Jaguars End 2019 on a High Note, Rout Colts 38–20

Jacksonville ends its disaster 2019 season with a victory after running the Indianapolis Colts out of town.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars 2019 season is one that will not be looked back on fondly thanks to a myriad of off-field drama, firings, and poor play, but one thing will be forever certain: it ended on a high note in a big way.

Jacksonville (6-10) will head into the offseason with a win freshly on their minds following a 38-20 trouncing of the Indianapolis Colts at TIAA Bank Field. Following a season gone off the rails in the final eight weeks, Sunday was a revelation.

“For the next few weeks, months, we’re not going to have that bad taste in our mouth,” wide receiver D.J. Chark said after the win. “We understand the season didn’t go our way, but at least we didn’t have to leave with another loss.”

The Jaguars won the 2019 finale off of the strength of an opportunistic second-half defense and a steady game from Gardner Minshew II, two things they did not see much of over the last eight games.

Jacksonville’s defense came up huge after a disastrous first two quarters in which they allowed 20 points and 229 yards, including 113 yards rushing. For the first 30 minutes of the game, the Colts’ offense simply steamrolled them and found easy chunk plays. Things changed in a big way in the second half, however.

Stopping the run opened up a plethora of doors for the Jaguars’ defense entering the third quarter. Trailing 20-16 after the first half and getting easily ran through by Marlon Mack, the defense stiffened as the Colts failed to generate any yards.

After rushing for 73 yards in the first half, Mack ran for only two in the final two quarters. As a team, the Colts ran seven times for nine yards in the second half.

Thanks to Jacksonville tightening their defense up, the Jaguars’ offense was able to capitalize and take 24-20 lead with 8:30 left following a three-yard touchdown pass from Minshew to rookie running back Ryquell Armstead, who Minshew missed for a touchdown on the first drive of the game.

Aside from a few misses on the first drive and a poor decision to throw the ball across his body in the second quarter, which led to a Darius Leonard interception, Minshew was terrific for the Jaguars, showing more of his early-season magic than he has in months.

Thanks to the effort, Jacksonville scored more than seven points in the first half for the first time since Week 8. A trio of field goal drives and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Keelan Cole, which was the very next play after the pair connected on a 45-yard bomb down the left sideline, gave Jacksonville solid offensive production heading into halftime, and Minshew came back to throw two touchdowns in the second half (to Armstead and Dede Westbrook).

Minshew finished the game 27-of-39 for 295 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was his first three-touchdown game since Week 8 vs. the New York Jets.

After the offense was able to give Jacksonville’s defense a chance to play with a lead, they pinned their ears back and became a nightmare for the Colts’ offensive line and quarterback Jacoby Brissett, sacking him three times and forcing two fumbles in the second half.

The biggest of these plays came with 9:00 left. After the Jaguars’ pass rush forced Brissett to scramble, fourth-year defensive end Yannick Ngakoue fought off a block, picked himself up from the ground, and charged after Brissett. He tackled him violently from behind and forced the ball out, with it landing in Calais Campbell’s massive mitts. Campbell then ran the ball eight yards into the end zone, giving Jacksonville a 31-20 lead.

On the very next possession, second-year defensive tackle Taven Bryan recorded the first strip-sack of his career, ending what is likely the best game of his entire NFL career. He ended the game with one sack, one tackle for loss and three tackles and was in the backfield far more often than not.

For the second consecutive year, the Jaguars have split their season series with the Colts, their fierce AFC South rivals. This time, Jacksonville avenged a 33-13 loss from Week 11 and beat the Colts in Jacksonville for the fifth year in a row.

“Sometimes, things just don’t go right, and things haven’t been going right here in Jacksonville,” Colts running back Marlon Mack said after the game.

Jacksonville had a turbulent 2019 season; one that will forever belong in the bowels of the franchise’s history. But on this particular Sunday, it was the Jaguars day and the team’s locker room, coaching staff, and fans left the stadium with rare smiles.