JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – What began as a promising game for the Colts at EverBank Stadium quickly became a disaster, as Daniel Jones sustained an Achilles injury and the Colts lost their third game in a row, falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars 36-19.
The Jaguars struck first, picking off Jones on the Colts' first play of the game and producing a touchdown a few plays later. Jones then regrouped and led a methodical drive for a Colts touchdown (Jonathan Taylor's 18th of the season) to even up the score.
After another Jaguars touchdown, it looked like Sunday's game could very well turn into an offensive shootout.
But then, on the Colts' third drive of the day, Jones exited with an Achilles injury and did not return.
Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard – the only quarterback on the Colts' 53-man roster, as Anthony Richardson Sr. remains on injured reserve with an eye injury and Brett Rypien is on the practice squad – then took over, appearing in his second game this season (the first was the Colts' 38-14 blowout over the Tennessee Titans).
The Colts take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC South matchup in Week 14 at EverBank Stadium.
Leonard was able to move the Colts down briefly into the red zone and a defensive pass interference call brought them to the 12-yard line; from there, the Colts were forced to settle for a field goal after failing to convert on third down.
Kicker Blake Grupe connected on the 18-yard field goal to make it 21-10 after the 16-play, 64-yard drive.
As the rain continued to pour at EverBank Stadium, Grover Stewart forced a fumble that was recovered by Germaine Pratt but the Colts were forced to turn the ball over on downs with just under two minutes left in the half. The Jaguars then made their way down the field for another touchdown to take a 28-10 lead heading into the locker room.
The Colts began the third quarter with the ball, and with a series of handoffs to Jonathan Taylor, a big first-down completion to Michael Pittman Jr. and a defensive pass interference call, quickly reached the red zone. They once again had to settle for a field goal, though, after a Pittman touchdown was called back due to offensive pass interference.
The two teams traded three-and-out drives before Lawrence strung together yet another scoring drive, taking over seven minutes off the clock to put up three more points and extend the Jaguars' lead to 31-13.
While the Colts defense forced the Jaguars to turn the ball over on downs in the red zone, Leonard was sacked on the first play and the Jaguars put two more points up on the board with a safety. They then followed it up with a 48-yard field goal.
With under three minutes to go, Leonard led one last drive that ended in a six-yard rushing touchdown from Leonard himself, his first touchdown of his NFL career. The Colts' ensuing two-point attempt failed.
