush in the opening 20 minutes was exactly what the coaching staff wanted to see.

But after halftime things turned around quickly, and so did the game. As the Jaguars gained more and more momentum, it became harder and harder for the Colts to get pressure on Bortles, who was allowed to pick apart the suspect secondary.

Indianapolis has yet to find a way to deal with it when the pass rush isn’t there, and against Jacksonville the Colts showed what they are capable of with and without pressure on the quarterback.

Pass Protection Regresses Big Time

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

But while the pass rush was a relative success for the Colts against the Jaguars for at least half the game, the same cannot be said for the offensive line when it comes to pass protection.

Things hadn’t been bad in recent weeks for the Colts when it came to keeping pressure off of Hasselbeck, but against the Jaguars the struggles returned and looked to be worse than ever. Outside of throwing the ball down the field with quick tosses, the veteran quarterback spent far too much time avoiding pressure instead of finding his receivers.

At the end of the first half, the Colts had a chance to extend a 13-3 lead after a fumble return had the ball in Jaguar territory but gave the ball right back when Jacksonville brought pressure, forcing a fumble of Hasselbeck and taking it in for a score.

Another moment early in the third quarter saw Hasselbeck flattened by heavy pressure and have to step out for a couple of plays. Although he would return—and then leave again after scrambling for a first down—it was a warning sign of what can happen when pass protection is as bad as the Colts' is right now.

With Andrew Luck’s return right around the corner, Indianapolis can’t afford to let its quarterback face that kind of pressure or another injury is all but inevitable. They have tried a number of different rotations, but the Colts just can’t get things right on the offensive line.

Andrew Luck Needs to Come Back Soon

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

When Hasselbeck slammed his helmet on the sideline after a hit that wasn’t late but wasn’t necessary, the Colts fans in Jacksonville had to catch their breath for a moment.

From the look of his frustration and the fact that he didn’t return for the rest of the game, it was clear Hasselbeck was hurt and was once again not 100 percent to play next Sunday, leaving the possibility for a Charlie Whitehurst start, which is a scary prospect.

Fortunately, this comes right as Luck is expected to make his return, although he is still listed as week-to-week, a welcome sign for a Colts team that is reeling after back-to-back blowout defeats.

Hasselbeck also struggled for the second straight week, rendering the discussions of him replacing Luck in the starting lineup even sillier now than they were at the time. Whitehurst was also terrible in relief, going 2-of-8 for eight yards, showing how much the Colts need their franchise player back.

There is no guarantee things get better with how badly the offensive line is playing, but Luck under center gives the team a higher ceiling than any other player, which is all the team can ask for at this point.

Robert Mathis on the Team’s Performance

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

This has been an incredibly disappointing season for the Indianapolis Colts, going from a dark-horse Super Bowl contender to losing back-to-back games by 35 points and suddenly out of playoff position.

The team isn’t quite as good as many expected it to be, but according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, linebacker Robert Mathis thinks the team is capable of much more than it has been showing recently:

"

Robert Mathis: "We're a hell of a lot better team than we showed today. We just gotta ... dammit ... do it."

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) December 13, 2015"

With the defense unable to stop anyone and the offense completely stagnating, the Colts need to turn things around quickly or they might have to kiss their playoff streak goodbye.

Chuck Pagano on Andrew Luck’s Status

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

On its own, the Colts' loss to the Jaguars would have been a tough pill to swallow for a majority of fans, but add to that a potential injury to Hasselbeck, who left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter, and things get even worse.

But there is a glimmer of hope for the Indianapolis faithful: They might not need Hasselbeck to be healthy next week, with Luck getting closer and closer to a return. According to Keefer, though, coach Chuck Pagano doesn’t know when his star quarterback will return just yet:

"

Of Andrew Luck's status for next Sunday, Pagano: "Don't know. Soon as the doctors tell us he's healthy and ready to go, you guys will know."

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) December 13, 2015"

Even though Hasselbeck started the season with a better record than Luck, recent weeks have shown just how much the Colts need their superstar leader back with the offense falling off a cliff against the Steelers and Jaguars.

T.Y. Hilton on Red-Zone Struggles

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Similar to how they did against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, the Indianapolis Colts were given a number of opportunities early in the game to score big chunks of points and force teams to chase them instead of the other way around, but they never managed to take advantage.

Having to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns in the red zone, the extra points for the Colts could have changed the game and kept things close enough to possibly change the outcome. According to Kevin Bowen of Colts.com, T.Y. Hilton has noticed the troubling trend and knows what the result will be if the Colts keep it up:

"

T.Y. Hilton on the recent red-zone struggles: "If we keep kicking field goals, we are going to be sitting at home at the end of Week 17.”

— Kevin Bowen (@KBowenColts) December 13, 2015"

Getting Andrew Luck back should help with the red-zone issues, especially if he can help the tight ends bounce back, but it is hard to imagine the Colts getting out of their funk if they can’t get into the end zone more often.