Big Cat Country
The 11-4 Jacksonville Jaguars head to Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday to take on the 8-7 Indianapolis Colts. Here are three battles to keep an eye on:
I don’t often choose Trevor Lawrence for this column – it’s pretty obvious to say that the Jaguars live and die behind the arm of their franchise quarterback. But he’s playing so well of late it’s only right to highlight just how important his emergence in Liam Coen’s offense has been to the team’s recent success. Lawrence recorded a quarterback rating of 115.4 against the Denver Broncos on Sunday – his fourth 100+ rating in a row. In the eleven games before that, his highest rating was 97.1 (Seattle Seahawks, October 12). Last weekend was an almost faultless performance, and this uptick in form comes at the perfect time with the playoff picture coming into focus.
He’ll be squaring off against one of the true greats of the modern era. It was a cute story when Philip Rivers came out of a four year retirement to sign for the desperate Colts. 44 years old and a grandad, not much was expected of him, especially on a team in freefall since the injury to Daniel Jones. And yet, despite losing both games he’s started, Rivers has looked pretty good! The first game against the Seahawks was a little ‘dink and dunk’, but we saw against the San Francisco 49ers that Old Man Rivers can still sling it. Despite an interception in each game when chasing the game, the quarterback has not been the issue for Indy – and considering his age and time away from the field, that alone is something Rivers should be proud of.
I expect Lawrence to inflict a third defeat on Rivers on Sunday. But seeing these two on the same field again will be as fun as it is nostalgic.
Sunday was a gut check moment for the Jaguars, and they passed with flying colors. Not many teams have been able to keep this Broncos offense in check, but the Jags did, with a bend but don’t break approach that got stingy as Denver crossed midfield. There were some concerning injuries on the back end, with both Jourdan Lewis and Greg Newsome being taken off the field at various points. Both corners were absent from Wednesday’s practice, meaning we could see more of Buster Brown on Sunday.
Brown looked comfortable in Mile High Stadium, which is a compliment considering the way Bo Nix and co have been shredding defenses recently. If he’s pressed into more snaps this weekend, he’ll have another stern test on his hands; Alec Pierce is the Colts’ go to big downfield weapon, and he hooked up with Philip Rivers twice for touchdowns against the 49ers on Sunday Night Football. I’m sure Pierce isn’t the only receiver Brown will encounter; Rivers is blessed with an array of weapons to target, including Josh Downs, Michael...
