3 Things We Learned From the Jaguars' Week 8 Win Over the Colts: Hope For Brian Thomas Jr.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have a quick turnaround before Week 9's Thursday Night Football clash with the Baltimore Ravens, but there is still time to take a few more peeks at their dominant Week 8.

The Jaguars absolutely dismantled the Indianapolis Colts in Jacksonville, the continuation of what has been a decade-plus of ending the Colts' season inside the walls of EverBank Stadium. But what did we learn from the latest version of the Jaguars taking care of business against the Colts? We break it down below.

There is Hope For BTJ

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) is celebrated by wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) for a touchdown score during the first quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Colts 42-7. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars did not give up on Brian Thomas Jr. during the bye week. It seemed like there was a very real chance of this happening after he was benched during the second-half of the Week 6 loss to the Houston Texans in London, but the Jaguars had Thomas out there with the rest of the starting offense every time they went to three-wide receiver sets. This culminated in Thomas catching a red-zone touchdown from Trevor Lawrence to make it a 7-0 game, the first of six touchdowns the Jaguars would score on Sunday.

“He's a young dude but he's very mature. He's not an immature guy that you're emotional and gets too high and too low. And he said it, I think last week, he's going to continue to come out and do his job. And I think I said at some point last week that he was going to make plays for us in this game, and we all had belief that that was going to happen, and we're going to continue to believe that," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Monday. "We're going to continue to work with him and continue to try to get the most out of every player, especially B.T. But I have been impressed with the way that he's able to block out the noise, continue to be integrated with everybody. I was proud. I was very happy for him to see him make that play on the first drive of the game on a critical third-and-goal to go.”

The Jaguars could have easily sat Thomas on the sidelines once more, especially in a run-heavy game where they could have reasoned that two-tight end sets and Josh Cameron were more appropriate to have on the field. Instead, the Jaguars let Thomas play quite a bit and he was targeted twice on Trevor Lawrence's 14 attempts. Only Jakobi Meyers got targeted more on Sunday, making it clear that while the Jaguars still weigh the Thomas trade market, they are not about to simply give up on the former first-round pick.

The Jaguars' Depth Will Be Tested

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen leads his team out of the tunnel during an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, November, 1, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars had a number of key depth pieces step up in big ways on Sunday: Rayuan Lane with a pick-six, Branson Combs with an interception and several big special teams plays, Matt Dickerson stepping in after Davon Hamilton's injury, Wyatt Milum filling in at right guard for an injured Ezra Cleveland, and so on and so forth. It was a good sign to see the Jaguars' depth play well, and we now know they are going to need them more than ever due to the season-ending injuries to Hamilton and Eric Murray.

"I do believe we have really good leadership. It's going to be tested now more than ever, with D-Ham and Eric Murray specifically, two veteran football players, starters. Not only that, but unbelievable human beings and leaders on this football team. We're going to be tested this week for sure," Coen said. "Our mental toughness will be tested, our group collaboration and connectivity will be tested, but fully anticipate this group to be able to connect and stay together.”

How the Jaguars' depth handles those tests will tell us whether the Jaguars can sustain their injuries moving forward. The Jaguars have lost three starters to season-ending injuries over the last three games with Hamilton, Murray, and left tackle Anton Harrison. We found out during Week 8 what the Jaguars' depth is capable of, and now we will find out if they can keep meeting the challenge.

The Jaguars Have Their Ideal CB Room Back

nfl — Sep 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) celebrates his interception with cornerback Montaric Brown (1) against the Denver Broncos during the second quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars utilized a cornerback rotation during the first three weeks of the season that proved to be effective, largely because it allowed the Jaguars to deploy Jarrian Jones in his more natural position in the slot. Jones only played 12 snaps in the blowout win, though he is listed with an ankl;e injury on this week's injury report. But we saw Jones play in the slot on the second drive of the game and make a clear impact on the secondary.

The only reason the Jaguars were able to do this was due to the return of Brown. When the Jaguars did not have Brown on the field over the last few weeks due to his hamstring injury, they had to play with a cornerback set up that they clearly were not overly comfortable with. Now that Brown is back in the mix, the Jaguars have their ideal cornerback set-up.

"It definitely helped having him back, that's for sure," Coen said. "It just gives us more flexibility to do different things with Jarrian [CB Jarrian Jones] and J-Lew [CB Jourdan Lewis] and Travis as well. You need corners. They always get nicked up. It's just the name of the game, it's the nature of how it goes. You can never have enough good corners in this league. Really glad to have Buster back, absolutely."

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