Jaguars 3 keys to taking control of AFC South vs. Colts in Week 14

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a prime opportunity in front of them this week to seize control of the AFC South.

The Jaguars will enter Sunday’s game tied with the Indianapolis Colts at 8-4 on the season. Not only will the winner have the better record, but that team will also hold the head-to-head tie-breaker and have the better overall division record.

Even with these two teams still meeting once more in the regular season after this week’s game, the winner will hold the upper hand in the division race with only four games remaining.

If the Jaguars are going to capitalize on this opportunity ahead, here’s how they will have to do it.

Play a clean game

This seems like an obvious factor and is something that could be a key to the game every week. But it’s also something that the Jaguars haven’t always done consistently throughout the season either.

Trevor Lawrence’s 11 interceptions are the third-most in the NFL this season. The Jaguars as a team are also the most penalized team in football, averaging 8.7 penalties per game.

Turnovers take points off the board and give the opponent scoring opportunities. Penalties end drives for the Jaguars’ own offense and extend drives for the opponent.

Winning in the NFL is hard, but it becomes a lot more difficult when having to overcome penalties and losing the turnover battle.

Find a way to contain Jonathan Taylor

The Colts’ last two opponents have been able to limit Taylor’s production. During this two-game stretch, Taylor has totaled 143 rushing yards, averaging just 3.8 yards per attempt. He also has no rushing touchdowns.

To contain Taylor, both the Chiefs and Texans played with heavier boxes, although that can leave a defense susceptible on the back end.

When an offense doesn’t have a strong run game to lean on, it is often operating from behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations. This also creates more true pass-rush opportunities for a defense. Pressuring Daniel Jones has been one way that opponents have been able to slow the Colts’ passing game.

Get Travis Etienne going

Oftentimes this season, the Jaguars’ level of success on offense has been determined by how productive Etienne and the run game have been.

As was just mentioned when discussing the Colts, the same applies to the Jaguars. A good ground game keeps an offense in manageable down-and-distance situations, which can open up opportunities in the passing game.

Although the Colts are not expected to have Sauce Gardner at cornerback, they still have Charvarius Ward, along with a very good safety duo in Nick Cross and Cam Bynum. That trio, paired with Lou Anarumo’s disguise-heavy defensive scheme, can make moving the ball through the air consistently quite difficult, especially if the offense is living in predictable passing situations.

This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars vs. Colts: 3 keys to victory for Jacksonville in Week 14

Jaguars 3 keys to taking control of AFC South vs. Colts in Week 14

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