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Duval Breathes Sigh of Relief as Jaguars Survive Colts
Dec 28, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) celebrates after running in a touchdown during a game against the Indianapolis Colt at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mykal McEldowney-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images Mykal McEldowney-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Duval Breathes Sigh of Relief as Jaguars Survive Colts

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Andy Quach  |  Last updated Dec 28, 2025 4:58 PM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars spent the past month proving that they're good enough to string together blowouts. In their last four games going into Week 17's rematch with the Indianapolis Colts, they put together four straight dominant wins, totaling a combined margin of victory of 81 points.

They had been so impressive that the media couldn't change their tune on the Jaguars quickly enough, launching them onto the upper echelon of the NFL power rankings, especially after their resounding 34-20 beatdown on the Denver Broncos.

That stretch made everyone forget how Jacksonville had clawed its way to the top of the standings by eking out clutch wins in tightly contested games. The Jags reminded the world of the Cardiac Cats again, though, with a nail-biting 23-17 effort over Philip Rivers and the Colts.

Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Duval nearly crashed out

Trevor Lawrence played his worst game in over a month. He was still excellent, but the box score numbers won't suggest that. He finished his Week 17 for the Jacksonville Jaguars with 263 yards and one interception on 23-of-37 passing. However, he did add 26 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries as a rusher.

After going four straight weeks without an interception, he threw an ugly one in the red zone to Indianapolis Colts linebacker Germaine Pratt. He was trying to find Parker Washington, which certainly isn't a bad idea on paper. The Jaguars' third-year wideout continued his breakout season with eight catches for 115 yards.

I expected the Jaguars' defense to give Philip Rivers fits. Anthony Campanile's zone scheme and Jacksonville's high-quality pass rush should have been able to bother him. Jarrian Jones did pick him off, and he was sacked twice, but he played much better than anyone thought he would, continuing his impressive run at 44 years old and five years out from his original retirement from the NFL.

The Jaguars should have had another blowout. Instead, they committed two turnovers in the red zone, had a turnover on downs in Indianapolis territory, and allowed Rivers to lead two short touchdown drives off of huge kick returns from Ashton Dulin. Indianapolis turned to Riley Leonard for a Hail Mary in the final four seconds of the game. His only pass of the day went into the end zone, but was picked off by Antonio Johnson. All of Duval breathed a collective sigh of relief as their Jaguars moved to 12-4 and extended their win streak to seven games.


This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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