Jones may be limited in pocket due to fibula injury, Colts need his scrambling ability
Richardson still not cleared to practice, Gardner expected back in December
Colts defense has been on field too much, need to improve getting off the field
Source: David Eulitt / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – The trip to Colts hell awaits on Sunday afternoon.
It’s a road game against the Jaguars, and the Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville since the 2014 season.
What did we learn from the Colts holding a walk-through on Wednesday?
-Sounds like Daniel Jones (fibula) will follow the same practice plan this week. “Should be good to go,” Shane Steichen said of Jones. On Wednesday, Jones said he’s starting to feel better as he begins to play a 3rd game with his fibula injury. Certainly, Daniel Jones had some very impressive throws this past Sunday, despite playing through a fibula injury. And while the Colts are continuing to say there are no play calling limitations with Jones’ injury status, it’s clear he has recently been confined more to the pocket. After having a very important/needed 6 scrambles in the win over the Falcons, Jones has had just 2 scrambles in the past two games, also when this fibula injury first popped up. Given how the Colts offense has performed since returning from their bye, they could really use Jones adlibbing a bit when nothing is there. There’s no question that Jones’ ability to scramble in Germany was a huge reason why the Colts won that game. And it’s clear that the injury to Jones was a definite reason why the team opted for Tyler Warren on a 3rd-and-1 QB sneak on Sunday versus using the quarterback. Jones is 11-of-12 in short-yardage sneaks this season.
-Unlike with DeForest Buckner (neck) and Sauce Gardner (calf), Shane Steichen has not approached a timetable to return to return for Anthony Richardson Sr. (eye orbital). Steichen said the Colts are “hopeful” for a Richardson return, but he is still not practicing, doing any field work. “I don’t know,” Steichen said of Richardson returning in 2025. “We are hopeful for that. He’s just resting his eye right now.” Richardson is back in the building and was on the sidelines for the Texans game, the first time he’s done that since his eye injury. Steichen said Richardson is starting to do some weight room work but stressed the QB’s eye injury is still not healed enough to be cleared for practice. “You want to make sure he’s got full vision in that eye,” the head coach said.
-While Sauce Gardner (calf) is expected to miss this week’s game in Jacksonville, he was moving better in the locker room on Wednesday than he was on the sidelines Sunday post-injury. Again, the Colts expect Gardner back at some point in the month of December.
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-New Colts kicker Blake Grupe got to Indy on Monday night and is living out of a suitcase as he joins the Colts. At 5-7 and 156 pounds, Grupe becomes one of the smallest players in Colts history. More on Grupe here.
-Currently, the Colts do have an open roster spot. Could LB-Jaylon Carlies fill that later in the week? Carlies had a 21-day window open for his return this season, and is now in the 3rd and final week of that practice time. If the Colts don’t promote Carlies by this weekend, he will then stay on injured reserve for the rest of the season with his ankle injury.
-Yep, another streak. While the Colts finally ended their Week 1 drought in emphatic fashion, the Jacksonville futility goes back to 2014 and might be more frustrating. Why? Well, the Jaguars have been one of the NFL’s worst teams in that span and have used a variety of quarterback to continue this 10-game home win streak over Indy. A 44-17 win in 2014 as the last Colts victory in Jacksonville, a Colts team that included Reggie Wayne, Trent Richardson and Josh McNary. Remember, back in 2015 when this streak started, the Colts had won a remarkable 16 straight AFC South games. And then it all changed in a December loss in Jacksonville. The streak started in Week 14 of the 2015 season. A decade later, will it end in Week 14 of the 2025 season? If you want to summarize why the Jaguars have had this decade-long run over the Colts—consistent play in the trenches and winning the turnover margin are two major reasons why.
-Trevor Lawrence is coming off his first game of 2025 with a passer rating above 100 (whereas Daniel Jones has been above that mark in 9 of 12 games this year). In recent meetings, Lawrence has been very good against the Colts. Since 2022 (5 games), Lawrence has completed 79 percent of his passes against the Colts (career average is 62%), tossing 9 touchdowns, compared to 3 interceptions, with a quarterback rating of 112.1 (career rating is 84.5). Lawrence has faced Lou Anarumo twice in his career, completing north of 70 percent of his passes, with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The Jaguars lost both meetings, scoring 21 and 31 points.
-There’s an odd dichotomy with the Colts defense the last two weeks. The good? The Colts have allowed just 3 touchdowns in 8 quarters. The bad? The Colts defense has been on the field too much. In 20 (real) drives the last two weeks, the Colts defense has allowed 9 of those to span double-digit plays. They’ve had to play 173 total defensive snaps. Coordinator Lou Anarumo knows the Colts need to be better in getting off the field, to play better complementary football and stay in better control of field position.
–Expanded playoff standing look in here with 5 weeks left. Playoff odds can shift in a hurry on Sunday.