The Jaguars’ best afternoon of the season came with a hard moment in the middle of it. Nose tackle DaVon Hamilton was carted off with a knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s 42-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts, and Liam Coen said Hamilton was the one doing the comforting. “When he’s out there laying down, he’s reassuring me. That’s who he is,” the Jaguars head coach said. “He has a smile on his face, actually. He trusts God, he trusts himself, he trusts life. He’s just one of those type of people.”
Jacksonville is 5-2 and three games ahead of Houston (2-5) in the AFC South. Indianapolis fell to 2-6. Trevor Lawrence went 10-for-14 for 210 yards and three touchdowns before leaving in the fourth quarter. Bhayshul Tuten ran for 104 yards and a 39-yard touchdown on 16 carries, the first 100-yard game of his career, and caught a 25-yard touchdown on a screen on the last play of the third quarter. The Jaguars ran for a season-high 183 yards, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. added a 28-yard touchdown run.
The Jaguars scored 21 points in the second quarter. Lawrence hit tight end Nate Boerkircher for a 31-yard touchdown, Tuten scored on his long run, and with 10 seconds left in the half, safety Rayuan Lane III returned an interception of Daniel Jones 92 yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead. Branson Combs also intercepted Jones.
Coen on Hamilton: “Not many better humans”
Hamilton, in his seventh season, was hurt on a play on which the Colts fumbled a reverse and the Jaguars recovered. He was ruled out soon after. Coen said there would be an evaluation and gave no diagnosis. “Extremely, extremely difficult,” he said. “There’s not many better humans, better competitors. You should have seen DaVon this week in practice, his leadership.” He added: “So tough to see that, obviously. Really tough. So have to evaluate what it truly is.”
“Next man up” at safety
Jacksonville played without safety Antonio Johnson, who has an ankle injury, and lost Eric Murray to an elbow injury in the first quarter. That put Lane, rookie Jalen Huskey and Kaevon Merriweather on the field for most of the game, and Huskey had a fourth-quarter sack. Coen said Lane’s interception “really broke the game open.” “When you have second-year players that have been primarily special teams contributors step up and make plays for you on defense, that’s huge,” he said.
He gave the credit to defensive backs coach Anthony Perkins and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, and to the players. “This is the NFL, it’s violent. Guys get nicked up, and it’s a next man up mentality,” he said. “Those guys stayed the course, continued to prepare the right way, and then it shows up for us in a major way at home.”
Asked about the fast start, Coen said his team sensed an opening. “There’s a little blood in the water, that we want to be able to jump on these guys at home,” he said. “We haven’t been at home much. Wanted to be able to put on a show for our home fan base and give the people some excitement.” He said the formula is complementary football: “When we’re getting turnovers and we’re able to get some points off of turnovers, that’s usually a recipe for success.”
Lawrence to Boerkircher
The touchdown to Boerkircher came after Lawrence had to escape pressure on a half-roll. Coen said the rush got there faster than expected, but tight end Brenton Strange “strained his tail off” on his block. “Trevor, he’s like that, right? He’s giving us those off-schedule plays, but also being able to flip his hips and make a long throw like that,” he said. “And then I thought Bork’s body control and adjustment was pretty impressive as well.”
Lawrence said the play was designed for Boerkircher, who “came out the back door.” “Protection-wise on the edge, I thought the D-end did a really good job. He just went straight up the field, so I had to create a little space there so I had the time to hit Nate,” he said. “He did a good job of being in the right spot at the right time and then making the play.”
Tuten: “I felt a big game was coming”
Coen said Tuten was “a little bit more patient” and ran through contact. “He had a great week of practice again and it really carried over,” he said. He also credited the line for staying connected to blocks and said Wyatt Milum “did a nice job stepping in for Ezra” Cleveland.
Tuten said the big day started with cleaner reads. “I was much cleaner on it and just harping on my details, with my landmarks,” he said. “I think I played fast and physical today, and I played worry-free.” He said he had felt it building. “Each week it’s been on the up. Either I’m running the ball good, or I’m catching it well out the backfield,” he said. “I felt a big game was coming, and today was a great day.” On the screen touchdown, he said: “We’ve been keeping that one in the tuck for a long time. It timed up perfect.”
Indianapolis traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco on Tuesday, and Jacksonville used heavy personnel for much of the first half. Tuten said the plan would have been the same either way. “Game plan, we’re just gonna come out and be dominant. 13 personnel, just run the ball, they gotta stop us,” he said. “We knew it was going to rain. We knew we were going to run the ball. And we just went out and imposed our will.”
Lawrence: “Good teams don’t think about the division lead”
Lawrence said the opening 98-yard drive, which started with the Jaguars backed up deep in their own territory, set the tone. “We ran the ball really well all day, started with that drive,” he said. Asked about a three-game division lead, he said it is not something the team watches. “It’s not really something we think about, oh, we’re a few games up, we’re in a good spot, we can relax. It’s not really at all how we think,” he said. “Good teams don’t think about the division lead they have. There’s so much football to play.”
He said running the ball matters more as the season goes on. “It’s not something that just happens, that’s a mindset,” he said. “Running the football is really important, especially as we get later in the season.”
A short week
Lawrence was one of several starters who sat in the fourth quarter, with Quinn Ewers finishing the game. He said that helps before a Thursday night game, Jacksonville’s first since 2023. “We’ve got a couple of guys banged up, but it did help that it wasn’t necessarily deep into the fourth quarter where all of our guys were playing,” he said. “It’s a quick turnaround. We’ll start first thing in the morning preparing for Baltimore.” He said practice will be light. “It’s not gonna be the most physical week of practice. So the coaches plan accordingly,” he said. “The game plan has to reflect the amount of time that you have to prepare.”
The Jaguars visit the Ravens on Thursday, November 5, at 8:15 p.m. ET, which is 3:15 a.m. Friday, November 6, in Cairo. Baltimore is 4-4 and will play without Lamar Jackson, who went on injured reserve with a thumb injury that needs surgery.
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