For both of these AFC South rivals, it has been an intriguing start to each of their 2015 regular seasons. For the Jacksonville Jaguars, they started off the regular season in a disappointing loss at home to the Carolina Panthers, only to rebound in a great defensive effort in the second half against the Miami Dolphins, and then travel to Foxboro to get clobbered by the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots.
It was an almost identical scenario for the 2014 AFC South Champions, the Indianapolis Colts, as they started off with two lackluster offensive performances by the offense against the Buffalo Bills away and the New York Jets in a Monday night showdown at home. However, they rebounded against another AFC South opponent in the Tennessee Titans with a fantastic second half effort by Andrew Luck and the crew to get victory number one of the season.
The Jaguars will be having a huge test on Sunday traveling to a stadium where they have not won a matchup in since 2012, when Blaine Gabbert was the team's starting quarterback against a rookie Andrew Luck. Ever since that matchup, however, every single one has ended up in a Colts blowout victory in the last five matchups between the teams.
For the Jags, it's all about recovering, both from a blowout defeat against the Patriots and a number of injuries that have plagued the team since week two of the season. They are slated to get three starters back, whom all missed last week's game, in left tackle Luke Joeckel, defensive end Andre Branch and strong safety Johnathan Cyprien. The worries in the injury report for the team will be on the secondary, where they have both free safety Sergio Brown and starting cornerback Davon House missing practice on Thursday. The injury report on Thursday contained eleven players on the list.
There is currently one major injury for the Colts to look out for, as well, with the reports mid-week that quarterback Andrew Luck has issues with his throwing shoulder. Many may question if the injury occurred early in the season and if it had anything to do with the turnovers that Luck has accumulated for the first three games of the season - seven interceptions in three games - but it seems like he will still be willing to go Sunday.
The Jaguars will look to certainly do better after an abysmal showing in New England where both the offense and defense looked hopeless after the first half ended last Sunday. The team only rushed for 57 yards last week and were forced to throw the football 35/55 (64 percent) plays they ran that game. The team looked to be shut down after Blake Bortles' interception last week, as it has been the case already in two different occasions in both of the losses the Jags suffered this season.
The heat is certainly catching on to Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley over the team's 51-17 loss last week. He told the media throughout the week that he was to blame on the defense not forcing a single punt last week, the first time that has happened in team history, as the coverage for the Jags played very conservatively in another maestro-like showing from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. It is easy to highlight that the team has only forced one turnover over the first three games of the season. It should be a key for a young Jaguars defense to make plays this Sunday to give the team the biggest chance to win, especially with the Colts having the worst turnover ratio in the entire league so far this season with a -7.
For the Jaguars to get a victory this Sunday, they need to score early and often. The entire division looks vulnerable and anything can happen in the NFL. If the Jaguars get a victory, they will push the Colts to have one divisional defeat, with the Jags starting off to a good 1-0 in divisional play. It will need a lot of adversity and confidence for this young Jaguars team to go out to Lucas Oil Stadium and get their first win in Indianapolis since 2012. It will take a strong performance and maybe just a bit of luck to reach back into .500 territory.