Can the Jaguars Find a Pass Rush During the Bye Before Daniel Jones and the Colts Arrive?

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Can the Jaguars Find a Pass Rush During the Bye Before Daniel Jones and the Colts Arrive?

Andrew Hughes · Athlon Sports

Wed, Oct 21, 2026 ·

4 min read

Josh Hines-Allen needs his first sack since Week 1

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) tackles New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) in the second quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]

Hines-Allen has 1.5 sacks through six games, all of them against the Browns, and Travon Walker has two. Jacksonville has 11 sacks as a team, tied for 20th in the league, per NFL.com . Hines-Allen finished the Houston game with three pressures on 56 snaps, and we noted his 65.2 PFF grade in the Week 6 stock report . Through the first three games, his pass-rush grade sat at 65.8, 40th among 110 edge defenders, with zero quarterback hits, according to PFF .

The interior hasn't helped. Jacksonville ranks in the bottom four in interior pass-rush grade , and Arik Armstead has nine pressures on 157 pass-rush snaps. Indianapolis is the right opponent to break that drought. The Colts have allowed 15 sacks, tied for 10th-most in the NFL, and Tennessee got to Daniel Jones six times Sunday, with Jeffery Simmons recording two sacks and a forced fumble . Jones has thrown six interceptions and four touchdown passes. A quarterback in that spot is one the Jaguars' edge rushers should be able to speed up.

The run defense has to tackle Jonathan Taylor

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) takes off on a run Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, during the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Jacksonville is still tied with Minnesota for the fewest rushing yards allowed at 433, with opponents averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Houston ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries anyway, and Coen pointed at the tackling. "I thought their backs made some good cuts and we missed some tackles," he said Monday, per the team's website . He added, "We had more runs on us than normal and that's something that we take pride in."

Ventrell Miller was the exception. He was the Jaguars' highest-graded defender against Houston with an 84.3 PFF run-defense grade on 53 snaps. He will need help against Taylor, who has 492 yards and seven touchdowns on 122 carries and ran for 94 yards against Tennessee. Entering Week 6, Taylor had been hit at or behind the line on 47.5% of his attempts, seventh-highest in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats , so the first man to him has to bring him down.

"It's on us. No one's coming to save us," Taylor said after the Titans loss . "You got to look yourself in the mirror and figure out what type of team that you want to be."

Jarrian Jones and the secondary have to stop giving away yards

Sep 27, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones (4) intercepts a pass during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Jacksonville has allowed 1,698 passing yards, 31st in the league, and 8.0 yards per attempt. Jarrian Jones drew an illegal use of hands flag in the second quarter, then a 19-yard pass interference call on third-and-5 that set up Jawhar Jordan's 25-yard touchdown run. PFF charged him with six catches allowed on eight targets and a 42.8 grade. Travis Hunter's 17-yard interference call before halftime set up another score, and a too-many-men penalty on a punt kept alive the drive that ended in Jaylin Noel's touchdown. Coen called that one avoidable, saying nobody was supposed to leave the field.

Six flags for 66 yards was an improvement after the Jaguars won consecutive 13-penalty games against Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Jacksonville can't keep giving those yards away against Indianapolis. The Colts average 5.9 yards per pass attempt, and Jones' top targets work underneath, with Tyler Warren catching 30 passes for 213 yards and Josh Downs adding 24 for 289. An offense that dinks down the field needs defensive penalties to move in chunks, and the Jaguars have been handing them out.

Indianapolis plays at undefeated Minnesota on Sunday before the trip south, and Shane Steichen is coaching through the fallout of Chris Ballard's firing as general manager. A Jacksonville win on Nov. 1 would hand the Colts their second division loss, with the rematch at Lucas Oil Stadium not coming until Week 18.

This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.