Help, I’ve been spoiled by good Jaguars offense

By Hays Carlyon

INDIANAPOLIS – I sat down to write about my concerns for the Jaguars offense after a 31-21 win over the Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The offensive line looked overmatched, the play calling was puzzling at times and the offense didn’t execute well in short-yardage situations. The Jaguars were 3-of-12 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down.

Then, it hit me. I had an epiphany.

Am I spoiled by how good coach Doug Pederson, quarterback Trevor Lawrence and company have made the offense?

I think I am.

I looked around the league. The Jaguars scored the most points of the 18 teams competing either Thursday night or in the Sunday 1 p.m. window.

Joe Burrow has led as many touchdown drives as you have this season. Cincinnati lost at Cleveland 24-3.

Patrick Mahomes scored 20 in Kansas City’s first game and he was at home. The Chiefs lost to Detroit.

The Steelers scored seven points at home in a blowout loss to San Francisco.

All of the Jaguars points were scored on drives that had to cover at least 44 yards. It’s not like they were gifted a bunch of drives that started inside the Colts 20 or any defensive or special teams scores.

Now, I feel …  good.

The Jaguars certainly were far from perfect on offense, yet still scored a bunch of points on the road.

Lawrence made two MVP-level touchdown throws in the first half. He scrambled before finding receiver Calvin Ridley for a 9-yard touchdown. His 18-yard scoring connection to receiver Zay Jones was one of the best throw-and-catch combinations you will see.

Running back Travis Etienne broke a 26-yard touchdown run to put the Jags up 31-21 with four minutes to play in the game.

The Jaguars certainly were in a malaise for a while. Lawrence was strip-sacked and although running back Tank Bigsby recovered the fumble, he then had the ball knocked loose. The Colts returned it 26 yards for a touchdown to take a 21-17 lead with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

Jamal Agnew sparked the comeback for the Jaguars. He fielded a punt inside his 10 and returned it 48 yards to the Colts 46.

The Jaguars converted the huge return into a touchdown on a Bigsby 1-yard run.

Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell then intercepted Indianapolis rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, which led to the Etienne score.

Ball game.

The Jaguars defense was largely magnificent. Led by outside linebacker Josh Allen’s three-sack effort, Indianapolis was held to 2-of-12 on third down and a stunning 1-of-5 on fourth down.

The offense got help. No doubt. But I’m not going to worry about a 31-point first outing on the road. Not when the Jaguars scored the most points of the 18 teams that started prior to the 4 p.m. window.

The Jaguars close the first week at 1-0, while every other AFC South team is 0-1.

There’s much to clean up, but this was a great day for the Jaguars. This a win they wouldn’t have gotten in years past.

(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on X @HaysCarlyon)