Knee-jerk Reactions: Colts Embarrass Themselves, Get Shutout by Jaguars 24-0

The Indianapolis Colts, now 0-1-1, embarrassed themselves in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was never even close, as Indianapolis got shutout 24-0 after a horrendous day all-around from both sides of the ball.

AWFUL OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY ALL DAY LONG:

We once viewed the Colts’ offensive line as one of the NFL’s best. They didn’t play like it Sunday. Quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked five times and had little-to-no time to complete a pass. Ryan was constantly under duress and forced several throws which ended up being easy interceptions for Jacksonville’s defense.

Although the offensive line didn’t provide much help for Ryan, the veteran quarterback isn’t to be absolved of blame. Ryan went 16-of-30 for 195 passing yards and three interceptions with zero touchdowns and a QBR of 34.0.

Even running back Jonathan Taylor (nine rushes for 54 yards) couldn’t find running lanes for much of the day. The Colts’ offense had no answers for the Jaguars’ defense all day long.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS COULDN’T CREATE SEPARATION:

Without receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce, the rest of the wideouts struggled to get open all afternoon. Running back Nyheim Hines (four receptions, 37 yards), Ashton Dulin (five receptions, 79 yards) and Mike Strachan (one reception, 23 yards) lead the Colts in receiving yards.

GM Chris Ballard’s refusal to add another veteran wideout to such a young and unproven wideout room — yet again — has come back to bite them, and it hurt the Colts’ offense massively again on Sunday.

Not having your best receiver in Pittman Jr. available hurts the offense, but it shouldn’t plague the rest of the group almost entirely. For the second straight week, the offense came out flat and couldn’t find any consistent rhythm.

DEFENSE GETS BULLIED, COULDN’T GET OFF FIELD ON CRUCIAL DOWNS:

Say what you might about the awful performance by Indy’s offense, but the defense wasn’t much better — at all. The Colts’ front four failed to create a consistent pass rush against Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and he made them pay all afternoon long.

The second-year quarterback carved up the Colts’ defense for 235 passing yards and two touchdowns and had a career-best 121.5 passer rating. Lawrence had all day to throw on nearly every passing down and completed 83.3% of his passes on 25 of 30 attempts. Indianapolis’ defense simply had no answers for Jacksonville’s passing attack.

So far, the investments made along the defense haven’t paid off. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has zero sacks through the first two weeks, and the secondary can’t seem to make plays when the Colts need it most. Both safety Julian Blackmon and cornerback Stephon Gilmore had dropped interceptions Sunday.

With games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, and Denver Broncos in the weeks to come, the Colts are going to have to turn things around — and fast — or they could be staring at a very ugly record to start their 2022 season.