Jaguars-Colts Preview

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen noticed the potential in his team during training camp.

The rookie coach saw players embracing his physical practices and the daily demand to play hard, fast and well, and thought it was a good sign. Five months later, Coen and the playoff-bound Jags are on cusp of reaping multiple rewards.

The Jags enter Week 16 on a six-game winning streak and with a one-game lead over Houston in the AFC South. They're in position to win the division for the first time since 2022, and they have a shot at capturing the conference's top seed.

Their immediate goal: beating the Indianapolis Colts for the second time this month to complete the fourth season sweep in the series.

“We’ve won the last X amount of games in a row and that’s fun, but they continuously want to try to get better,” Coen said. “The guys aren’t just kind of getting through the day. I think the most fun part is when we’re here, when we’re in the building together, they are present and they’re being where their feet are. That’s all you can really ask. You want people, you want the staff, the players, the coaches, to want to come back in the building every day.”

How surprising have the Jags (11-4) been this season?

Beating the Colts on Sunday would give Jacksonville a 6-2 road mark and its first 12-win season since 2005. The Jags had their share of adversity this season, losing their only draft pick of the first two rounds - two-way, Heisman Trophy-winning star Travis Hunter - to a season-ending right knee injury in late October.

Indy's second-half collapse has been stunning, too.

The Colts (8-7) have lost five straight and six of seven since taking a large division lead and moving into contention for the AFC's top seed. Indy made a splashy trade-deadline deal to acquire two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner, shoring up an injury-depleted secondary.

But Gardner suffered a strained calf early in his third game with Indy and has missed the last three, although he's expected to return this weekend. Pro Bowl cornerback Charvarius Ward is back on injured reserve with his second concussion of the season.

The result: Indy allowed Brock Purdy to throw a career-high five touchdown passes in Monday night's loss to San Francisco.

Next up is a surging Trevor Lawrence, who has thrown for at least 225 yards and two TDs in each of his last three games, and a team motivated to improve its postseason position.

Indy's season took a dire turn when quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a torn Achilles tendon, prompting the desperation signing of 44-year-old Philip Rivers, who ended a five-year retirement. Rivers has played well under the circumstances, but the Colts have lost both of his starts.

“What I’ve seemed to gather just from the locker room - obviously, I haven’t been here long - is we need to just win a football game,” Rivers said. “I think keep it as simple as that. We get an opportunity. The opportunities are dwindling. Go out and execute and put a complete game together in all phases and win a game.”

Jacksonville placed cornerback Jourdan Lewis on season-ending injured reserve this week because of a foot injury that requires surgery, leaving the Jags' secondary depleted. Cornerbacks Montaric Brown, Jarrian Jones and Greg Newsome II will need to carry a heavier load moving forward.

“Always hard when you lose a leader, elite communicator, guy that brings energy and focus and playmaking to our defense,” Coen said. “That’s always hard. But he’s handled it like a pro. He’s been extremely confident with the guys around him, continuing to try to pour into them as much as possible.”

Indy's season started to unravel when Jones - dubbed “Indiana Jones” during the Colts' hot start - injured his lower left leg in mid-November. Things really went awry, though, the last time these teams met. Jones tore his right Achilles tendon against the Jaguars. His replacement, rookie Riley Leonard, showed up the next day at team headquarters with an injured knee.

That's when coach Shane Steichen reached out to Rivers, a Hall of Fame semifinalist and a grandfather who had been coaching high school football in his native Alabama. Rivers remains stuck on 134 career wins, and Sunday's game could be his home finale - again.

And he'll be rooting for the only other team he's played for, the Los Angeles Chargers, who play the Texans on Saturday night.

“That will be an easy one to pull for, right?” Rivers said. “Pulling for the Chargers would be an easy one to pull for. So, you feel like you’re pulling for them, you’re helping them out a little bit.”

Lawrence needs 343 yards passing to pass Blake Bortles (17,646) and move into second on the franchise’s career list behind Mark Brunell (25,698).

Running back Travis Etienne needs two TDs to surpass tight end Marcedes Lewis (33) for fifth in team history. Etienne is 1 yard shy of reaching 1,000 yards rushing for the third time in four seasons.

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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.

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