The Jaguars continue to roll, even though there was some sweating in the process.
Jacksonville took down Indianapolis 23-17 Sunday for its seventh straight victory. While it didn’t come with any implications for the AFC South, the Jaguars (12-4) managed to sweep the season series with the Colts (8-8).
Indianapolis, which was eliminated from postseason contention Saturday when the Texans beat the Chargers, has now lost six straight games since beginning 2025 with an 8-2 record.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Jags overcome miscues to hold on for victory
On their pivotal final drive, holding onto a 20-17 lead just before the two-minute warning, Jacksonville committed back-to-back penalties — first an illegal shift, then a false start — that turned a third-and-1 into a third-and-10.
Fortunately for the Jags, quarterback Trevor Lawrence managed to connect with receiver Jakobi Meyers on the third-and-long to create a fourth-and-1, where Lawrence scrambled for a first down to set up a field goal that extended the lead to 23-17 and left just 18 seconds on the clock. A Hail Mary attempt from the Colts was picked off in the end zone to end the game.
2. Rivers comes back to earth after shining last week
Philip Rivers on Sunday had his worst game since coming out of retirement, completing a season-low 56.7% of his passes for 147 yards and a touchdown with an interception and a 66.9 passer rating.
The pick, which came midway through the fourth quarter, wasn’t entirely his fault — the pass appeared to have been tipped at the line of scrimmage — but it set up a Jags field goal, which put Jacksonville in the lead down the stretch.
Colts coach Shane Steichen had committed to Rivers starting this game regardless of if it was to keep Indianapolis’ playoff hopes alive. But now that the team won’t be in the postseason, there should be strong consideration for sixth-round rookie quarterback Riley Leonard to start the season finale.
Philip Rivers threw for only 147 yards, was sacked twice and had to throw the ball away several times against the Jaguars on Sunday. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
3. Washington’s ascent makes Jaguars’ offense dangerous
A week after putting up a career-high 145 receiving yards, Parker Washington continued to roll in Sunday’s win over the Colts.
The third-year wide receiver caught eight passes for a team-high 115 yards. His longest reception of the day came in the third quarter, when he had a 37-yard completion that set up Jacksonville’s second touchdown, which gave the visitors a 14-10 lead.
Washington has not only recorded back-to-back 100-yard receiving games for the first time in his career, but the past two games also mark the two highest single-game receiving totals of his career. The former sixth-round pick has emerged as Lawrence’s No. 1 receiver in recent weeks, adding another wrinkle to a sneaky talented pass-catching group that also includes Myers, Brian Thomas Jr. and Brenton Strange.
Jaguars receiver Parker Washington has had the best games of his career in the past two weeks, totaling 260 receiving yards against the Broncos and Colts. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
4. It’s a shame we never saw Colts’ D at full strength
Indianapolis managed to bring Lawrence back to earth, holding him to zero passing touchdowns for the first time since Week 9 and picking off one of his passes, the former No. 1 pick’s first turnover in five weeks.
In addition to the interception, the Colts registered seven quarterback hits and eight pass breakups without defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (neck, injured reserve) and with cornerback Sauce Gardner (groin) missing most of the game due to injury.
In addition to Buckner and Gardner missing time, starting cornerback Charvarius Ward — who’s only played seven games this year — is on season-ending injured reserve. Indianapolis will end 2025 without Buckner, Gardner and Ward having played a game together. Gardner and Ward played less than two games together.
The Colts’ defense has been nowhere near perfect, evident by Indy’s loss last week to San Francisco, which had five passing touchdowns. But Indianapolis’ defense has flashed on several occasions. The Colts have had a top-end pass rush, for one. Their 208 quarterback pressures ranked eighth in the NFL entering Week 17, and their ability to get after Lawrence Sunday kept the game close.
Unfortunately for the Colts, they’ll end the 2025 season never having seen their post-trade deadline defense at full strength.
4 ½. What’s next?
The Jaguars will host the Titans in their regular-season finale next week. With a win and a Texans’ loss to the Colts, Jacksonville would win the AFC South for the first time since 2022.
The Colts play at Houston to conclude their 2025 campaign.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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