Jaguars Lose Again, Colts Enjoy Bye Week But Ready for Second Half
On Sunday, the AFC South was quiet with the exception of another Jacksonville Jaguars (0-8) loss. This one came against the San Francisco 49ers (6-2), 42-10, from across the pond.
For the Jaguars, they can only get better and one of its few bright spots in Sunday’s game was quarterback Chad Henne’s third quarter touchdown to wide receiver Mike Brown. The 29-yard touchdown pass to Brown made it a 28-10 game but there was really no chance for the Jags to make a march for a win.
Henne went 29 of 45, 228 yards and one touchdown for the game. Wide receiver Cecil Shorts III led the team in receiving (7 for 74 yards) while running back Maurice Jones-Drew was the top rusher (19 carries for 75 yards while also adding 6 receptions for 47 yards).
Maurice Jones-Drew
The player has been a topic of conversation as trade bait with the NFL trade deadline coming to an end on Tuesday afternoon. According to CBS Sports’ Jason Canfora, who wrote of the back, “It’s widely knows the Jaguars are very open to moving Maurice Jones-Drew, according to league sources, but his high salary and paltry production has resulted in scant interest for an aging back, even one with his pedigree.”
Some pundits have the Jaguars getting rid of Jones-Drew for a late-round pick but that’s not what they want to get in return. It’s hard to believe but it was just two seasons ago that the player was the league’s top rusher. To-date, Jones-Drew has 122 carries for 391 yards and two touchdowns.
Other Jaguars on the rumored trade list includes wide receiver Justin Blackmon. It’s been a short season for the player to build his stat line as he was suspended for the first four games but upon his return he has 29 receptions for 415 yards and one touchdown. Possible landing spots for him could be the Indianapolis Colts, the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens.
For now, the Jaguars will look forward to their Week 9 bye. Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said of it via the Associated Press, “The bye week is coming at a good time. We can take the time to evaluate where we’re at with our whole team and recommit to take the next step.”
Time will tell what that is other than trying to get a first win for the season. Improving its defense is one thought as from the Jaguars’ two previous games, it has given up 66 points, 832 total yards and 379 rushing yards. It has forced just one turnover and recorded a sack. When the team returns to action, it will play the Tennessee Titans (3-4).
The question has been posed whether or not the Jaguars will go winless this season. There doesn’t appears to be a lot of hope : +700 no/-1000 yes.
In other AFC South news, the Colts (5-2) had their bye week and will return to action on Sunday against the Houston Texans (2-5). Looking at their second half schedule, it bodes well for the AFC South-leading team to continue their march to the postseason.
Andrew Luck
After the Texans in Week 9, the Colts will play the St. Louis Rams (Nov. 10), the Tennessee Titans (Nov. 14), the Arizona Cardinals (Nov.23), the Titans again (Dec. 1), the Cincinnati Bengals (Dec. 8), the Houston Texans (Dec. 15), the Kansas City Chiefs (Dec. 22) and the Jaguars (Dec. 29).
The Colts will be without wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who is now out for the season with a knee injury suffered in Week 7. They have also been the subject of trade rumors to pick up a wide receiver to fill the hole and this has included the New York Giants Hakeem Nicks, Blackmon, Cleveland Browns Josh Gordon and Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald.
Keep your eyes on Colts owner Jim Irsay’s Twitter feed over the next few days.
With their division lead and recent win over the Denver Broncos (7-1), the Colts are in the Super Bowl conversation and sit at 18/1 to win it all.
