Keys to the Game As Jaguars Close Out Season vs. Colts
The Jacksonville Jaguars will (perhaps mercifully) conclude their 2020 season on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. At 1-14 with one game remaining, the Jags have locked up the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. Sunday is about pride for Jacksonville but the Colts are still looking to stay in the playoff picture, currently on the bubble, second in the AFC South behind the Tennessee Titans.
“Even though people on the outside are looking at it like the season’s over, this is it, but we’re not approaching it that way. We’re approaching it as it’s a big game,” said Head Coach Doug Marrone this week.
If the Jaguars want to end their season on a positive note—while messing with the postseason hopes of their division rivals and making a clean sweep—then it will take these three keys to find a win.
Play Stingy Defense
Teams evolve with the season and Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash knows they can’t go to Indianapolis with the same game plan he used to help give the Jaguars their only win of the season back in Week 1.
“I think any time you play an opponent twice, you have to change things up regardless if it’s the same players or different players, so we’ll do some things differently,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
"There are some things that worked relatively well last time we played them, but I’m sure they’re going to work and prepare against those things. So, we have to change those things up a little bit.”
Even if Wash is tweaking personnel groupings and certain looks, there are also some principles that Marrone knows need to be carried over to Week 17.
“We had two picks in that game. CJ Henderson and Andrew Wingard had two picks in the game. CJ Henderson had a bunch of pass break ups that game which really helped us. We’re going to have to play well at those positions and try to duplicate the same thing. PBU’s, turnovers, those are the things that helped us in the first game.
“They challenge your coverages, they challenge it. Philip knows where to go with the football. He knows where the weak spots are, and they do a nice job.”
Henderson won’t be available, as he’s on the IR with a groin injury. Rookie Chris Claybrooks has three breakups and will likely be leaned upon, while newly0signed Greg Mabin (three pass breakups in four games with the Jags) can step up against T.Y Hilton (3.8 catches per game) and Zach Pascal (39.2 yards per game).
Jam the Line of Scrimmage
“One of the things we’ve been talking with our group this week about is we need to get up and we need to be physical at the line of scrimmage,” revealed Wash.
“We have not done that the past couple weeks and that’s something that we have to emphasize when we go out and practice today as a coaching staff and the players obviously have to put a lot of emphasis of getting their hands on them at the line of scrimmage and trying to disrupt the timing. We all know what [Colts QB] Philips Rivers can do, so we have to be able to disrupt the timing of their passing game.”
This will be important to not only stymie Rivers and the Colts' quick passing game but also the tendency to throw screens, as Marrone points out.
“I think there’s some things that we have to do a better job of, especially in their screen game. I thought they did a really good job against us with their screens [in Week 1] and they’ve continued to do a good job throughout the year. We’re going to have to play well and then obviously with the matchups.”
The primary focus in this area will be running back Nyheim Hines. He actually leads the team in number of receptions with 57 catches. Of his 432 yards, 412 have all come after the catch and of his 7.4 yards per reception, 7.1 of them come after the catch. In other words, 95% of his receiving yardage comes after the catch, indicating typically an excellent pass catcher out of the backfield with the ability to work screens.
Focus on Hines on the edges while the front line pushes for pressure on quarterback Philip Rivers and few plays, whether pass or run, can get too far.
Lean on Dare
Jacksonville Jaguars starting running back James Robinson will miss the second week in the row with a swollen ankle. In his place will step Dare Ogunbowale again. Getting his most touches since joining the team, Ogunbowale carried the ball 14 times for 71 yards against the Chicago Bears while also adding seven yards on three receptions.
The Colts have the second-best rushing defense in the league, holding teams to 93 yards per game on the ground. But the Jaguars will rely on Ogunbowale to step up in Robinson’s absence to keep the ground game moving for quarterback Mike Glennon.
“This is a hard-working guy,” said Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden of Ogunbowale.
“He’s smart. He loves the game. He’s been on a bunch of different teams, not a bunch, I know three or four at least, and he just plays hard. He’s good in the passing game. He’s a good pass protector. He’s a good runner, and I think this opportunity will suit him well. I think he’ll take advantage of it like he did last week.”