Colts Find A New Low in Astonishing Loss to Jaguars

Make it 12 years.

No matter how comical the Indianapolis Colts' road losing streak to the Jacksonville Jaguars has become, that was a footnote to how devastatingly bad this individual chapter was on Sunday.

The Colts (2-6) received an authoritative whoopin' at EverBank Stadium at the hands of the Jaguars (5-2), 42-7. That makes it a dozen years (and a dozen attempts) since the Colts' last win over the Jaguars away from Indianapolis.

The streak hasn't been particularly close, as eight of the 12 games have finished with multi-score deficits, including Sunday.

After the Colts began tearing down the foundation of their team two weeks ago with the firing of general manager Chris Ballard, followed by the trades of their two biggest leaders, Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, this week, it's fair to wonder what the next week has in store.

Here's how Sunday's nightmare unfolded.

The Colts received the opening kickoff but were unable to do anything with their initial drive, punting after four plays.

After a Rigoberto Sanchez punt pinned the Jaguars' offense to their own 2-yard line, Jacksonville strung together an incredibly productive drive, going 98 yards in 12 plays for the first score of the game. A 46-yard catch-and-run from Trevor Lawrence to Brenton Strange highlighted a drive that culminated in a 12-yard touchdown from Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. The extra point made it 7-0, Jaguars, with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The next four drives brought four punts between the two teams as points were hard to come by.

The next play to break the monotony wasn't good news for the Colts, as an attempted trick play resulted in a lost fumble. Running back Jonathan Taylor took the handoff and attempted a pitch to receiver Josh Downs while stumbling. The ball bounced out of Downs' grasp and to the ground, recovered by the Jaguars while Downs appeared to make a business decision in not attempting to recover the ball.

Four plays and 50 yards later, Jacksonville was back in the end zone as Lawrence found rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher from 31 yards out to make it 14-0, Jaguars, with 7:14 remaining in the first half.

The Colts' offense responded with another four-and-out punt.

The Jags' offense, however, responded with another score, as they rout was on. On 1st-and-10 from the Colts' 39-yard line, running back Bhayshul Tuten took the handoff and went off the right tackle for the score. It was then 21-0 with 1:51 remaining.

The Colts' offense then went three-and-out, but the defense was able to get a big stop when Caden Curry and Laiatu Latu combined for a sack-fumble, which was recovered by Curry.

With good field position for the first time in the game, the Indy offense faltered yet again, as Daniel Jones' pass slipped through Tyler Warren's hands and into Jaguars safety Rayuan Lane III's hands, as he returned it for a 92-yard touchdown. That made it 28-0 going into halftime.

The Jaguars received the opening kickoff of the second half but went three-and-out.

The Colts' offense returned the favor on the ensuing drive, turning the ball over on downs after four plays.

Jacksonville grew tired of not scoring, so they corrected that on the next drive. On 3rd-and-1 from the Indianapolis 28-yard line, running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. took the ball right up the middle for the score, making it 35-0 with 9:08 remaining in the third quarter.

The Colts' offense finally found a shred of life on the next drive, as they strung together a 10-play drive, covering 65 yards. Ultimately, Jones found Downs from six yards out for the Colts' first score. Spencer Shrader's extra point made it 35-7 with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter.

Jacksonville wasn't about to allow Indy's score to go unpunished, as Tuten put another one on the board after taking a Lawrence screen pass 25 yards for his second touchdown of the game. That made it 42-7 at the end of the third quarter.

With the Colts beginning the fourth quarter with the ball, their fortunes had not changed in the slightest. While in Jacksonville territory Jones was again intercepted while targeting Warren, as Jaguars linebacker Branson Combs grabbed the ball out of the air at the Jacksonville 19-yard line and returned it to their 28-yard line.

With new quarterback Quinn Ewers replacing Lawrence, the Jaguars' offense went three-and-out, with a punt.

The Colts also pulled their quarterback, replacing Jones with Anthony Richardson Sr., who led a drive that was turned over after four downs.

The two teams then traded punts for the remaining nine minutes of the game.