December 4, 2025 • 22 mins
Kainani Stevens, Brian Sexton and John Oehser preview the Week 14 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. This and more on Jags A.M presented by Fields Auto Group.
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
Welcome to jag Zam today, brought to you by Field
Daughter Group. Can Nannie Stevens here with Brian Sexton and
John Ojer as we get ready to talk about this
weekend's huge matchup of the Indianapolis Colts. First place in
the AFC South is up for grabs, so let's go
over some of our big things for you today. Brought
to you by g EAHA cover of Employees Health Association
benefits for federal employees and retirees. One versus one, the
(00:37):
number one rush defense versus the number one running back
and the league are going had to head this weekend
when Jonathan Taylor comes to town to take on the Jaguars,
and head coach Lilliam Callen talked a little bit about
the versatility of Jonathan Taylor.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Definitely one of the more talented players in the league.
If you try to arm tackle him, you know, that's
that's not exactly a recipe for success. You know, he
can take them eighty and ninety and he also can
get some of the tough, hard yards and in the
past game they've used them, I think at a pretty
(01:11):
good click this year as well.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
So very talented.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
We have to be at our best this week in
terms of clamp tackling, pursuit to the football. It's going
to truly take all eleven when it comes to getting
him down on the ground.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Might take a whole group effort, Brian, But we've seen
it done before, and we've seen some teams recently have
success against the Colts by shutting down Jonathan Taylor. Is
that the recipe for success from Jaguars as well?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Without a doubt. Listen, all you have to know is
that they're undefeated this season. When he has one hundred
yards and he hasn't gained more than one hundred yards
in the last two games, and then they're lost in
Kansas City in the fourth quarter with the Colts holding
an eleven point lead, he only got one carry. There's
no way that they don't keep feeding him over and
over and over on Sunday. That's their key to success,
(02:00):
especially with a quarterback who is limited in some sense
with the fibula fracture, whatever he's got going on. I
do want to point out two other numbers that I'm
equally as interested in, and that's number one versus number seven.
Number one being Travis etn against the number seven run defense,
which is what Indiana Indianapolis brings to town this week.
And every time the Jaguars have had a down day
(02:21):
running the football this season, they've responded with a big day.
They were down last week, they didn't run as effectively.
I expect him to have a big day against the
number seven Colts run defense.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
Yeah, it's a really big day on that front. For
the interior of the Jaguars offensive line, which didn't have
its best day last Sunday, but the interior of the
Jaguars defensive line. Look, I got questions early in the
season when the Jaguar was stopping the run and people
were saying, well, it's because everybody's passing on Look, after
twelve games, that's not what this is. This is a
(02:55):
good running defense that when the other team runs, you're surprised.
Now when they break it out, when they get more
than four or five, you're having those clumpy runs I
call them, where they get one or two and then
there's a difference in down and distance between four and
the guy going backwards. The runner facing the Jaguars. More
(03:16):
often than not, they're stopping for second and eight, third
and seven situations.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
That's been the key to the defense.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
It's as Brian said, sometimes there are hidden matchups in games.
This is an obvious one. That is the matchup on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Worth putting out guy John.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Do you know which runner has the most rushing yards
against the Jaguars this year and how many he had.
It's Woody Marks from Houston who had sixty three. The
next most is sixty from Patrick Mahomes. In fact, quarterbacks
have been the leading rusher for their teams against this
number one defense three times this season. So the Jaguars
run defense is legit.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Let's go to our second big thing today, which is
gonna be Indiana Jones. We're talking about Daniel Jones, who's
had a bit of a surgeons since showing up in
Indianapolis after a tough run with the Giants, and Liam
Cohen talked about some of the challenges pacing off against him.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He's always been a very natural, pure passer, like the
ball comes off of his hand really well. I think
that his footwork and his shoulder balance, his balance of
his body position this year is much much improved, Like
(04:29):
he's just always throwing from a good foundation in base,
not getting leaned one way or the other. The ball
is able to come out when his back foot hits,
and it's been very accurate for the most part this season.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
John, I have to imagine the game plan is going
to be some version of making Daniel Jones beat you,
and especially now that he's dealing with that leg injury.
But what's it going to look like on Sunday from
the defensive perspective for the Jaguars.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
Yeah, to play off of what William Cohen said, the
idea when you're playing Daniel Jones. Clearly what he didn't
say was you want to hit him so that he's
not balanced. You want to make him throw like this
and like this. You know, so, look he's This is
a big game for Daniel Jones. I don't know what
the storyline is in Indy, but you know, he had
(05:18):
a good start and now the teams have stopped Jonathan
Taylor a little bit, and the Colts as a whole
have lost the two games when they sort of stuffed Taylor.
Now clearly it's the storyline is back to can he
win games for them? When Jonathan Taylor stopped. The Good
news Brian is the Jaguars pass rush. I talked about
(05:38):
the run defense being legit all year, the pass rush
wasn't but the pass rush in the last three games
there's no flukiness to what you're seeing. This is now
a defensive front that rushes the passer well and stops
the run well.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Listen, he clearly can't move as efficiently as he has
throughout his career. I don't know whether you recall he
had one hundred and seven rushing yards in a touch
down when he was here with the Giants back in
October of twenty twenty two. I mean the Jaguars lost
that game, not because of Saquon Barkley, but because of
Daniel Jones mobility.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Well, he doesn't have.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
That, So I fully expect whoever's coming off the edge,
whether they get Trey Bond back in a limited capacity,
or Danny Strigau or bj Green and obviously Josh Heinz
Allen is one of the top five in terms of
creating pressure on quarterbacks this year, but his lack of
mobility in the pocket is probably going to give the
Jaguars it's a little red meat to go and find him.
(06:30):
I'll just say this about Daniel Jones, He's that next
quarterback who has resurfaced in the NFL like the Sam
Darnolds and the Baker Mayfields of the world. And no
less a person than Saquon Barkley, who's considered to be
a player not just of great renown on the field,
but high character. Has said that this is a tough
guy who can get the job done. So I expect,
even though he's limited, for him to come out and
(06:52):
play good football on Sunday. It's one of the reasons
I'm looking forward to this matchup.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
It's got to our final big thing today, which is
the next one. This next game up is probably the
biggest we've seen here at ever Bring Stadium in quite
some time. Trevor Lawrence talked about playing big games and help.
Speaker 6 (07:07):
The excitement around the team, and the energy is just
different when you have when you're in the hunt and
you got to you're playing for the playoffs in the postseason. Obviously,
when you're not, you bring everything you can every day,
but the feeling around the team of just we know
that the biggest games are still coming up for us
and that we're playing for a lot and that's that's
(07:27):
why you play, and that's and that's what makes it
fun being in this position. So I mean, yeah, it
is is different every line. If I said it wasn't
so it's exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Well, Tony Bissellin say this is the biggest game in
franchise history, Bryan, because it's the next one.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah, but it is a.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Big game, not a huge game. And listen, I'm a
big proponent of focus. I've always been interested in how
these guys in the locker room are able to shut
out the noise, whether it's from the media or social media.
Focus is required for great football teams, and this week, for.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Them, they get to focus on this game.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Last week they had to fight the urge to focus forward.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
This week, it's not hard.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
To be focused because it's the Colts and they've been
one of the front runners in the AFC all season.
They're the team, but everyone expects to be the AFC
South Division title winner at the end of the year.
So it's easy, John for these guys to focus on
what is ahead.
Speaker 7 (08:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:20):
I got an email from somebody this week saying, yea, look,
why is everybody saying that this is such a big game?
They still control their destiny if they lose. Well, yeah,
a game doesn't have to be must win to be big.
And I do think there will be bigger games for
this team moving forward, but this, in this moment, is
a huge game. It's the It's only the fourth time
(08:42):
in franchise history. I may have said this in the
air already this week, only a fourth time in franchise
history that the Jaguars have been in a division game
in December. With both teams over five four games over
five hundred. These are two really good teams playing in
this stadium on Sunday for first place. It's it's unquestionably huge.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Important games in December.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
We love to hear it.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
We're going to see it this Sunday, and of course
stay with us here on Jagzam. Coming up after the break,
I'll go behind Enemy Line to get some more details
both the Colts injuries and what we can expect on Sunday.
Welcome into Behind Enemy Lines, where we check in with
a media member covering the Jaguars opponent for this week.
It's going to be an AFC South showdown with the
Indianapolis Colts, so we're checking in with Amanda Foster from
(09:29):
Colts dot Com. Amanda, thank you for joining us. We
are very much looking forward to this game. Feels like
almost like a playoff atmosphere. But in the regular season.
Speaker 7 (09:38):
Yes, No, I mean especially you talk about the ANFC
South implications for both of these teams heading into Sunday's game.
Fans talk about the streak that the Colts have at Jacksonville, obviously,
all that kind of thing. Exactly like you said, there's
a lot of It's a high stakes game, I would say,
on both sides, But I mean definitely definitely for us
here in Indianapolis for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I think we're all dealing with injuries time of year,
but you guys are dealing with some to some key players. Obviously,
Daniel Jones had the leg injuries been playing through and
then Sauce Gardner had that calf strain. What's kind of
the latest on that and are do you expect any
changes this week?
Speaker 7 (10:14):
Not We're not really expecting many changes now, Shane Steiken
talk this morning. Sounds like saus Gardner, he said on Monday,
will not be placed on injured reserve, but is expected
to miss some time. My expectation would be that he
will not play this weekend, but you never really know.
Speaker 8 (10:28):
We'll see what happens. Daniel Jones kind.
Speaker 7 (10:31):
Of business as usual, he did say on Sunday after
the Texans game that he's feeling better than he did
last weekend against the Chiefs.
Speaker 8 (10:38):
He should be good to go this whole week again.
Speaker 7 (10:40):
And the hope with that is that he'll continue to
kind of keep feeling better as this week goes on
and as the rest of the season goes on. And
other than that, you know, it's pretty much business as
usual for us.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
We're looking forward to one of the matchups. Obviously, the
Jaguars defense has been great at stopping the run so
far this season, and Jonathan Taylor has been probably the
best running back in the league for us. From your perspective,
what have you seen from Jonathan Taylor this year that's
kind of put him over the top. He's always been talented,
but kind of gotten him to this level.
Speaker 7 (11:07):
Yeah, no, and it's it's one of those things we've
talked about with him here. It's gotten to the point
where it's hard to put into words exactly what he
can do because he just goes out there and you
know what he's going to do. You know his talents
and his capabilities. We've seen how shifty is and how
well he can break through defenses. But there's something that
(11:28):
he just it's very hard to stop him for some reason,
and it's kind of like you just there's not a
great way to describe it.
Speaker 8 (11:34):
We've even heard that from coaches.
Speaker 7 (11:35):
And players if they're like, yeah, that's just what Jonathan does.
And I will say a big part of it, and
something that he's talked about a lot is the talent
of the offensive line and talk about Quentin Nelson and
guys like that who just break out in the open
field and run, and so they're contributing a lot to
his success this season and the last few games we've
seen he's he's still contributed, but not in the way
that he has like he was in the beginning of
(11:57):
the year and even like he did against the Falcons
and Berlin, and so that a lot of his game
does hinge on what the offensive line is able to
do as well, and so it kind of it's that
tandem thing that goes hand in hand. And so the
hope this week is that they can figure out some
of the details and things that they might have been
missing the last few games, or little mistakes they've been making,
and that they can all kind of get on the
(12:18):
same page again this weekend.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Going forward, if sace Gardener's not able to go on
the defensive side of the ball, what do you think
some of the focus will be for the Colts this week?
Speaker 8 (12:27):
That's a good question.
Speaker 7 (12:29):
This secondary and the cornerback room specifically has dealt with
so much turnover this entire season, and so that obviously
you don't want to lose a player like sast Gardener.
Nobody wants to lose a player like that. But these
guys are no stranger to the next minut mentality to
constantly having to shift in and out, bring guys in
off the sideline, off the bench, off the practice squad,
(12:49):
because that's what they've been.
Speaker 8 (12:50):
Doing all year.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
And so it will change in terms of the specifics
of the scheme that luin ROOMI wants to do for sure,
But you do think about you have a guy like
for various word and so more of the kind of
man and man coverage type things that he's very good at,
he'll do more of that I would expect. But it's
not like, obviously you lose talent with Sauce, but you
(13:12):
don't lose a lot of potential.
Speaker 8 (13:13):
I guess is probably the best way to put it.
Speaker 7 (13:15):
Where all of these guys have their own capabilities and
they all have been able to build chemistry together. Because
there's been so much change that it's going to look different,
But I wouldn't say there's going to be a drop
off by any means in terms of what they can do,
whether it's this weekend or for the rest of the season.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
For US, Liam Cohen's been kind of focusing on this
week as being a big game, but also trying to
not make it too much more than it is because
there's so many divisional games left for them on the calendar.
They're going to play the Cults twice in the next
couple of weeks. So what's Shane Steichen's approach been and
what's kind of his messaging to the team been so far?
Speaker 7 (13:47):
Pretty much the exact same thing, like you said. I mean,
we played the Drag Wars twice, we play the Texans again.
And that's something that Shane has emphasized for every game
this season, no matter who they play, is that it's
a day by day thing, a week by week thing,
where you just keep getting better in every way that
you can, and obviously prepare for your opponents, but you
can't think too much about any of it. You can't
(14:08):
think about this weekend, You can't think about the playoffs
or the future.
Speaker 8 (14:11):
Is that's.
Speaker 7 (14:14):
He's emphasisic emphasizing pretty much the same thing of just
do what you can, keep getting better and then go
in and play the best game that you possibly can
every week and that'll lead you where it leads you.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, with the chips fall for you looking forward to
at this game, do you have an X factor on
either side of the ball that you feel like we'll
need to have a good game if the Colts want
to get a win.
Speaker 7 (14:35):
I will say I think I think Jonathan Taylor is
kind of kind of the go to with that. I
think Alec Pierce could also be one to watch though
for the Colts last year when they went to JACKSONVI Like,
he ended up having a pretty big game at the
end of that game and had a very big game
against the Texans this past weekend, so that in terms
(14:55):
of any sort of deep ball threat that the Colts
might want, he's one to keep an eye on. And
then defensively, I think that one the entire X factor is,
it's just the whole defense. If you will you know,
it's terday's word, could have a big game he's kind
of due for a big game. But at the same time,
if they're able to all work together in the way
that we know that they can, then that would be
(15:17):
bigger than you know, any one player that would have
a big breakout game or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
All right, Amanda, thanks so much. We're very much looking
forward to it, and we'll see you here this weekend.
Speaker 8 (15:26):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
That was behind Enemy Lines with Amanda Foster from Colts
dot com. We're all looking forward to this matchup this weekend.
After the break, we'll be back here on jag Zam
giving you what we think the headlines are going to
be on Monday morning. Sets moving in storage for his
most trusted and dependable moving companies. So that's proud to
be the official moving company of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Got
a guaranteed quote visit sudit dot com slash Jacksonville.
Speaker 8 (15:53):
Of the Magna jags Am.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
We're going to do our best to predict the future
for you as we look ahead to headlines on Monday.
And we've been talking incessantly about how big of a
game this is. But Brian, what do you think we're
going to be talking about on Monday.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I'm going with number one.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
The Jaguars will be number one in the AFC South
and it will be number one for the Jaguars. Travis
Etn who powers them to the win over the Colts.
And everyone's talking about the number one rusher in the league,
which is obviously Jonathan Taylor and a lot of respect.
He is phenomenal and the number one run defense, which
is the counter to the number one running back. But
(16:30):
I think number one in Teal throwback Teal no Less
is going to.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Be the key this week.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I think his presence and he's always had big games
against the Colts. I think that will keep some of
the pressure from Quitti pay and Latu Latu who's an
excellent pass rusher, and lou Arumna. Even Las Name, the
defensive coordinator, does an excellent job at keeping offenses guessing.
But I think Etn is the key for the Jaguars.
(16:56):
He's had a tremendous season. Since the start of training camp,
he has been an excellent football player. He's had a
lot to prove and he's proven it well. I think
number one is the key.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Yeah, Sometimes in this league, it takes a long time
for perception or for reality to become perception, and people
have overlooked Travis Etn this year and assume, and correctly so,
Jonathan Taylor was the best running back in the game.
But that if the Jaguars can come out and run
and be the better running team on Sunday, they'll win
(17:27):
the game. And I think you know, that sort of
plays into mind, which is really for real, believe it
or not, people are still overlooking the Jaguars and in
the standings, it's almost like, I'm gonna go with an
analogy here. In the seventies, a band called the Sex
Pistols was in the UK and they had a song
called Anarchy in the UK, I've heard it. It hit
(17:47):
number one, but it was banned, so there was no
name next to it. It was a blank and a
number one. In the standings, it's almost like the Jaguars
are like, there's this ghost team that's in the AFC South,
but it's all the Texans and the Colts, and look,
the Jaguars are in first place and if they win
this game, they will take away the ban and they'll
(18:09):
be number one.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Next to that number one.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
It's again, I usually don't play into this, or they're
being overlooked on graphics. There are still people with Colts
in first place even though they're not. It's uh so
yesterday anarchy in the NFL. It's computer screen yesterday. I'm
hoping for a dead Kennedy's Revelvet underground reference next week.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
You'll get here, get.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Kill the poor proud of you guys.
Speaker 8 (18:35):
I'm going with Stampede.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Because I feel like this is the opportunity for the
pass game to kind of come alive. There's some injuries
on the secondary for the Colts, and I think now
that we've got Brian Thomas Junior back out there, it's
had a week back already. We've seen is buying. We
know he's ready to go. Jacobe Myers is more comfortable
after a month, and I think this is an opportunity
for us to actually see the past.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Game win a game for them.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
I don't think it will nothing against Travestyana know they
play the best when they have the run game going.
But I think the explosives of what is what they
have been missing and I think now is the perfect
stage for them to finally get everything to come together.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah, it's a good call.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
I mean, I think the Jaguars run and they get
what you're talking about. You've written that a couple of
times this week, and it's dead on at some point,
that X factor of the receiving game. If you're going
to be a good team, you have to be complete.
They've been a good running team, and you feel like
each week, don't you feel like they're a little better
(19:32):
in the passing game lately? If they hit what you're
talking about, if there's an explosive fifty five yard touchdown, man,
I think it's gonna be theirs.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Listen, they need Brian Thomas because Parker Washington's availability is
going to go right up the game time and whether
he is functionally able to play at the level he
has all season long. I mean, I think that would
have to be in great jeopardy because of the injury
that he.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Suffered last week.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
So they have Brian back and to get big plays
from him, they're going to need him to be where
he's sposed to be on every play.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
We've seen a couple impressive games room against the Colts
as well. One of my favorite memes from last year
when the Colts defenders diving at his back and he's
just running right out of the frame. So here's hopeful
for another third one. But stay with us right now,
we'll tell you what's coming up after the break here
in jag dayon.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Jaggs fans.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
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Zipchair is furniture for fans and this Sunday's matchup against
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(20:42):
games recently, but they're back in action and it's going
to be a huge one with huge implications in the division.
I just I just want them to play at this point.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Job.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Yeah, Obviously they've been good at home this year. I
mean the Seahawks, notwithstanding they're four and one at home, but.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
They've been very good everywhere.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
And you know, look, we talk about the team and
I tried to fans good what they want to do.
I've been here fifteen years and there's only been a
couple of years where they've played meaningful football in December,
and I guess I've said it all week.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
This is what you've been waiting for.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
Yeah, like it's for.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
In twenty fifteen when you're three and ten and you're
writing me saying, Johnny stink, I hate you. Okay, this
is what, right, everybody has been waiting for. This is
competitive football, This is December. This is a good team.
In ten years, this will be a thing you look
back on and gay, it wasn't that cool.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Yeah, this is it ten, twenty seventeen, twenty twenty two,
twenty twenty three, meaningful football in December. This is only
the fifth time in those fifteen years, and we can
obviously go back further than that and find it's since
two thousand and seven, right, right, I mean it's it's
they weren't an eight nine either. To go back almost
twenty years and it's only been a few week times.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
And this feel that think we all agree and sustainable.
It felt that way in twenty two two. But it
feels sustainable. And if you want to be in on
the Jaguars when they're starting something special, this is it.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
You still run on the bus, jump on.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
We'll be with you, guys.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Pregame, postgame, during the game Radio, Jaguars dot Com, and
of course we'll be back here on jagxam on Monday
recap it all for you, so enjoy the weekend.
Welcome to jag Zam today, brought to you by Field
Daughter Group. Can Nannie Stevens here with Brian Sexton and
John Ojer as we get ready to talk about this
weekend's huge matchup of the Indianapolis Colts. First place in
the AFC South is up for grabs, so let's go
over some of our big things for you today. Brought
to you by g EAHA cover of Employees Health Association
benefits for federal employees and retirees. One versus one, the
(00:37):
number one rush defense versus the number one running back
and the league are going had to head this weekend
when Jonathan Taylor comes to town to take on the Jaguars,
and head coach Lilliam Callen talked a little bit about
the versatility of Jonathan Taylor.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Definitely one of the more talented players in the league.
If you try to arm tackle him, you know, that's
that's not exactly a recipe for success. You know, he
can take them eighty and ninety and he also can
get some of the tough, hard yards and in the
past game they've used them, I think at a pretty
(01:11):
good click this year as well.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
So very talented.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
We have to be at our best this week in
terms of clamp tackling, pursuit to the football. It's going
to truly take all eleven when it comes to getting
him down on the ground.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Might take a whole group effort, Brian, But we've seen
it done before, and we've seen some teams recently have
success against the Colts by shutting down Jonathan Taylor. Is
that the recipe for success from Jaguars as well?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Without a doubt. Listen, all you have to know is
that they're undefeated this season. When he has one hundred
yards and he hasn't gained more than one hundred yards
in the last two games, and then they're lost in
Kansas City in the fourth quarter with the Colts holding
an eleven point lead, he only got one carry. There's
no way that they don't keep feeding him over and
over and over on Sunday. That's their key to success,
(02:00):
especially with a quarterback who is limited in some sense
with the fibula fracture, whatever he's got going on. I
do want to point out two other numbers that I'm
equally as interested in, and that's number one versus number seven.
Number one being Travis etn against the number seven run defense,
which is what Indiana Indianapolis brings to town this week.
And every time the Jaguars have had a down day
(02:21):
running the football this season, they've responded with a big day.
They were down last week, they didn't run as effectively.
I expect him to have a big day against the
number seven Colts run defense.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
Yeah, it's a really big day on that front. For
the interior of the Jaguars offensive line, which didn't have
its best day last Sunday, but the interior of the
Jaguars defensive line. Look, I got questions early in the
season when the Jaguar was stopping the run and people
were saying, well, it's because everybody's passing on Look, after
twelve games, that's not what this is. This is a
(02:55):
good running defense that when the other team runs, you're surprised.
Now when they break it out, when they get more
than four or five, you're having those clumpy runs I
call them, where they get one or two and then
there's a difference in down and distance between four and
the guy going backwards. The runner facing the Jaguars. More
(03:16):
often than not, they're stopping for second and eight, third
and seven situations.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
That's been the key to the defense.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
It's as Brian said, sometimes there are hidden matchups in games.
This is an obvious one. That is the matchup on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Worth putting out guy John.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Do you know which runner has the most rushing yards
against the Jaguars this year and how many he had.
It's Woody Marks from Houston who had sixty three. The
next most is sixty from Patrick Mahomes. In fact, quarterbacks
have been the leading rusher for their teams against this
number one defense three times this season. So the Jaguars
run defense is legit.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Let's go to our second big thing today, which is
gonna be Indiana Jones. We're talking about Daniel Jones, who's
had a bit of a surgeons since showing up in
Indianapolis after a tough run with the Giants, and Liam
Cohen talked about some of the challenges pacing off against him.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He's always been a very natural, pure passer, like the
ball comes off of his hand really well. I think
that his footwork and his shoulder balance, his balance of
his body position this year is much much improved, Like
(04:29):
he's just always throwing from a good foundation in base,
not getting leaned one way or the other. The ball
is able to come out when his back foot hits,
and it's been very accurate for the most part this season.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
John, I have to imagine the game plan is going
to be some version of making Daniel Jones beat you,
and especially now that he's dealing with that leg injury.
But what's it going to look like on Sunday from
the defensive perspective for the Jaguars.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
Yeah, to play off of what William Cohen said, the
idea when you're playing Daniel Jones. Clearly what he didn't
say was you want to hit him so that he's
not balanced. You want to make him throw like this
and like this. You know, so, look he's This is
a big game for Daniel Jones. I don't know what
the storyline is in Indy, but you know, he had
(05:18):
a good start and now the teams have stopped Jonathan
Taylor a little bit, and the Colts as a whole
have lost the two games when they sort of stuffed Taylor.
Now clearly it's the storyline is back to can he
win games for them? When Jonathan Taylor stopped. The Good
news Brian is the Jaguars pass rush. I talked about
(05:38):
the run defense being legit all year, the pass rush
wasn't but the pass rush in the last three games
there's no flukiness to what you're seeing. This is now
a defensive front that rushes the passer well and stops
the run well.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Listen, he clearly can't move as efficiently as he has
throughout his career. I don't know whether you recall he
had one hundred and seven rushing yards in a touch
down when he was here with the Giants back in
October of twenty twenty two. I mean the Jaguars lost
that game, not because of Saquon Barkley, but because of
Daniel Jones mobility.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Well, he doesn't have.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
That, So I fully expect whoever's coming off the edge,
whether they get Trey Bond back in a limited capacity,
or Danny Strigau or bj Green and obviously Josh Heinz
Allen is one of the top five in terms of
creating pressure on quarterbacks this year, but his lack of
mobility in the pocket is probably going to give the
Jaguars it's a little red meat to go and find him.
(06:30):
I'll just say this about Daniel Jones, He's that next
quarterback who has resurfaced in the NFL like the Sam
Darnolds and the Baker Mayfields of the world. And no
less a person than Saquon Barkley, who's considered to be
a player not just of great renown on the field,
but high character. Has said that this is a tough
guy who can get the job done. So I expect,
even though he's limited, for him to come out and
(06:52):
play good football on Sunday. It's one of the reasons
I'm looking forward to this matchup.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
It's got to our final big thing today, which is
the next one. This next game up is probably the
biggest we've seen here at ever Bring Stadium in quite
some time. Trevor Lawrence talked about playing big games and help.
Speaker 6 (07:07):
The excitement around the team, and the energy is just
different when you have when you're in the hunt and
you got to you're playing for the playoffs in the postseason. Obviously,
when you're not, you bring everything you can every day,
but the feeling around the team of just we know
that the biggest games are still coming up for us
and that we're playing for a lot and that's that's
(07:27):
why you play, and that's and that's what makes it
fun being in this position. So I mean, yeah, it
is is different every line. If I said it wasn't
so it's exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Well, Tony Bissellin say this is the biggest game in
franchise history, Bryan, because it's the next one.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah, but it is a.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Big game, not a huge game. And listen, I'm a
big proponent of focus. I've always been interested in how
these guys in the locker room are able to shut
out the noise, whether it's from the media or social media.
Focus is required for great football teams, and this week, for.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Them, they get to focus on this game.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Last week they had to fight the urge to focus forward.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
This week, it's not hard.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
To be focused because it's the Colts and they've been
one of the front runners in the AFC all season.
They're the team, but everyone expects to be the AFC
South Division title winner at the end of the year.
So it's easy, John for these guys to focus on
what is ahead.
Speaker 7 (08:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:20):
I got an email from somebody this week saying, yea, look,
why is everybody saying that this is such a big game?
They still control their destiny if they lose. Well, yeah,
a game doesn't have to be must win to be big.
And I do think there will be bigger games for
this team moving forward, but this, in this moment, is
a huge game. It's the It's only the fourth time
(08:42):
in franchise history. I may have said this in the
air already this week, only a fourth time in franchise
history that the Jaguars have been in a division game
in December. With both teams over five four games over
five hundred. These are two really good teams playing in
this stadium on Sunday for first place. It's it's unquestionably huge.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Important games in December.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
We love to hear it.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
We're going to see it this Sunday, and of course
stay with us here on Jagzam. Coming up after the break,
I'll go behind Enemy Line to get some more details
both the Colts injuries and what we can expect on Sunday.
Welcome into Behind Enemy Lines, where we check in with
a media member covering the Jaguars opponent for this week.
It's going to be an AFC South showdown with the
Indianapolis Colts, so we're checking in with Amanda Foster from
(09:29):
Colts dot Com. Amanda, thank you for joining us. We
are very much looking forward to this game. Feels like
almost like a playoff atmosphere. But in the regular season.
Speaker 7 (09:38):
Yes, No, I mean especially you talk about the ANFC
South implications for both of these teams heading into Sunday's game.
Fans talk about the streak that the Colts have at Jacksonville, obviously,
all that kind of thing. Exactly like you said, there's
a lot of It's a high stakes game, I would say,
on both sides, But I mean definitely definitely for us
here in Indianapolis for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I think we're all dealing with injuries time of year,
but you guys are dealing with some to some key players. Obviously,
Daniel Jones had the leg injuries been playing through and
then Sauce Gardner had that calf strain. What's kind of
the latest on that and are do you expect any
changes this week?
Speaker 7 (10:14):
Not We're not really expecting many changes now, Shane Steiken
talk this morning. Sounds like saus Gardner, he said on Monday,
will not be placed on injured reserve, but is expected
to miss some time. My expectation would be that he
will not play this weekend, but you never really know.
Speaker 8 (10:28):
We'll see what happens. Daniel Jones kind.
Speaker 7 (10:31):
Of business as usual, he did say on Sunday after
the Texans game that he's feeling better than he did
last weekend against the Chiefs.
Speaker 8 (10:38):
He should be good to go this whole week again.
Speaker 7 (10:40):
And the hope with that is that he'll continue to
kind of keep feeling better as this week goes on
and as the rest of the season goes on. And
other than that, you know, it's pretty much business as
usual for us.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
We're looking forward to one of the matchups. Obviously, the
Jaguars defense has been great at stopping the run so
far this season, and Jonathan Taylor has been probably the
best running back in the league for us. From your perspective,
what have you seen from Jonathan Taylor this year that's
kind of put him over the top. He's always been talented,
but kind of gotten him to this level.
Speaker 7 (11:07):
Yeah, no, and it's it's one of those things we've
talked about with him here. It's gotten to the point
where it's hard to put into words exactly what he
can do because he just goes out there and you
know what he's going to do. You know his talents
and his capabilities. We've seen how shifty is and how
well he can break through defenses. But there's something that
(11:28):
he just it's very hard to stop him for some reason,
and it's kind of like you just there's not a
great way to describe it.
Speaker 8 (11:34):
We've even heard that from coaches.
Speaker 7 (11:35):
And players if they're like, yeah, that's just what Jonathan does.
And I will say a big part of it, and
something that he's talked about a lot is the talent
of the offensive line and talk about Quentin Nelson and
guys like that who just break out in the open
field and run, and so they're contributing a lot to
his success this season and the last few games we've
seen he's he's still contributed, but not in the way
that he has like he was in the beginning of
(11:57):
the year and even like he did against the Falcons
and Berlin, and so that a lot of his game
does hinge on what the offensive line is able to
do as well, and so it kind of it's that
tandem thing that goes hand in hand. And so the
hope this week is that they can figure out some
of the details and things that they might have been
missing the last few games, or little mistakes they've been making,
and that they can all kind of get on the
(12:18):
same page again this weekend.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Going forward, if sace Gardener's not able to go on
the defensive side of the ball, what do you think
some of the focus will be for the Colts this week?
Speaker 8 (12:27):
That's a good question.
Speaker 7 (12:29):
This secondary and the cornerback room specifically has dealt with
so much turnover this entire season, and so that obviously
you don't want to lose a player like sast Gardener.
Nobody wants to lose a player like that. But these
guys are no stranger to the next minut mentality to
constantly having to shift in and out, bring guys in
off the sideline, off the bench, off the practice squad,
(12:49):
because that's what they've been.
Speaker 8 (12:50):
Doing all year.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
And so it will change in terms of the specifics
of the scheme that luin ROOMI wants to do for sure,
But you do think about you have a guy like
for various word and so more of the kind of
man and man coverage type things that he's very good at,
he'll do more of that I would expect. But it's
not like, obviously you lose talent with Sauce, but you
(13:12):
don't lose a lot of potential.
Speaker 8 (13:13):
I guess is probably the best way to put it.
Speaker 7 (13:15):
Where all of these guys have their own capabilities and
they all have been able to build chemistry together. Because
there's been so much change that it's going to look different,
But I wouldn't say there's going to be a drop
off by any means in terms of what they can do,
whether it's this weekend or for the rest of the season.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
For US, Liam Cohen's been kind of focusing on this
week as being a big game, but also trying to
not make it too much more than it is because
there's so many divisional games left for them on the calendar.
They're going to play the Cults twice in the next
couple of weeks. So what's Shane Steichen's approach been and
what's kind of his messaging to the team been so far?
Speaker 7 (13:47):
Pretty much the exact same thing, like you said. I mean,
we played the Drag Wars twice, we play the Texans again.
And that's something that Shane has emphasized for every game
this season, no matter who they play, is that it's
a day by day thing, a week by week thing,
where you just keep getting better in every way that
you can, and obviously prepare for your opponents, but you
can't think too much about any of it. You can't
(14:08):
think about this weekend, You can't think about the playoffs
or the future.
Speaker 8 (14:11):
Is that's.
Speaker 7 (14:14):
He's emphasisic emphasizing pretty much the same thing of just
do what you can, keep getting better and then go
in and play the best game that you possibly can
every week and that'll lead you where it leads you.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, with the chips fall for you looking forward to
at this game, do you have an X factor on
either side of the ball that you feel like we'll
need to have a good game if the Colts want
to get a win.
Speaker 7 (14:35):
I will say I think I think Jonathan Taylor is
kind of kind of the go to with that. I
think Alec Pierce could also be one to watch though
for the Colts last year when they went to JACKSONVI Like,
he ended up having a pretty big game at the
end of that game and had a very big game
against the Texans this past weekend, so that in terms
(14:55):
of any sort of deep ball threat that the Colts
might want, he's one to keep an eye on. And
then defensively, I think that one the entire X factor is,
it's just the whole defense. If you will you know,
it's terday's word, could have a big game he's kind
of due for a big game. But at the same time,
if they're able to all work together in the way
that we know that they can, then that would be
(15:17):
bigger than you know, any one player that would have
a big breakout game or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
All right, Amanda, thanks so much. We're very much looking
forward to it, and we'll see you here this weekend.
Speaker 8 (15:26):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
That was behind Enemy Lines with Amanda Foster from Colts
dot com. We're all looking forward to this matchup this weekend.
After the break, we'll be back here on jag Zam
giving you what we think the headlines are going to
be on Monday morning. Sets moving in storage for his
most trusted and dependable moving companies. So that's proud to
be the official moving company of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Got
a guaranteed quote visit sudit dot com slash Jacksonville.
Speaker 8 (15:53):
Of the Magna jags Am.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
We're going to do our best to predict the future
for you as we look ahead to headlines on Monday.
And we've been talking incessantly about how big of a
game this is. But Brian, what do you think we're
going to be talking about on Monday.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I'm going with number one.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
The Jaguars will be number one in the AFC South
and it will be number one for the Jaguars. Travis
Etn who powers them to the win over the Colts.
And everyone's talking about the number one rusher in the league,
which is obviously Jonathan Taylor and a lot of respect.
He is phenomenal and the number one run defense, which
is the counter to the number one running back. But
(16:30):
I think number one in Teal throwback Teal no Less
is going to.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Be the key this week.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I think his presence and he's always had big games
against the Colts. I think that will keep some of
the pressure from Quitti pay and Latu Latu who's an
excellent pass rusher, and lou Arumna. Even Las Name, the
defensive coordinator, does an excellent job at keeping offenses guessing.
But I think Etn is the key for the Jaguars.
(16:56):
He's had a tremendous season. Since the start of training camp,
he has been an excellent football player. He's had a
lot to prove and he's proven it well. I think
number one is the key.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Yeah, Sometimes in this league, it takes a long time
for perception or for reality to become perception, and people
have overlooked Travis Etn this year and assume, and correctly so,
Jonathan Taylor was the best running back in the game.
But that if the Jaguars can come out and run
and be the better running team on Sunday, they'll win
(17:27):
the game. And I think you know, that sort of
plays into mind, which is really for real, believe it
or not, people are still overlooking the Jaguars and in
the standings, it's almost like, I'm gonna go with an
analogy here. In the seventies, a band called the Sex
Pistols was in the UK and they had a song
called Anarchy in the UK, I've heard it. It hit
(17:47):
number one, but it was banned, so there was no
name next to it. It was a blank and a
number one. In the standings, it's almost like the Jaguars
are like, there's this ghost team that's in the AFC South,
but it's all the Texans and the Colts, and look,
the Jaguars are in first place and if they win
this game, they will take away the ban and they'll
(18:09):
be number one.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Next to that number one.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
It's again, I usually don't play into this, or they're
being overlooked on graphics. There are still people with Colts
in first place even though they're not. It's uh so
yesterday anarchy in the NFL. It's computer screen yesterday. I'm
hoping for a dead Kennedy's Revelvet underground reference next week.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
You'll get here, get.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Kill the poor proud of you guys.
Speaker 8 (18:35):
I'm going with Stampede.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Because I feel like this is the opportunity for the
pass game to kind of come alive. There's some injuries
on the secondary for the Colts, and I think now
that we've got Brian Thomas Junior back out there, it's
had a week back already. We've seen is buying. We
know he's ready to go. Jacobe Myers is more comfortable
after a month, and I think this is an opportunity
for us to actually see the past.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Game win a game for them.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
I don't think it will nothing against Travestyana know they
play the best when they have the run game going.
But I think the explosives of what is what they
have been missing and I think now is the perfect
stage for them to finally get everything to come together.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah, it's a good call.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
I mean, I think the Jaguars run and they get
what you're talking about. You've written that a couple of
times this week, and it's dead on at some point,
that X factor of the receiving game. If you're going
to be a good team, you have to be complete.
They've been a good running team, and you feel like
each week, don't you feel like they're a little better
(19:32):
in the passing game lately? If they hit what you're
talking about, if there's an explosive fifty five yard touchdown, man,
I think it's gonna be theirs.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Listen, they need Brian Thomas because Parker Washington's availability is
going to go right up the game time and whether
he is functionally able to play at the level he
has all season long. I mean, I think that would
have to be in great jeopardy because of the injury
that he.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Suffered last week.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
So they have Brian back and to get big plays
from him, they're going to need him to be where
he's sposed to be on every play.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
We've seen a couple impressive games room against the Colts
as well. One of my favorite memes from last year
when the Colts defenders diving at his back and he's
just running right out of the frame. So here's hopeful
for another third one. But stay with us right now,
we'll tell you what's coming up after the break here
in jag dayon.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Jaggs fans.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
If you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home, check
got zipchare dot com to browse all the customizable options.
Zipchair is furniture for fans and this Sunday's matchup against
the Colts presented by Hyundai Test Drivenue hundaiy today only
at your local Hyundai dealer, and you cannot express enough
you definitely want to come out and watch it in
person if you can. Haven't been a ton of home
(20:42):
games recently, but they're back in action and it's going
to be a huge one with huge implications in the division.
I just I just want them to play at this point.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Job.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Yeah, Obviously they've been good at home this year. I
mean the Seahawks, notwithstanding they're four and one at home, but.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
They've been very good everywhere.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
And you know, look, we talk about the team and
I tried to fans good what they want to do.
I've been here fifteen years and there's only been a
couple of years where they've played meaningful football in December,
and I guess I've said it all week.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
This is what you've been waiting for.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
Yeah, like it's for.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
In twenty fifteen when you're three and ten and you're
writing me saying, Johnny stink, I hate you. Okay, this
is what, right, everybody has been waiting for. This is
competitive football, This is December. This is a good team.
In ten years, this will be a thing you look
back on and gay, it wasn't that cool.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Yeah, this is it ten, twenty seventeen, twenty twenty two,
twenty twenty three, meaningful football in December. This is only
the fifth time in those fifteen years, and we can
obviously go back further than that and find it's since
two thousand and seven, right, right, I mean it's it's
they weren't an eight nine either. To go back almost
twenty years and it's only been a few week times.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
And this feel that think we all agree and sustainable.
It felt that way in twenty two two. But it
feels sustainable. And if you want to be in on
the Jaguars when they're starting something special, this is it.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
You still run on the bus, jump on.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
We'll be with you, guys.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Pregame, postgame, during the game Radio, Jaguars dot Com, and
of course we'll be back here on jagxam on Monday
recap it all for you, so enjoy the weekend.
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