3 observations from the Jaguars shutdown win over the Colts

2. The Jaguars defense dominated the Colts’ offense in Week 2

Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted a pass intended for wide receiver Ashton Duley in the Colts’ first offensive drive of the game. That was his first pick with the Black and Teal and sixth in his career.

Looking back, Jenkin’s interception should have been a sign of things come, as Mike Caldwell’s unit registered three turnovers and five sacks. Moreover, they kept All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor in check for most of the game. While he finished the game with 54 yards a closer look will show that Jacksonville neutralized it in the first half, limiting him to four yards on five carries.

Slowing down Taylor then helped open pass rush lanes, which then helped the Jaguars’ defensive front wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage. After the game, head coach Doug Pederson praised Caldwell’s scheme and the front seven.

“It really starts with eliminating the run game“, Pederson said. “We knew we probably weren’t going to stop it completely but you try to stymie it just a little bit and that kind of opens up some pass rush lanes and I thought our defensive line played extremely well”.

Matt Ryan showed that he might not be the upgrade at quarterback the Colts thought he would be when they traded for him in the offseason, going 16-of-30 for 195 yards with three interceptions.

You could make the case that Indy was depleted for the game and that’s true but the Jaguars also took advantage of the situation, something they’ve failed to do in recent years. That wasn’t the case today though and they showed how good they can be when they’re running on all cylinders (and healthy).