Jaguars end season on a high note in 38-20 victory over Colts

The final game of the Jaguars regular season did not disappoint as they showed the fight, hunger, and spirit that was needed for the past several weeks. For the first time since week two of 2018 against the New England Patriots the Jaguars scored 31 or more points as they defeated the Colts 38-20 in their final home game of the season.

The Jaguars have not lost to the Colts at home since 2014, and are now 7-0 in season finale games at home.

The Jaguars today got off to a bizarre start offensively as they were out-gained by the Colts 145-49 as the Colts got off to a drawn out 10-3 score.

The Jaguars would take off offensively in the second quarter as rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II completed 11 out of 17 of his passes for a touchdown and an interception. With a score of 13-20 in the Colts favor, the Jaguars would go on to score 25 unanswered to secure the week 17 victory.

With 13:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars had an incredibly strange exchange occurred as Minshew II was pressured on a third-and-eight letting out what appeared to be an incomplete pass as it fluttered to the ground and bounced around.

After recovering the football beyond the first down marker, the refs blew the play dead and appeared to be siding with the latter ruling of an incomplete pass until Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone challenged the play giving Minshew II a fumble, but the Jaguars the ball on their own 26 yard line and new life in the form of fresh downs.

The Jaguars’ success mainly came in the second half as they would score 25 unanswered, including a fumble recovery for a touchdown by defensive lineman Calais Campbell. The Jaguars defensive line combined today for three sacks, seven quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles.

Minshew II ended the day completing 27 out of 39 of his passes for three touchdowns and an interception. The rookie’s best performance since week eight against the New York Jets.

Jaguars defensive lineman Bryan played perhaps his most complete game as a member of the Jaguars today netting four tackles, one sack, one tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hit on the day.

Another milestone today hit for second-year wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. as he surpassed 1,000 yards on the season with a four-catch 34-yard game against the Colts today. Chark Jr. and running back Leonard Fournette became just the fourth running back-receiver duo to have 1,000-plus yards in their respective categories in franchise history, and the first since Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith in 2004.

The Jaguars played their most complete game of the season today, which will end up netting them a 6-10 season. The team will now officially be selecting ninth overall and 20th overall (LA Rams) in the 2020 NFL Draft. With the remaining story line of whether or not head coach Doug Marrone will remain the team’s head coach beyond this season left in limbo, the Jaguars will enjoy one final victory at TIAA Bank Field.