National Football League

Colts' season ends in disaster in Jacksonville

Updated Jan. 9, 2022 10:55 p.m. ET

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What a difference a day can make.

On Saturday, the Indianapolis Colts were on the mountaintop, well aware of the playoff run they and their MVP-caliber running back could make once they took care of the lowly 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars.

Come Sunday, the Colts were completely deflated, buried in infamy and sent into a premature offseason after the Jags crushed them in an avalanche-like storm.

Indy entered the contest as a 15-point favorite over its opponent, and most oddsmakers predicted that the team would barnstorm Jacksonville en route to a postseason berth.

Entering the matchup, Jacksonville's defense was one of the worst in the league on paper, and it had recorded just six interceptions in its first 16 games (second-fewest league-wide), while Colts QB Carson Wentz had relinquished just three in his previous eight starts. Wentz had been commendable against the Jags in his career, tossing 466 yards, three TDs and one interception in two career starts. 

Trevor Lawrence and the Jags' offense, meanwhile, had amassed a surplus of 300 yards just once in the past five weeks (they were held under 200 yards twice) and had given away 10 turnovers. They were fresh off a 50-10 beatdown at the hands of the New England Patriots.

Sunday proved to be a sheer anomaly for both sides.

Wentz was abominable in the first half, tossing one incompletion after another, as Indy registered a turnover on its first drive, settled for three on its second and went three-and-out to close the first half.

Calamity continued for No. 2 in the second half. He fumbled in his own territory on the team's first drive, which resulted in three points for Jacksonville. He followed that turnover with an interception.

Indy turned the ball over on downs twice more before finally scoring its first TD with 4:26 remaining in the fourth quarter. That score and the ensuing two-point conversion came far too late to matter, and Indy's offense walked off the field with just 11 points to its name in the decisive final game.

Jonathan Taylor remained relatively absent as well. Normally a stat sheet-stuffer, Taylor amassed 77 yards on the ground, his lowest total since Week 8. Throughout the season, his numbers were directly attached to Indy's winning chances: They're 0-7 when he fails to eclipse 100 yards and 9-1 in the opposite case.

Jacksonville, on the other hand, solved its prior offensive shortcomings with a 26-point masterpiece. Lawrence was fiery from the jump, leading a 12-play, 75-yard scoring expedition that resulted in six on the team's opening drive. He threw his second TD pass of the day to Marvin Jones Jr. late in the third quarter and finished perhaps his most impressive performance of the season with 223 yards on a 23-for-32 clip with a 111.9 QB rating. The Jags scored on six of their nine drives. 

Jacksonville moved to 4-0 at home against Indianapolis in their past four matchups, even though they're just 5-21 at home against all other teams. Sunday brought their first double-digit win since Week 17 of 2019 (a 38-20 victory over the Colts).

For Indy, questions are swirling after the team not only lost but also did so in dreadful fashion.

The Colts lost the turnover battle by two, which marked their second-worst turnover margin of the season. They also failed to register a takeaway for just the second time all season after entering Sunday with the league's second-best total in that category, with 33.

Their defensive woes, coupled with their offensive failures, have summed together to create a one-way ticket to a home theater seat for the playoffs. Owner Jim Irsay's "win now" ploy came back to bite his team in the worst way.

Wentz doesn't look like a franchise centerpiece. T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle could be retiring. The Colts need help at receiver to assist 1,000-yard man Michael Pittman Jr.

And, oh yeah, they need a starting left tackle, which could be much more difficult to acquire in next year's draft after the Wentz trade gave Philadelphia the Colts' first-round rights.

The Colts are now finished for this season, and it could get worse: This season might not be the only one impacted by Sunday's loss to Jacksonville. 

There's a reason they play the games.

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Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

National Football League

NFL - Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars - 01/09/2022

Carson Wentz

Jonathan Taylor

Trevor Lawrence