Holy shit, we won!

The Jacksonville Jaguars ended their four-game losing streak in 2024 with a 37-34 home win over the Indianapolis Colts. You’d have to go back a full decade to get to Indy’s last win in Jacksonville, and the Jags couldn’t have picked a better time to extend that streak.

Unfortunately, the result doesn’t lie about how close the game itself was. The Jags were in control until they weren’t, a worrying trend that has cost the team two wins so far.

But let’s all celebrate for a week. The Throwback Jags are in the win column and Trevor Lawrence has won a football game. Happy birthday, Trevor. And a happy win on Monday.

WINNER

Trevor Lawrence

Not to emphasize the point, it’s been quite a while since Lawrence won a start as a Jaguar. Anti-Lawrence sentiment reached a fever pitch last week and signs suggested that Lawrence would simply never perform as promised as quarterback. Until Sunday.

Lawrence had an outstanding game, throwing for a career-high 371 yards. He completed 28 of his 34 passes and threw two touchdowns. His only mistake was an errant throw that was picked. Most importantly, Lawrence led a game-winning drive by setting up rookie kicker Cam Little, who took the game to the ice with a 49-yard boot. Lawrence also kept his throwback jersey clean by not taking a single sack.

This game in no way rewrites narratives and does not silence many critics. It shows everyone, especially Lawrence, that he’s still that guy. Lawrence can be one of the best pitchers in this league at any time. On Sunday it was him.

Travon Walker

A second point that has been negated this season is the lack of production from the defensive line. Travon Walker also silenced it on Sunday.

The former first overall pick recorded three sacks, including a strip sack and the game-ending sack, the most of his career. The 44-year-old Bulldog has been a monster and now has 10 sacks in his last nine games. Sure, that number is a bit of a lie, but it shows how dominant Walker can be and why the Jags took him first overall ahead of someone like Aiden Hutchinson. Walker now has as many sacks as the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals.

Cartavious does Bigsby

Auburn football may stink loudly, but an Auburn football alum certainly isn’t and he’s running football in Jacksonville. Tank Bigsby had a masterful game for the Jaguars, continuing his excellent preseason and equally good regular season.

Bigsby rushed for a career-high 101 yards on 13 carries and scored two scores. He even caught a screen for 28 yards.

Bigsby took a home run on a 65-yard rush that should have won the game. The Jags did their best to ruin it, but nonetheless the team won and the former maligned rookie rewritten his wrongs.

They don’t call him “Tank” for nothing, and the Colts learned that the hard way.

Brian Thomas Jr.

That’s bold, but this guy, Brian Thomas Jr., could make a career out of this whole football thing.

The Jags superstar rookie wide receiver had another milestone game, catching five balls for a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown. His best play of the day was an 85-yard score – the longest scoring play ever by a Jags rookie. Through five games, the only mistake of Thomas’ career was his inability to get the ball on every play. He should be firmly in the conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year. What more could you ask for from a rookie than this result?

Backup tight ends

No Evan Engram? Not a problem on Sunday (for once), as the Jags ran their tight end rotation all afternoon and made huge gains. The tight end room recorded seven catches, led by sophomore Brenton Strange. Strange caught a highly acrobatic touchdown to put the Jags ahead by 10 points. This team needs Engram, but it was a welcome sight to see the other guys in that room step up in every way possible.

Offensive line

The Jags offensive line deserves recognition. The line blocked for a 100-yard rusher, allowed Lawrence to pass for a career-high and didn’t allow a single sack. Lawrence has been killed this season, and most of it has been on offense. On Sunday, however, the group seemingly managed to fix their problems and keep the birthday girl standing.

LOSER

Coaching selection in times of crisis

Despite all the career days the Jags had, this team almost didn’t win the football game. This fact will get lost in the excitement of the win, but this team was close to blowing it. With just over five minutes to play, the Jags had a two-touchdown lead. After about 90 seconds the game was tied. It was eerily similar to how the team managed games against the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans. Luckily, fate was on the boys in teal’s side. Unfortunately, this will not always be the case.

The secondary

Joe Flacco gave the Jags their second straight win. Plain and simple. This team’s secondary is by no means good enough to get the Jags where they need to go. Due to injuries in the secondary, many players are playing more minutes than originally expected. And you notice that. Combined with the fact that a former Jaguars legend only managed 99 yards for a score, something needs to change quickly with the Jags’ secondary to maintain this winning streak.