After years wandering the NFL wilderness, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a winning record and, just as importantly, an identity. They are officially the team that destroys offensive lines and sacks quarterbacks like no other.
In a 27-0 win over the Colts on Sunday, Jacksonville took down Indianapolis signal-caller Jacoby Brissett 10 times. It was the second game this season in which the Jaguars had hit double-digit sacks, making them the third team ever to have multiple 10-sack performance — and the first since the 1984 Bears, per the NFL. That Bears team currently holds the record for sacks in a season (72), but the Jaguars are on pace to eclipse that mark.
The Jaguars are now on pace for 75 sacks this season, which would break the NFL record of 72 set by the 1984 Bears.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 22, 2017
The star for Jacksonville has been free agent signee Calais Campbell, who took down Brissett twice on Sunday and now has a league-leading 10 sacks on the season. The Jaguars have also gotten big plays in the pass rush from defensive ends Dante Fowler Jr. (1.5 sacks Sunday, 5.5 on the season) and Yannick Ngakoue (2.5 sacks Sunday, 6.5 on the season), as well as a whole crew of defensive tackles and linebackers. Overall, 11 different Jacksonville defenders have at least half a sack this season.
The pass rush has been the most dominant aspect of a Jaguars defense that has become one of the NFL’s better units. On Sunday, they became the first teams since 1993 to shut out Indianapolis.
The last time the Colts were shut out, Jacoby Brissett was 16 DAYS OLD. pic.twitter.com/gJTG2PKgls
— ESPN (@espn) October 22, 2017
It might be too much to expect Jacksonville to keep up its record sack pace, but clearly getting to the quarterback will remain a strength for this team, as it attempts to sneak into the playoffs in a relatively weak AFC. The Jags stand 4-3, tied atop the Titans in the AFC South, and with the Bengals, Chargers and Browns coming up on the schedule, they’re in solid shape entering the heart of the season.
On and as for the Colts, we’ll let Indy receiver T.Y. Hilton sum things up.
T.Y. Hilton following the #Colts 27-0 loss: "It is the offensive line, they need to block."
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) October 22, 2017