Statistics behind a dominant Jaguars’ defense against the Colts in Week 6

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts for a ninth consecutive time at home, claiming sole possession at the top of the AFC South. While the Jags came away with several key injuries to monitor in a short week, they should be otherwise pleased with how they handled a division rival.

Key Stats from the Jaguars win vs. the Colts

The story of the game was turnovers. Trevor Lawrences’ lone interception was masked by three interceptions, two failed fourth-down conversions, and a strip sack forced by the Jaguars defense.

Furthermore, the Jags remain one of the most-disciplined teams with only twenty-five penalty yards in the game. Where, in previous years, Jacksonville seemed to blow winnable games away, they have remained steady game-managers in most games this season.

Jaguars Week 6 Offensive Breakdown

Once again, running back Travis Etienne controls most of the rushing load while Calvin Ridley has a designed carry in consecutive games. As opposed to last week, the Jaguars favored the left side of the line in the rushing game, especially after Brandon Scherff left the game due to injury. Of the four runs to the right end, two went for negative yards while one was Etienne’s second touchdown on a wildcat look.

The Jaguars’ tight ends continue to get work in wide receiver Zay Jones’ absence with Lawrence going 9-for-10 and 68 yards while targeting tight ends and providing Brenton Strange with his first NFL touchdown. The Jaguars also took several deep shots, going just 2-of-7, including Christian Kirk’s touchdown.

Jaguars Week 6 Offensive Trends

Jaguars’ pass rates slightly increased from last week. Additionally, they remain the only team to throw the ball in 100% of their second-and-long situations. However, this was an average-at-best day through the air, with Lawrence recording his second-worst adjusted net yards per pass attempt (4.33) of the season.

Outside of Etienne’s two touchdowns, the Jaguars were also rather ineffective on the ground, averaging 3.52 yards per carry. Most concerning, the Jaguars regressed on third-down conversion rate (30.8%) after improving for five straight weeks.

Jaguars Week 6 Defensive Stats

The Jaguars continue to dominate in nearly all areas. For the second time this year, Jacksonville held the Colts to under three yards per carry (2.6) even with Zach Moss and Jonathan Taylor back in the mix. The Jaguars also wreaked havoc for Gardner Minshew, forcing four turnovers from him.

One of the most promising statistics from this Jaguars defense (outside of stopping the run) is their ability to force third downs. The Colts only avoided third down on 29.2 percent of sets of downs. The Colts also faced an average of 5.78 yards to go on third down. There will be games where turnovers and third-down conversion rate fluctuate, being able to consistently force third downs is key to a consistent defense.

Jaguars Field Position in Week 6

Between the turnover margin and Jamal Agnew’s 53-yard kick return in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars dominated the starting field position battle.

While this starting field position helped the Jaguars’ offense, the efficiency to score points is still impressive. The Jaguars entered the red zone on five drives. Those drives resulted in three touchdowns and two field goals.

Meanwhile, according to Nate Tice of The Athletic, NFL offenses are currently scoring touchdowns on 53.3 percent of their redzone opportunities.

While the Jaguars offense feels like it has not fully clicked yet, they were hyper-efficient scoring last weekend.

Andrew Kessler writes a column at B&T bi-weekly. Make sure to follow him at @DuvalAndrew904 for more Jaguars in-depth analysis on Twitter.

Here are other recent Jaguars stories you may also enjoy: