With three regular season games remaining in the 2025 NFL season, the Colts are not yet out of the playoff race – but it's coming down to the wire, especially as both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans seem to be surging at the right time. The Jaguars have now won five straight games and the Texans are on a six-game win streak for the second-longest active streak in the league, only behind the Denver Broncos who clinched a spot in the playoffs on Sunday with their 11th consecutive win.
The Colts, on the other hand, have lost four straight games and will face off against the San Francisco 49ers, Jaguars and Texans to close out the regular season. The 49ers, after taking down the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, will enter Lucas Oil Stadium Monday night on a four-game winning streak.
Trevor Lawrence has career day in Jaguars' 10th win of season
Trevor Lawrence became the first player in NFL history to record at least five passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and and 50 rushing yards in a single game on Sunday, as the Jaguars beat the New York Jets 48-20 for their fifth straight win, and 10th of the season. The Jaguars, with a 10-4 record, remain atop the AFC South with games against the Broncos, Colts and Titans in the final three weeks of the regular season.
"It's fun to be around this group," head coach Liam Coen said postgame. "They continue to rise to these challenges that we present each week and you do feel like we are improving in some ways in different areas, in all three phases. There's different areas that continuously need to be improved upon. I think our guys have done a nice job of staying that course, working intentionally throughout the week, and then coming out on Sundays and putting it on tape."
"I think we just executed really well," Lawrence said. "I felt like we had a really good plan and guys just made a lot of plays down the field and I was able to give them opportunities. We were protected so good up front. That also helps. You got a lot of time back there to distribute and let guys get open. Our group up front did a great job today."
Lawrence finished the day 20-of-32 for 330 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He led eight scoring drives on nine possessions and wasn't sacked a single time; the Jets only recorded two total quarterback hits. Lawrence also led the Jaguars with 51 rushing yards and scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season.
"Very proud of Trevor and his preparation, the way that he's practiced, the way that he's continued to lead our offense and do what we're asking him to do at a high level," Coen said. "He's playing at a high level right now."
Travis Etienne Jr. led the Jaguars with three receptions for 73 yards and three touchdowns, and Jakobi Meyers wasn't far behind with five receptions for 71 yards. Sunday also marked Lawrence's third consecutive game without an interception, and he now has thrown 14 touchdowns during the Jaguars' 5-game winning streak.
"I don't think I've ever seen Trevor like this," Etienne said.
The Colts play the Jaguars in Week 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium; the Jaguars play the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Week 16.
Texans dominate Cardinals in sixth consecutive win
Two NFL teams on Sunday scored at least 40 points, and of course they would both be AFC South teams. The Texans, in a wholly dominant performance from the very start, took down the Arizona Cardinals 40-20 to improve to 9-5 and hold on to the second-place spot in the AFC South. The Texans scored on each of their first five possessions, and it would have been six if not for a blocked field goal. They only punted once, while forcing the Cardinals to throw two interceptions, turn the ball over twice on downs and once on a fumble, and punt three times.
"You want to be playing your best ball in December going into January," C.J. Stroud said. "Since we're doing that, it's really good. There is always things to improve on. We left a little bit out there. But I feel like we got better from last week and every week we just keep progressing. I think that's all we can do right now."
Stroud finished 22-of-29 for 260 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions and only one sack. Wide receiver Nico Collins led the team with three receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and practice squad running back Jawhar Jordan, in his NFL debut, had 15 carries for 101 yards. Nick Chubb did not play with a rib injury and Woody Marks sat out the second half out of precaution after "tweaking" his ankle in the first half.
"I thought the communication was seamless," head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "I thought the guys did a great job communicating, breaking the huddle, and getting lined up. That's low-hanging fruit for us. We did a better job of improving that. We got to find a way to still finish. There are still some things we left out there not only on the offensive side but on the defensive side as well. We left a lot of the plays out there that we have to keep playing up to our standard. That's what we judge ourselves against, the standard."
The Texans struggled to contain tight end Trey McBride, who had 12 receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns, but he was one of the few bright spots for the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Texans will play the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers before hosting the Colts at NRG Stadium in Week 18.
"It's that one-game-at-a-time mentality," Stroud said. "I know nobody wants to hear it, but that's what I believe. That's all that we can control is one game at a time. Come out, handle business each week. That's what we have to keep doing down the stretch here. We got to go out and handle business."
Titans fall short against 49ers
The 49ers will enter Lucas Oil Stadium next Monday riding the high of a four-game win streak, with an efficient and impressive offensive performance in their 37-24 victory over the Titans. Brock Purdy was 23-of-30 for 295 yards (average of 9.8 yards per play) and three touchdowns. Ricky Pearsall had 96 receiving yards, George Kittle had 88 receiving yards and a touchdown and Christian McCaffrey had 22 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown.
The 49ers scored on seven of their eight possessions, with touchdowns on four of their first five possessions.
"They had a bye week, so they had two weeks to prepare for us," edge Arden Key said."And it showed."
"The slow starts in both halves (hurt us)," Titans interim coach Mike McCoy said. "This is a really good football team, San Francisco. They are well coached, they execute at a very high level...we didn't make enough plays for four quarters, and we didn't slow them down."
Cam Ward had a relatively promising outing, completing 18-of-29 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Jeffery Simmons had the top two Titans highlights of the day, with a strip-sack in the fourth quarter for the Titans' only takeaway of the game. Two plays later, it was Simmons who stood in the end zone with the football after catching a one-yard touchdown pass from Ward.
It is worth nothing that the injury-riddled 49ers defense (notably without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner) struggled to take advantage of its opportunities, failing to record a sack or a takeaway on Sunday. The Titans finished with 306 total yards of offense, with 136 total rushing yards (Tony Pollard had 14 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown), and an average of 6.2 yards per play. But with the 49ers netting 430 yards of offense, it ultimately just wasn't enough.
The Colts host the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 16.
