After earning four wins with Matt Hasselbeck at the helm, the Indianapolis Colts came back down to Earth in his fifth start of the season in a blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But even after the loss, the Colts can keep a hold on their lead in the AFC South by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14.
Colts vs. Jaguars 2015 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Colts can keep a hold on the AFC South by bouncing back from a blowout loss to the Steelers and beating the Jaguars for a second time this season.
Hasselbeck completed just 16 of 26 passes against the Steelers in a 45-10 loss with 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was eventually replaced by Charlie Whitehurst, but Hasselbeck will be back in the starting lineup against the Jaguars.
He already led the Colts to a victory over the Jaguars once in 2015, completing 30 of 47 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown in an overtime win in Week 4. That win was the Colts' 15th straight over an AFC South opponent and Indianapolis extended the streak to an NFL-record 16 games four days later with a win against the Houston Texans. The last time the Colts lost to a divisional opponent was during the 2012 season.
That loss earlier in the year dropped the Jaguars to 1-3 and two weeks later, the team fell to 1-5. After three wins in a four-week span, the Jaguars looked like a legitimate contender for the AFC South crown, but losses in each of the last two weeks have left the team needing a miracle to see postseason play.
A win over the Colts would keep that longshot dream alive for another week. With the Colts and Texans tied for the AFC South lead at 6-6, the 4-8 Jaguars could cut their division deficit to just one game with a win coupled with a loss for Houston against the New England Patriots.
But to get the win against the Colts, the Jaguars need to finally put together a complete game. After keeping the Ravens and Titans to 33 combined points in two wins, the Jacksonville defense allowed 73 points in the last two weeks to the Chargers and Titans. Yes, just two weeks after limiting Tennessee to 13 points, the Jaguars allowed 42 points to the same team.
What has gone right for the Jaguars of late has been the play of Blake Bortles. The often turnover-prone quarterback completed 75 of 115 passes in his last three games for 893 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions, including a five-touchdown performance against the Titans in Week 13 with no interceptions.
Hasselbeck has managed to stay efficient for the Colts in most of his starts, and has eight touchdowns with four interceptions in five games. Against a lackluster Jaguars defense, Hasselbeck and the Indianapolis offense will just have to avoid the costly mistakes that it had against the Steelers to get points on the board.
The Colts are 21-8 all-time against the Jaguars and carry a six-game winning streak into Sunday. The last Jacksonville win was in September 2012 when Maurice Jones-Drew managed to rack up 177 rushing yards against the Indianapolis defense. Since then the Jaguars haven't scored more than 17 against the Colts and lost by at least two scores in five straight games before a 16-13 loss earlier this year.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Tom McCarthy, Adam Archuleta
Online: NFL Game Pass
See More:
