Key takeaways from the Jacksonville Jaguars' win over the Indianapolis Colts

The Jacksonville Jaguars can breathe a little easier after Week 5.

After a winless first month that included three one-score losses, the Jaguars finally found a path to victory with a 37-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

But what did we see in the Jaguars' victory over their bitter AFC South rival? We explain it below.

Doug Pederson continues to dominate the Colts

The Jaguars have one of the NFL's longest winning streaks thanks to a decade of wins against the Colts in Jacksonville. But the Jaguars have another impressive streak with the Colts: a three-game winning streak against their AFC South rival.

In the Doug Pederson era, the Jaguars are 4-1 against the Colts and would be 5-0 if Shaquill Griffin hadn't missed coverage.

Since Pederson took over the Jaguars coaching staff, the Jaguars have consistently had success against the Colts. Combined with a 3-1 record against the Tennessee Titans and some hard-fought back-and-forth battles against the Houston Texans, the Jaguars have a good starting position with Pederson in the AFC South matchups.

Brian Thomas Jr. is the best rookie receiver in franchise history

Keep it up, Allen Hurns. Jaguars rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. finished Sunday as the No. 6 receiver in the NFL in receiving yards, and it looks like he could be a legitimate 1,000-yard receiver as a rookie.

No. 23 has gotten better with each game, and the Jaguars are starting to give him more from a targeting standpoint.

It only took five games, but Thomas is the best rookie receiver in franchise history. He already appears to be a No. 1 receiver at this point in his career, and performances like the one he had against the Colts in Week 5 are just a testament to what a talent he is. The Jaguars have a special player on their hands with the LSU product.

Tank Bigsby presents the Jaguars with a difficult decision

The Jaguars could soon have to make a difficult decision at the running back position. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson made it clear in his postgame press conference that Travis Etienne will continue to be the team's leader, but it will be difficult to keep Tank Bigsby on the sideline when he's running like that.

The advantage for the Jaguars is that Etienne and Bigsby are so different in skill set that they could theoretically co-exist in the Jaguars' offense.

But if Bigsby continues to play like he has over the past two weeks, the Jaguars will likely have to make a difficult decision at the running back position.

Trevor Lawrence and Travon Walker needed games like this

Two of the most maligned No. 1 picks in the NFL today are quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Travon Walker. Lawrence has faced a lot of criticism after a slow start to 2024, while Walker always finds himself being compared to Aidan Hutchinson.

But after increasing criticism of both, the duo delivered two of their best games.

Lawrence made only one error on the day and otherwise played a dominant and efficient game. He hit two big throws from distance to Brian Thomas and Christian Kirks and led the Jaguars to a score at the end of the game.

Walker had the first three-sack game of his career and forced a fumble to score a field goal in the first half.

The defense has some serious demons to exorcise

The Jaguars are clearly riding high after their first win of the season. And they should be. They've won almost all but one game this season, and Sunday's win was exactly the kind of triumph the Jaguars have needed all year.

However, the win against the Colts only made the Jaguars' serious defensive problems seem worse.

Joe Flacco didn't throw an incompletion shot until his 10th attempt of the day and needed just five plays to erase a 14-point lead with five minutes to play. The Jaguars' secondary has been in turmoil in each of the last three games, and the return of Tyson Campbell may not even have been enough to save the team.

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