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Jaguars defense spotted the Colts 10 points, then shut down Old Man Rivers
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- Jaguars defense spotted the Colts 10 points, then shut down Old Man Rivers
The Jacksonville Jaguars' defense rewrote a few narratives on Dec. 28 in their 23-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The most important flip of the script happened in-game: After yielding 10 points and 112 yards on the Colts' first two possessions, the Jaguars gave up only one more score (aided by a 55-yard kickoff return by Ashton Dulin in the third quarter) and 92 total yards the rest of the game, forcing four punts, two turnovers and a turnover on downs.
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After gaining 48 yards on 11 carries on the Colts' first two possessions, running back Jonathan Taylor had only 32 yards on 10 carries the rest of the game for 70 yards on 21 carries, the first time he's failed to gain 100 or more yards against the Jaguars at home.
Phillip Rivers , the 44-year-old grandfather who returned to play this year after retiring in 2021, completed 7 of 11 passes for 52 yards on his first two turns with the ball, then went 10 of 19 for 95 yards.
Jarrian Jones and Antonio Johnson pulled down interceptions, with Jones' second pick in two weeks leading to Cam Little 's tie-breaking field goal with 6:58 left. Johnson's pick came in the end zone on a desperation heave by Riley Leonard , brought into the game for the final play from the Jaguars' 48 because there are limits to a 44-year-old arm.
Dec 28, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown (30) breaks up a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (14) during the first half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Josh Hines-Allen credits Anthony Campanile's scheme
Jaguars edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen , who logged his team-high eighth sack of the season in the fourth quarter, credited defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile with mixing up coverages, rush schemes and blitz packages.
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It resulted in plays such as the interception by Jones that led to the go-ahead field goal.
"I think [when] coach [Campanile] calls a heck of a game, that puts us in these situations to make these types of plays," Hines-Allen said. "There's a lot of communication pre-snap for the defense, because we all understand. We all know what to do. We're all playing with the anticipation of what's about to happen. Jarrien was just doing what he's coached to do."
Jaguars coach Liam Coen absolved the defense of the Colts' opening points because of the short field, and praised the unit for playing better as the game wore on.
"Man, they played stingy," Coen said. "They played tough. To only allow 17 points in a game like that ... that's huge. It was one of the best offenses in the NFL for a long time and they've got some weapons. Proud of our guys and the coaching staff for doing a nice job defensively."
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Jaguars finally got to Phillip Rivers
Because the Colts' game plan was obvious ― get the ball out of Rivers' hand as quickly as possible to keep him from being a sitting duck for the Jaguars pass rush ― it took some time for the Jaguars to get to him.
It finally happened in the second half. Travon Walker twisted out of a double team by two tight ends lined up on the same side, Tyler Warren and Mo Alie-Cox , and got to Rivers for a 6-yard loss in the third quarter on the final play of the third quarter, which led to a punt. Walker now has 3.5 sacks for the season.
Walker also figured in the second sack. Battling through another double-team against right guard Matt Goncalves and right tackle Jalen Travis , Walker forced Rivers to his left. Rivers ran into his own left tackle, Bernhard Raimann , who was in the process of being thrown backward by Hines-Allen.
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Raimann knocked Rivers down, and Hines-Allen got credited for his team-high eighth sack of the season. Walker had another tackle for a loss against Taylor, with the Jaguars getting four in the game.
Secondary sets, ties team records
The Jaguars have 21 interceptions this season, tied for the most in the NFL and tied for the most in one season in franchise history with the 2017 team.
The Jags had eight passes defensed and set the team record with 103. The secondary (without Jourdan Lewis for the rest of the season), was led by cornerback Montaric Brown with five tackles and two pass deflections. Six other Jaguar players had at least one pass defensed.
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Safety Eric Murray had four tackles and deflected the ball that Jones intercepted.
Jaguars shackled Colts' Big Three
The other narratives the Jaguars changed were long-term frustrations with three Colts players in particular, Rivers, Taylor and wide receiver Alec Pierce .
Rivers entered the game 8-2 against the Jaguars as a starter, but two of the three losses have come when he was in a Colts uniform.
Taylor has been a monster against the Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. In three previous starts at home, he ran for 546 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. His lowest production against the Jaguars was 116 yards in a 2021 game.
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Pierce had 17 receptions for 350 yards and four touchdowns (20.6 per catch) in eight career games against the Jaguars and had 10 for 271 yards and two scores in his last three games against the Jags. But Pierce was blanked this time: no receptions on five targets.
The Jaguars also played stout on third down after the first two possessions, when the Colts converted two third downs and scored on Taylor's third-and-goal run from the 2.
From then on, the Colts converted only two of 11 on third down and failed on a fourth-down attempt.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars defense rallied from shaky start to throttle the Colts
