After a decade of dominance in Duval, Jacksonville looks to extend Indianapolis’s road misery against a resurgent Daniel Jones and a Colts squad desperate to break the curse.
Who knows where the Jacksonville Jaguars will be by the time the bye week rolls around?
While it is unlikely that the Jaguars will start the season 5-0, it is even less likely that would start in a 0-5 slump. Regardless of how Jacksonville starts, the Jags' first game coming out of the bye will be against a team that, frankly, they own, at least at home.
There have been three presidential elections, three World Cup winners (soon to be four) and 11 Taylor Swift albums since the Indianapolis Colts last won in Jacksonville.
Regardless of whether the Jags finish the regular season 13-4 (2025) or 4-13 (2024), one constant over the last decade-plus is that one of the wins will be against Indianapolis at home.
The glass-half-full Jags fan would say that this means that the Colts are cursed when they come to Duval. The glass-half-empty fan would say that the Colts are due to win in Jacksonville at some point, and 12 joyless trips qualify as past due.
Although Indy made light of its failures in its Simpsons-themed schedule release video, the Colts are sick of losing in Jacksonville, and the chances they have of doing anything about it will depend on their quarterback situation.
Daniel Jones has been much-maligned throughout his career. As the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, the New York Giants expected him to be a franchise player. But after six inconsistent seasons, Jones moved on from New York, signing a one-year, $14 million "prove-it" deal with the Colts.
He proved enough (19 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 3,101 yards) to be given a two-year, $88 million contract extension, and if that figure seems high, consider where the Colts were with Jones last season vs. what happened after they lost him for the year.
The Colts went 8-5 with Jones under center but lost the last four games without him.
Indy hasn't made it to the postseason since the 2020 season, and that includes the past three seasons under head coach Shane Steichen.
If the Colts don't make it this year, Steichen could lose his job, and the Jags wouldn't mind contributing to that.
The Colts will have a healthy Jones back, complemented by key players such as star RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Alex Pierce and tight end Tyler Warren.
Defensively, the Colts will look to improve upon a unit that finished tied for 21st in scoring and are relying on a youth movement to do it, parting ways with veterans such as Kwity Paye and Zaire Franklin.
The first matchup between the Jaguars and Colts of the season is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. on CBS.
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