INDIANAPOLIS — This is it; the Indianapolis Colts' last effort to make the most out of their 2019 regular season.
They travel to Northern Florida to take on their AFC South Division rival Jacksonville Jaguars in a place that has been a house of horrors for them recently, as they've gone without a win in Jacksonville since 2014. However, if the Colts are going to get off the schneid then this may be the year it happens.
What might this year's final game mean?
BROADCAST INFORMATION
- Sunday, Dec. 29, at 4:25 p.m. ET
- Jacksonville, Fla.; TIAA Bank Field
- TV: CBS — Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Adam Archuleta (color)
- Watch the Colts on Yahoo Sports or the Colts app, free on your phone or tablet. *Geographic and device restrictions apply. Local & primetime games only. Data charges may apply.
- Click here for more ways to watch.
- To find out what games will be on in your area, check here
- Radio: WFNI "1070 The Fan" and WLHK "HANK FM" — Matt Taylor (play-by-play), Jim Sorgi (color) and Larra Overton (sideline)
ALL-TIME SERIES
- Colts lead, 24-13. The Colts have won two out of the last three games dating back to 2018.
- Last game — Week 11 of 2019. Colts won, 33-13.
COACHING STAFF
Colts:
- HC Frank Reich
- OC Nick Sirianni
- DC Matt Eberflus
- STC Bubba Ventrone
Jaguars:
- HC Doug Marrone
- OC John DeFilippo
- DC Todd Wash
- STC Joe DeCamillis
LAST WEEK
Colts:
- Won vs. Carolina Panthers (5-10), 38-6
Jaguars:
- Lost @ Atlanta Falcons (6-9), 24-12
INJURY UPDATE
Colts:
- OUT — RB Jordan Wilkins (knee), CB Quincy Wilson (shoulder)
- DOUBTFUL — DT Denico Autry (concussion), S Khari Willis (shoulder)
- QUESTIONABLE — CB Kenny Moore II (ankle), DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (groin), G Quenton Nelson (concussion)
Jaguars:
- OUT — WR Michael Walker (hamstring)
- DOUBTFUL — N/A
- QUESTIONABLE — LB Dakota Allen (hamstring), CB A.J. Bouye (wrist), RB Leonard Fournette (neck), QB Gardner Minshew II (shoulder), TE Nick O'Leary (shoulder), WR Dede Westbrook (neck/shoulder)
STORYLINES/THINGS TO WATCH
- Pound The Rock Again? — The Colts ran for a season-high 264 yards against the Jaguars in Week 11, which included both Marlon Mack (109) and Jonathan Williams (116) going over the century mark. The Colts ran for 218 yards just last week, so what might they be able to do in Jacksonville this time around?
- Breaking The Cycle In Jacksonville — Simply put, do the Colts end their losing streak in away games against the Jaguars? They've proven capable of beating the Jaguars at home, but it's time to get the monkey off their back on the road.
- Each Team's Last Effort — Both teams fell short of their expectations in 2019. The Colts are coming off of a big win and want momentum going into the offseason. The Jaguars are looking for just about anything after losing six of their last seven games.
INTRIGUING MATCHUPS
- Colts WR T.Y. Hilton vs. Jaguars CB A.J. Bouye (Q) — Hilton missed the first meeting this season, and this'll be his first game against the Jaguars since they traded All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Bouye remains one of the better cover corners in the entire NFL, leading to entertaining matchups with Hilton throughout the contest.
- Colts OT Anthony Castonzo vs. Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue/LB Josh Allen — Both Yannick Ngakoue and Josh Allen are terrors off the edge and have given the Colts fits in the past. The good news is the Colts have their best blocking tackle on the job in Castonzo.
- Colts CB Pierre Desir vs. Jaguars WR D.J. Chark — Chark lit the Colts up for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the last matchup. Desir missed that game and should be able to provide the Colts with more stability coming off of his two-interception, five-pass breakup game last week.
- Colts DE Justin Houston vs. Jaguars OT Cam Robinson — Houston recorded his 10th sack of the season last week, his first double-digit effort since 2014 and the Colts' first since 2016. He'll look to close the season out strong and provide some pressure against the Jaguars' backfield and another young left tackle in Robinson.
REFEREE ASSIGNMENT
- Head referee: Brad Allen (six years). Click here to see all referee assignments for Week 17.
BETTING LINE
- Favorite: Colts (-4.0)
- Over/Under: 42.0
REGULAR SEASON LEADERS
Colts:
- Passing — QB Jacoby Brissett (2,780 yards)
- Rushing — RB Marlon Mack (1,014 yards)
- Receiving — WR T.Y. Hilton (597 yards)
- Touchdowns — RB Marlon Mack (6)
- Tackles — LB Darius Leonard (115)
- Sacks — DE Justin Houston (10.0)
- Interceptions — LB Darius Leonard (4)
Jaguars:
- Passing — QB Gardner Minshew II (2,976 yards)
- Rushing — RB Leonard Fournette (1,152 yards)
- Receiving — WR D.J. Chark (974 yards)
- Touchdowns — WR D.J. Chark (8)
- Tackles — S Jarrod Wilson (73)
- Sacks — LB Josh Allen (10.0)
- Interceptions — CB Tre Herndon (3)
COMPARING 2019 STATS
Colts:
- Total offense — 25th (330.9 YPG)
- Scoring — 16th (22.7 PPG)
- Passing offense — 28th (197.7 YPG)
- Sacks allowed — Tied-16th (39)
- Running offense — 4th (133.2 YPG)
- Third down offense — 13th (42 percent)
- Red zone offense — 7th (64.2 percent)
- Total defense — 16th (346.4 YPG)
- Scoring defense — 15th (22.3 PPG)
- Passing defense — 22nd (246.4 YPG)
- Sacks — Tied-17th (38)
- Running defense — Tied-8th (100.0 YPG)
- Third down defense — Tied-22nd (41 percent)
- Red zone defense — 8th (51.1 percent)
- Time of possession — 11th (30:28)
- Turnover differential — 13th (+3)
Jaguars:
- Total offense — 20th (341.0 YPG)
- Scoring — 29th (17.5 PPG)
- Passing offense — 16th (231.6 YPG)
- Sacks allowed — 9th (29)
- Running offense — 16th (109.4 YPG)
- Third down offense — 28th (32 percent)
- Red zone offense — 31st (38.1 percent)
- Total defense — 27th (382.1 YPG)
- Scoring defense — Tied-22nd (25.1 PPG)
- Passing defense — 20th (242.3 YPG)
- Sacks — Tied-7th (44)
- Running defense — 28th (139.8 YPG)
- Third down defense — 24th (42 percent)
- Red zone defense — 14th (56.6 percent)
- Time of possession — 13th (30:16)
- Turnover differential — 18th (-2)
NOTES AND QUOTES
- The Colts need two rushing yards to reach 2,000 rushing yards for the first time since 1994 (2,060).
- Mack needs one 100-yard rushing performance to tie Joseph Addai (eight) for the fifth-most such games in Colts' franchise history.
- Colts running back Nyheim Hines needs four receptions to tie Marshall Faulk (108) for the second-most receptions by a Colts running back in their first two seasons in the NFL.
- Hilton needs one touchdown to pass Dallas Clark (46) for the 11th-most total touchdowns in franchise history, and one receiving touchdown to tie Clark (46) for the sixth-most receiving touchdowns in franchise history. With at least one reception, Hilton will tie Jim Mutscheller (72) for the seventh-longest streak in franchise history. Hilton also needs one game with 10-plus receptions to pass Don McCauley, Lydell Mitchell, Joe Washington, Anthony Johnson and Clark, all with three, for the third-most such games in franchise history.
- Colts tight end Jack Doyle needs one receiving touchdown to pass Ken Dilger (18) and tie Tom Mitchell (19) and Dwayne Allen (19) for the fourth-most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in franchise history.
- Colts linebacker Darius Leonard needs 12 tackles to pass Jerrell Freeman (289) for the most tackles in a player's first two seasons in franchise history.
- Colts head coach Frank Reich on if how they evaluate the roster changes in this final game: "No, it doesn't change. Obviously like we said before, maybe some guys are going to get a little bit more playing time. There are some adjustments – small adjustments – made in the roster on emphasis of play-time. But really for us as coaches, we are preparing to win the game. We are preparing to win the game. Obviously, Chris (Ballard) has to always keep the big picture in mind. He and I have conversations, I'm not going to say we don't have conversations. But I honestly resist the temptation of going too deep into those conversations. We have plenty of time to have those conversations when the season is over. For right now as a staff we have to focus on preparing to beat Jacksonville."
- Reich on his thoughts on how they performed in their up-tempo work in last week's game: "I thought it went well. We went down on that first drive and obviously had that short field. So, really we didn't go down and score every time we touched it as far as no-huddle, but that first one we did and that's big. That's really what we were hoping to accomplish. I mean we only had to go 40-some yards thanks to the punt return and a three-and-out by the defense. But it was good, I thought Jacoby (Brissett) handled it well. Then there were other times – as I said after the game – where because we got up we got out of the no-huddle, but we were still using some of the principles like the way you do it when you're going no-huddle and you have to make checks on the ball. Now, you can still do some of that from the huddle and you're still making checks but you're just doing it in a different way, a different mechanism if you will but the same principles. Jacoby handled that well all day. He made a lot of good run-checks. That's part of the reason why we ran the ball the way we did. There were multiple times in that game where he's making the right check. Some of them that were called for and probably – I probably should've counted it up – two or three or four run-checks that weren't called for that he saw and made the appropriate and correct check."
- This week, the Colts made the following roster moves: waived tight end Ross Travis.
CATCH BEFORE THE GAME
- Colts-Jaguars 2019 Finale Moved To 4:25 p.m. ET Kickoff
- Colts Release Week 17 Unofficial Depth Chart For Jaguars Matchup
- Colts Quick Scouting Report: Week 17 Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Colts Daily Notebook: Quenton Nelson Returns To Practice
- Two Colts Ruled Out, Two Doubtful Sunday Against Jaguars; Quenton Nelson Questionable
