Jaguars vs. Colts: Week 1 Staff Predictions
The Jacksonville Jaguars are one more sleep away from one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history.
On Sunday, the Jaguars will kick off the 2023 season on the road vs. a bitter AFC South rival in the Indianapolis Colts. But do the Jaguars pull off the expected win or fall short in an upset? Let the Jaguar Report staff tell you below.
John Shipley
Prediction: I don't think this is a game the Jaguars are just going to absolutely cruise through, but I also don't think the Colts have the secondary to keep up with the Jaguars' offense. I expect Anthony Richardson to make things interesting at times with explosive plays, but ultimately it will be hard for a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach to keep pace with Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson. Jaguars win a game that might be close at halftime, but they pull away with in the second half.
Jaguars 30, Colts 17.
Kyle Nash
Prediction: If there were a time for the Jags to turn a streak of one win in the past 10 trips around, it would be this Sunday. The Colts feature a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback while relying on youth all over the rest of the roster. And that’s not even accounting for whatever weird effects of the public feud between Jonathon Taylor and the franchise is taking place on the Colts’ morale.
DeForest Buckner and Shaq Leonard are definitely forces to be reckoned with, but should the offensive line handle their business in the interior, Trevor Lawrence should be able to help Calvin Ridley throw a fantastic coming out party that the running back corps should be able to help clean up in the fourth quarter to run out the clock in a 24-10 Jacksonville victory for a great tune-up game for Anton Harrison and Walker Little.
Jaguars 24, Colts 10.
Evan Reier
Prediction: This one shouldn’t be close, but it’s Week 1 so there’s probably going to be mistakes. The Colts defense ought to keep them around in the first half, but Lawrence is going to throw his first touchdown to Calvin Ridley and the offensive firepower will overwhelm Indy.
Jaguars 27, Colts 10.
Jackson Dilullo
Prediction: Both the Colts and the Jaguars are teams in transition this season, though both with drastically different goals in mind. The Colts are transitioning to the Anthony Richardson era minus their most impactful playmaker, Jonathan Taylor, for at least the season’s first four weeks, while the Jaguars appeared primed for playoff success in a year that they hope will establish Trevor Lawrence as one of the league’s best passers.
Expect the loss of Da’Von Hamilton to hurt in the early going as the defense begins to find their footing, but a tough day for the Colts through the air thanks in part to the Jaguars bolstered secondary and early-career struggles from Richardson. The Jaguars offense will be the difference-maker in this one, as I expect quarterback Trevor Lawrence and co. to produce early and often. The connection between newly-acquired wideout Calvin Ridley and Lawrence will shine especially bright, as the pair will combine for multiple scores.
Jaguars 31, Colts 20.
Daniel Griffis
Prediction: The Jaguars enter the 2023 season as the division favorites, likely set to see three rookie quarterbacks from all three division rivals at some point throughout the year. They’ll see their first this weekend with former Florida Gator phenom Anthony Richardson set to make his NFL debut. While Richardson is no doubt a threat both as a passer and as a rusher, if Jacksonville can force the rookie to make some mistakes and capitalize off of those, we should see a comfortable Jaguars victory. The Colts secondary is susceptible so look out for a huge game from Calvin Ridley. The Jags win this one and return home undefeated to face Kansas City in Week 2.
Jaguars 31, Colts 17.
Zach Schultz
Prediction: I think the offense comes out on a mission Sunday looking to prove they belong at the top of the AFC. Gus Bradley’s defense just doesn’t have the talent to stack up to what Trevor Lawrence and company are bringing to town. My one concern for this team would be the defense. They have legitimate question marks on that side of the ball still. Fortunately for them, it’s Anthony Richardson’s first career start and we all expect him to struggle early in his development throwing the ball. They are without their best player on offense in Johnathan Taylor and the offense as a whole just doesn’t pose a huge threat right now. Jags win 31-16
Jaguars 31, Colts 16.
Arnav Sharma
Prediction: It’s always hard to put faith in a rookie quarterback in their first career start — even a phenom like Anthony Richardson. At the most basic level, he has the raw firepower to make a dent in the Jaguars’ defense. On top of that, Richardson showed impressive mental acuity in preseason, making at-line adjustments complemented by tight-window throws. However, the absence of running back Jonathan Taylor will make the Colts’ offense significantly more one dimensional, even with Richardson’s ability to threaten on the ground. This should allow the Jaguars to play with lighter personnel, making Richardson’s passing debut a bit more difficult.
Whatever Jacksonville lacks in a defensive presence should be more than compensated by the offense. On paper this Jaguars attack has all the tools to be one of the most dominant in the league. While establishing a formal ground game will still be difficult with defensive stalwarts DeForest Buckner and Shaquille Leonard in the front seven, the Indianapolis secondary shouldn’t be able to keep up with Jacksonville’s aerial game. Calvin Ridley is poised for a Duval debut to remember.
While divisional matchups are always a crapshoot, the difference in roster quality is just too much to ignore.
Jaguars 31, Colts 17.
