The Jacksonville Jaguars got a huge divisional win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and opened up a three-game lead in the AFC South. 

They paid a huge price for the victory. 

On Monday, Ian Rapoport reported that Jaguars’ star defensive tackle, DaVon Hamilton, is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn quad against the Colts. 

The loss of the 6’4, 335- pound Hamilton leaves a huge hole, both literally and figuratively, right in the middle of Jacksonville’s defense. 

Hamilton was injured in the second quarter of Sunday’s game and had to be carted off the field. Although the injury looked serious, there was hope that Hamilton would avoid a worst-case scenario. 

Unfortunately, that was not the case, and now the organization will have to find a way to replace its run-stuffing behemoth defensive tackle. 

With Hamilton as the anchor, Jacksonville has had the best run defense in the NFL for the last two seasons. 

Through the first eight weeks of the season, the Jaguars are allowing only 77.4 yards per game on the ground, the fewest in the league. 

Hamilton is the biggest reason for Jacksonville’s success defending the run. 

Hamilton has earned a 72.3 run-defense grade from PFF this season, which ranks 10th out of 128 qualified interior defensive linemen. 

His 74.6 overall grade is 14th among IDL. 

Without Hamilton, the Jaguars will rely on the group of Ruke Orhorhoro, rookie Albert Regis, and the newly signed Austin Johnson, who was added to the practice squad on Monday, to step up and fill the void. 

If there is anything positive to take from Hamilton’s injury situation, it is that it happened before the trade deadline. 

The deadline is November 10, giving Jacksonville a little over a week to make a move. 

General manager James Gladstone should be actively working the phones to find a defensive tackle who can come in and reasonably replace Hamilton. 

The Jaguars are too good, and have too good an opportunity to have their dreams of reaching the Super Bowl ruined by an injury. 

Gladstone should do whatever it takes to find a suitable replacement for Hamilton. Unfortunately, one of the most popular trade targets for Jacksonville, Washington Commanders DT Daron Payne, is no longer an option due to his own injury. 

However, there are plenty of defensive tackles who could be available and could come to Jacksonville and make a difference. 

Expect the Jaguars to make a significant move over the next week to help alleviate the loss of Hamilton.