After the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts, they can build upon the momentum from their week five victory and bring Jacksonville back into the playoff fray. Like every year for the last decade, the Colts fell to the Jaguars in Jacksonville. A decade-long win streak continued, as Jacksonville finally secured its first win of the 2024 season. But now that they have their first win to get to one and four, where do the Jaguars go from here?
How the Jaguars Can Build Off Their First Win of 2024
A disastrous start of the season nearly got worse, as the Jaguars managed to fend off a resilient Colts team without Anthony Richardson at quarterback. Both sides of the ball had their fair share of miscues and incredible performances, from young players breaking out to veterans continuing to struggle, the Jaguars had plenty come to light in week five. Looking ahead, there are two main points of emphasis from the Jaguars week five victory over the Colts.
Bigsby Deserves the Rock
Coming in for a banged-up Travis Etienne Jr., Tank Bigsby finally had his breakout performance. He had been teasing such a breakout through the first four weeks, rattling off multiple big runs and generating a lot of missed tackles. After his week five thrashing of the Colts, Bigsby ended with 101 yards on 13 attempts, two touchdowns, plus a 28-yard catch. His best day as a Jaguars by far, Bigsby was a major contributor to not only the Jaguars win but the optimism in the organization. A rough 2023, and quiet offseason had his role questioned heading into 2024. But, he had a couple of nice runs in week one against the Miami Dolphins and week four against the Houston Texans despite the brutal losses. His performance was one of the only highlights of those tough losses.
Bigsby finally got home, scoring two touchdowns, both of which were great plays from the sophomore running back. His first went for 18 yards up the middle, and he broke multiple tackles on his way to pay-dirt. His big play was his 65-yard scamper up the middle to give the Jaguars a 34 to 20 lead. His usage was roughly around the same as it had been, but he did so much more than expected in his role.
There is one easy takeaway from his performance, and it’s to get him the ball more. He’s been an integral piece of the offense through the beginning stretch of the season, and there are no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. With the injury to Etienne and the explosiveness of Bigsby, there is a lot to love with his potential role in the Jaguars offense going forward.
The Offense Finally Comes Alive
Bigsby wasn’t the only Jaguars offensive player to have his coming out party, as Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk, Brenton Strange, and especially Brian Thomas Jr. all had massive days for the Jaguars. It’s difficult to choose just one player from this bunch that stood out, but Lawrence stands out for his best performance of the year by far. His improved play led the rest of the offense to click en route to a 37-point performance.
The Jaguars followed the game plan of getting their wide receivers involved early and often. Thomas and Kirk had huge games for Jacksonville, and if the NFL world was still wondering how Thomas would fare, his week five performance left no doubts that Thomas is an incredible NFL player. Lawrence targeted Kirk and Thomas down the field, connecting with both for explosive plays.
It’s been something the Jaguars have tried to do, throwing the ball down the field to their solid receivers. It finally clicked against the Colts, as the offense has been, to a degree, fixed. There will always be holes or mistakes to correct, but the offense overall was humming. Moving forward with this momentum is imperative to the Jaguars’ success.
Bigsby being explosive in the run game, and Lawrence finding Thomas and Kirk downfield, along with getting Evan Engram back from injury, can lead to a strong offensive group that Jaguars fans expected heading into 2024. While the offensive skill group came alive, the true tone-setter was the offensive line for Jacksonville. It was the best performance along the line, with only one pressure and no sacks being allowed by the entire line according to PFF. The only pressure was allowed by Anton Harrison, who had one of the worst games of his career just two weeks ago in a disastrous performance in week three against the Buffalo Bills.
Between the offensive line improvements, and Lawrence finding a strong connection with his receivers, the offense has finally begun to fix itself. Every part of the offense jelled in week five, and the Jaguars need to keep that momentum going forward as they travel to London to play the Chicago Bears. As long as the offensive line can perform close to their week five performance, the Jaguars offense will be able to put together a strong 2024 campaign.
It Was a Walk in the Park for Walker
Certain players always have a team they play much better against than others. Those players are referred to as “Team-Killer”. The Jaguars might have found their Colts-Killer in defensive lineman Travon Walker. He’s had a tumultuous career in Jacksonville, being compared to standout edge rusher Aiden Hutchinson with the Detroit Lions, and thanks to the Lions’ success, the selection of Walker over Hutchinson stings more for Jaguars fans. However, at least for this week, Walker shut all of his doubters up. He put together one of the best single-game performances of his career.
Walker had seven pressures, one hit on the quarterback, three hurries, and three sacks against the Colts. He found his groove and kept the Colts in check all game long. He also was the closer, getting the final sack on Joe Flacco, stripping the ball, allowing Josh Hines-Allen to recover, and securing the Jaguars’ first win of 2024. It’s been a long time coming, and he’s been jotted down as a player to watch attempt a major breakout campaign in 2024. With such a dominant performance, it’s hard to ignore his growth as a player and pass rusher.
This performance from Walker is exactly what the Jaguars’ defense needs as they continue to struggle defensively. The secondary is struggling, and the injuries are beginning to mount. Tyson Campbell is out, as is Foyesade Oluokun. With the defense short-staffed, Walker’s emergence as a threat could take the Jaguars from a defense to look forward to playing against, to one to be fearful of with a dominant pass-rushing duo.
Putting It All Together For Next Week
The Jaguars desperately needed this win, and now that it’s behind them, need to keep up the pace against the Bears in London. As the NFL’s de-facto London team, the Jaguars can continue to build on their momentum at their home away from home. Lawrence, Kirk, and Thomas are all gelling together like many were hoping to see. Bigsby is breaking out in a major way, the offensive line is finally settling in, and the defense is beginning to find its strengths with the emergence of Walker.
Everything came together for the Jaguars in an incredible game against the Colts, but there is still a lot of meat left on the bone for Jacksonville. Gabriel Davis has underperformed, and Ronald Darby has been a liability in the secondary. Despite two key veteran acquisitions underperforming, the Jaguars’ young talent has been a huge boon for the Jaguars’ success every week.
While the Jaguars couldn’t avoid collapsing in week four, the Jaguars rebounded in week five. To beat the Bears, the Jaguars should follow the formula from their week five win against the Colts, by using Bigsby often in the run game and continuing to target Thomas and Kirk down the field. This offense can be explosive, and with momentum on their side, Jacksonville can begin crawling back toward a playoff spot.
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