QB Blaine Gabbert’s late TD pass helps Jacksonville Jaguars beat Indianapolis Colts 22-17 – NFL Recap
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert, proving consistent to his inconsistency, bounced back on the poor showing of a game earlier to help his side record their first win of the season, 22-17, over the hosts Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil stadium
on Sunday (September 23) much to the satisfaction of coach Mike Mularkey.
Blaine had ended the road game against American Football Conference (AFC) South division champions Houston Texans at the lowest-ever achieved 53 yards but he was a class act versus the Colts – other AFC South rivals of Jaguars.
The QB was able to complete 10 out 21 passes for 155 yards but his special was the perfect pass to wide receiver Cecil Shorts III who scored an 80-yard touchdown with only 45 seconds left in the game.
The Jaguars’ offence leader said of the game:
"I told the guys going out onto the field, `We're going to win. Right here, right now. We happened to get the right look for the play that was called. We just went with it."
The coach said:
"Great throw, great catch, great call by (offensive coordinator) Bob Bratkowski. You talk about timing - that thing just whizzed around the ear of the defender. For Cecil, to catch it through his hands and in stride and outrun everybody. Great play."
It was a remarkable comeback from Blaine given he had left the last game with a hamstring injury and then the performance disaster.
Mike Mularkey is nevertheless wary of the quarterback’s inconsistency and has not said much about Blaine’s game since last weekend when the Jaguars were humbled by Houston Texans in a one-sided game.
The quarterback is the key to the Jaguars’ success and whenever he fails it ends up as a team failure. His success to lead the offensive line from the front makes every other member of the offence rally the team to an impressive finish.
Running back Maurice Jones-Drew for example supplemented Blaine’s performance in the Colts game. He finished with 177 yards on 28 carries, far better performance in comparison with his previous efforts since comeback at the start of the season.
On the other hand, the Colts did not match the effort of rookie quarterback Andrew Luck who managed to complete 22 out of 46 passes for 313 yards.
Although he did not appear to be the same old Luck, he still provided some hopes to the team and if it had not been the successful final pass by Blaine, the Colts would have won the game.
Luck while taking responsibility of the overall sluggish effort by the Colts said:
"I point the finger at myself, some bad decisions. I think the big finger should be pointed at me. I'm sure everybody feels like they have something to clean up."
With the win by the Jaguars, all three teams including Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts are with a win each in the division, while reigning division title winners Houston Texans are in clear lead.
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