Give Lawrence a chance to even things out. Lawrence hooked up with Travis Etienne Jr. for a first down. Easy route over the middle. A huge penalty, false start on Brenton Strange, made a third-and-controllable (four yards) a third-and-9.

Lawrence to Thomas, fourth and one. Another gut check moment. Lawrence comes through for a first down. Exhale. Something is brewing. Lawrence and the run game seemed to find a rhythm until the Colts locked down on the goal line.

Settle for a Cam Little 23-yarder. 7-3. It could be worse.

A big spot challenge would go in the Jaguars favor and the Colts would be stopped early in their next drive.

Lawrence and the offense will get another chance. All it takes is one play: a home run ball to rookie wide receiver and blossoming star, Brian Thomas Jr., 85 yards. 10-7 lead.

Could there still be hope?

Flacco came back and once again showed what age can do for balance and precision. A Josh Hines-Allen sack wasn’t enough to quell the Colts. Tyler Goodson, one half of the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor’s backup tandem, came alive.

Big run, big screen pass. Lots of momentum. But the Jaguars defense held firm. Colts’ Matt Gay is forced to convert on a 30-yard attempt to tie the score at 10.

The Jaguars had two timeouts and 1:44 on the clock before halftime. Chance of a double dip as they would receive after the half. On third-and-6, Lawrence connects with Strange for a crucial first down. No hassle, up-tempo.

All for nothing.

On third-and-10, Lawrence connects with Gabe Davis for 22 yards, Davis fumbles and the Colts recover. Story of the Jaguars’ season. A major momentum killer reminiscent of the Week 1 loss to Miami.

And then something miraculous: Travon Walker, the former first overall pick whose silence in 2024 was cause for concern, fired Flacco. His Hines-Allen takes it and takes it far enough for an easy 30-yard field goal for Little.

That’s football. Life comes at you fast.

Jaguars led 13-10 after halftime. Ball back at the start of the second. A chance for a double-digit lead. Jobs at stake.

The second half started strong. Power in balance with Lawrence-to-Thomas. A favorable third-and-2 was blown thanks to a head-scratching decision to relinquish the gun.

They forced the Colts to punt anyway, with no damage.

And then, after moving the ball, Lawrence threw an interception to the Colts’ Nick Cross. It could have been more expensive, but the Jaguars defense took action. The Colts punter and Devin Duvernay returned it 50 yards.

Great opportunity for the Jaguars, but could they capitalize on it and get more than a paltry three points?

That answer only took one play. Tank Bigsby took on virtually every member of the Colts defense, with help from his pushy offensive lineman, for a 19-yard touchdown.

However, Flacco and the Colts creative offense refused to die. The injury to offensive lineman Will Fries hurt an already depleted Colts front. The Colts were still marching, thanks to the Flacco-Adonai Mitchell connection.

The Jaguars’ third-down defense continued to struggle to get their opponent off the field.

With just a quarter to go, the Jaguars had a 10-point lead. Flacco needed just one play to connect with Mo Alie-Cox, a jump ball into the end zone. 20-17, but the Jaguars are still on top.

Lawrence and the Jaguars responded with a 61-yard pass to Christian Kirk. One of the best throws Lawrence had made all season. It gave the Jaguars an important possession in the red zone. On third and goal, it was Lawrence who found Strange to restore the 10-point lead.

This was the offense Pederson and Taylor had promised. Sustained drives, movement, up-tempo. Verticality.

The problem? Flacco and the Colts were resilient. The solution? Travon Walker had his best game of the season, getting another sack of Flacco and impacting the quarterback’s throw on the next play.

And then on third down, Flacco (at age 39) scrambles for a first time of 21 yards. The Jaguars keep them in check on third and nine. Flacco was inches away from scoring a touchdown against Alie-Cox.

Football, the biggest game of centimeters.

The Colts had to settle for three. Jaguars up 27-20 with six to go. Time for situational football (that elusive element of the game that these Jaguars have been most inept at this season) to win.

Bigbsy decided to make it easy. He burst up the middle for an explosive 65-yard touchdown run. Did Bigsby call play?

Flacco, pure Teflon, led the Colts with a quick response: two consecutive deep passes of more than 40 yards. Trey Sermon punched it in.

Another seven-point game, Jaguars starting to sweat. Can they finally close out a match? A three-and-out didn’t inspire much confidence. Not when the Colts seem to have all the answers.

Once again, those answers came quickly, through the unthinkable.

Flacco connected with Alec Pierce for a 65-yard touchdown. Left wide open. Abnormal secondary play. Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen fell to his knees. 34-34 when the Jaguars had a two-touchdown lead.

The Jaguars’ first win of the season required a two-minute drill. Lawrence made the right throws with one of his best drives of the season.

Little pushed it through from 49 yards.

The Jaguars wouldn’t be locked out of the win column in 2024. It was an ugly win, but it might have been enough for Pederson to stay in Duval for a while.

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