Indianapolis vs. Jacksonville (JAX -3, 46.5)
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Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
There is one team that is winless so far this year in the NFL, and that team is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are not getting good early returns from their $275 million, five-year contract given to Trevor Lawrence. PFF has awarded Lawrence a 61.4 passer rating, which places him 23rd in the NFL. While a stat line of 169 yards and two touchdowns against a tough Houston defense looks like an improvement for Lawrence in Week 4, there were still several wayward passes that should have gone for touchdowns. If he had connected on one or two of them, the Jaguars would’ve likely won the game, and these inaccuracies have been the story of Lawrence’s season so far.
To make matters worse, the defense has also had a horrible start to the season, conceding the third most points and yards, with teams averaging 27.3 points against them. That is not good enough, especially considering there were high hopes for this team entering the season. When you think back to how the 2023 season ended, the Jaguars have now lost nine of their last 10 games. I think it’s fair to say that we are officially putting Doug Pederson on the hot seat.
This week, the Jaguars are facing a division rival in the Indianapolis Colts, who are enjoying a perfectly middle-of-the-road season so far. Their record sits at an even 2-2, and their points for and against directly offset at 85 apiece. Anthony Richardson left last week’s game with an injury, but it sounds as if he is likely to suit up for this one. At this point in time, it’s not exactly clear whether that is good or bad news for Indianapolis, with Richardson completing just 50% of his passes for 654 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions. There’s no doubt that he can do some incredibly special things on the gridiron, but with this offense being so loaded with talent, having a cool head and competent thrower in Joe Flacco under center isn’t the worst thing in the world at the moment.
The Jags have conceded the second most passing yards, with 1,091, averaging out at 272.8 yards per game. With that knowledge in mind, the Colts might genuinely be better off giving Flacco the start. The Colts’ wide receiver corps got even stronger recently due to the return of Josh Downs, who announced his return with an 82-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Steelers in Week 4. The Jags are going to struggle to keep him, Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, and Adonai Mitchell quiet.
Jacksonville does at least have an exciting playmaker of their own, with Brian Thomas Jr. offering one small glimmer of hope from the mess of a season so far. He has collected 275 yards and two touchdowns from his first four games of the season and already looks ready to become the focal point of the offense. He has been regularly getting open with some beautiful footwork, and now it’s just down to Trevor to find him. They should get their chances this week, going up against a Colts pass defense that is also not particularly strong, giving up 235 yards per game through the air.
J.A. Cavalier swept his NFL Triple Crown in week 4 with The Bears, Colts and the Jaguars and we smashed 3 two team parlays. He likes the card this week even more. 6-0 NFL Guarantee. 3 straight, 3 parlays. One Week NFL $99 must go 6-0 or entire NFL season free. Straight through Super Bowl
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Colts +3.5