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 way to win on Sunday in a 37-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

But what did we see in the Jaguars’ win over their bitter AFC South rival? We break it down below.

Doug Pederson continues his dominance over 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 involving 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 without Shaquill Griffin coverage they would be 5-0.

Since Pederson took over the Jaguars’ coaching staff, the Jaguars have found success against the Colts time and time again. Add in a 3-1 record against the Tennessee Titans and some competitive back-and-forth battles against the Houston Texans and Pederson has the Jaguars in a good spot in AFC South battles.

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

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

The No. 23 pick has gotten better with each game, and the Jaguars are starting to put more on his plate from a goal-setting standpoint.

It only took five games, but Thomas is the best rookie receiver in franchise history. He already looks like 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 the type of talent he is. The Jaguars have a special player on their hands in the LSU product.

Tank Bigsby gives the Jaguars a tough call

The Jaguars could soon have a tough decision to make at the running back position. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson made it clear during his post-game press conference that Travis Etienne will remain the team’s leading defenseman, but it will be difficult to keep Tank Bigsby on the sidelines when he’s running like this.

The Jaguars’ advantage is that Etienne and Bigsby are so different skill-wise that they could theoretically coexist within the Jaguars’ offense.

But if Bigsby continues to play the way he has over the past two weeks, the Jaguars will likely have to make a tough 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 come in for a lot of criticism after a slow start to 2024, while Walker will always see himself compared to Aidan Hutchinson.

But after mounting criticism of both, the duo played some of their best games.

Lawrence made only one mistake that day and otherwise played a dominant and efficient game. He hit two big deep shots off Brian Thomas and Christian Kirks and then led the Jaguars on a scoring drive late in the game.

As for Walker, he had the first three-sack game of his career and forced a fumble to set up 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 have come close to winning in all but one game this season and Sunday’s win was the kind of triumph the Jaguars have needed all year.

That said, the win against the Colts only made the Jaguars’ serious defensive problems look even worse.

Joe Flacco threw an incompletion on only his tenth attempt of the day, and it took him just five plays to erase a fourteen-point lead with five minutes remaining. The Jaguars’ secondary has been lit up in each of the last three games, and the return of Tyson Campbell may not even be enough to save the unit.

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