T.Y. Hilton has been rock solid for the Colts this season. (Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports)
INDIANAPOLIS — After losing a postseason game at New England last January, going 0-4 in the preseason and 0-2 to begin the 2014 regular-season, the Indianapolis Colts were desperate to get back in the win column as soon as possible.
After a 44-17 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Indianapolis finally can take a breath and move on with their season.
It wasn’t as if the Colts played badly in losing to the Broncos in Denver in the season opener or at home to the Philadelphia Eagles the following week. Indianapolis lost by a total of 10 points to two of the better teams in the NFL.
Still, a loss is a loss. And Indianapolis needed a win. Badly.
Mission accomplished.
“I am proud of the guys. Great team win,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “(Proud of) bouncing back after two disappointing losses on a short week. (The season) is definitely pointing up. It was a great team win.
“I am very pleased to get (a win) on the board because it’s been a very, very long time. We hadn’t had that feeling since (a postseason win over) Kansas City. It’s been a long, long time since we had that feeling.”
Quarterback Andrew Luck admitted that the Colts’ focus narrowed after the last-second loss to the Eagles.
“There definitely was a sense of urgency,” Luck said. “You don’t want to start 0-2, but you definitely don’t want to start 0-3. We realized we control that.
“I think guys took (the situation) to heart. And it was a divisional game on the road. We managed to put two decent halves together and get the win.”
Now Indianapolis is moving on and preparing for Sunday’s home game against the Tennessee Titans (1-2).
“Lot of good things (in the Jacksonville game),” Pagano said. “There’s always things to clean up. We’ll do that again this week. … We’ll get those things cleaned up.”
Pagano continues to be impressed by the play of running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who scored three receiving touchdowns over the past two games. Bradshaw missed most of last season with a neck issue and had surgery to correct the problem.
“He’s a football junkie, a man’s man. He loves to play the game,” Pagano said. “(He) plays the game the way you are supposed to play the game. Our guys feed off that.”
NOTES: WR T.Y. Hilton (ankle) left the Jacksonville game in the second half and did not return. The injury, though, is not considered to be serious. … OLB Andy Studebaker (hamstring) will be listed as day-to-day after he left the Jaguars game in the second half. His status for the Tennessee game won’t be determined until the end of the week. … C Khaled Holmes (ankle) was a pregame inactive for the Jacksonville game. Holmes went through all practices last week. … OT Joe Reitz (ankle) returned for limited work in practice last week, but he didn’t play Sunday. A decision on his availability for the Tennessee game won’t be made until Friday. … DT Arthur Jones (ankle) will be sidelined for the next several weeks.
REPORT CARD VS. JAGUARS
–PASSING OFFENSE: A — The Colts’ passing game was sluggish at best through the first two games. Indianapolis certainly had its moments against Denver and Philadelphia but had trouble sustaining the performance. That wasn’t the case at Jacksonville. QB Andrew Luck completed 31 of 39 passes for 370 yards, four touchdowns and a 140.4 passer rating. He completed passes to nine receivers, eight of whom caught three or more. WR T.Y. Hilton led the way with five receptions for 80 yards. WR Reggie Wayyne, rookie WR Donte Moncrief, WR Hakeem Nicks, TE Coby Fleener and TE Dwayne Allen each had four receptions.
–RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus — Indianapolis’ run game continues to show new life. The Colts produced 144 yards on the ground and averaged 5.0 yards per attempt. RB Ahmad Bradshaw led the way with 65 yards on nine carries. RB Trent Richardson added 57 yards on 14 rushing attempts.
–PASS DEFENSE: B — Yes, the Colts faced a struggling Jacksonville offense. Even so, Indianapolis did a pretty good job against QBs Chad Henne and Blake Bortles. Henne completed four of seven passes for 33 yards and was sacked three times. Bortles played the entire second half and connected on 14 of 24 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The rookie also was sacked once and intercepted twice. CB Greg Toler returned one Bortles interception 47-yards for a touchdown.
–RUSH DEFENSE: B — As a team, the Jaguars totaled 105 yards on the ground on 20 rushing attempts. RB Denard Robinson led the way with 33 yards on eight carries. RB Toby Gerhart added 32 yards on nine carries.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: A — PK Adam Vinatieri made three field goals, hitting from 48, 43 and 25 yards. P Pat McAfee averaged 53.5 net and gross yards on two punts, with both downed inside the Jacksonville 20-yard line. He also had eight touchbacks on kickoffs, which was a franchise single-game record. WR Griff Whalen had three fair catches on punts.
–COACHING: B-plus — Credit goes to head coach Chuck Pagano along with coordinators Pep Hamilton and Greg Manusky for getting the Colts’ focus off their opening two losses and back on preparing for their next game. Indianapolis (1-2) is now one win away from being right back in the AFC South race.
