Jaguars earn superb grade after dismantling Colts in Week 2

Not only did the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts, but they also did it in a dominant fashion. Following their impressive 24-0 win over their division foes, the Jags earned an excellent grade from John Breech of CBS Sports.

Breech assigned grades to all NFL teams following Sunday’s action and Jacksonville earned an A+, the highest possible mark, for the dismantling of the Colts. He argues that the Jaguars may not be the best club in the league but they look like they are every time they play Indy.

"In one of the most impressive all-around performances from Week 2, the Jags absolutely destroyed the Colts. Trevor Lawrence actually looked like a star, completing his first eight passes on the way to throwing for 235 yards and a touchdown. As good as the Jags’ offense was, their defense was better. Not only did they pitch their first shutout since 2018, but they also sacked Matt Ryan five times while forcing three turnovers."

Breech is right. Whatever the reason is, every time the Colts play at TIAA Bank Field, they come crashing down. Back in 2020, the Jags went 1-15 and the one game they won was against their AFC South foe.

Something similar happened last year. Indy could have made the playoffs if they had beaten the Jaguars but they had a meltdown while Trevor Lawrence had what was the most efficient game of his rookie campaign. The defense also rose to the occasion, sacking then-quarterback Carson Wentz six times and forcing two turnovers.

The Jaguars must build off of their win over the Colts in Week 2

As great as the win against the Colts was, the season has 17 games and the Jaguars can’t afford to let it get to their head. As Trevor Lawrence said when he met with the local media, the team must enjoy their first victory of the year but they need to get back to work the following day if they want to beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.

It doesn’t matter if Justin Herbert plays or not, the Jags must prepare as if they were. Fortunately, head coach Doug Pederson will keep his players focused. In fact, he talked about it when he met with the local media Monday.

“It doesn’t really matter what we’ve done in the past”, Pederson said. “It’s a short-term memory each week. It’s a new set of challenges, so it’s my job to make sure that guys stayed focused that way and never lose sight of that because that’s when you get beat, when you start feeling full of yourself just a little after something like this on Sunday”.

That’s precisely the approach the Jaguars adopted after losing to the Washington Commanders in Week 1. They turned the page, fixed the mistakes they encountered, and integrated what they learned against the Colts.

Week 2 is in the books and while this was one of the biggest wins the Jaguars had in recent years, they can’t rest on their laurels and need to start preparing for their trip to the West Coast in Week 3.