Stephen Holder

stephen.holder@indystar.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Here is the best and worst of Sunday’s Indianapolis Colts victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars:

THUMBS UP

>> WR Chester Rogers: This rookie had a career day, matching his high with four receptions and establishing a new career-best with 72 receiving yards. But this is about more than just his impressive numbers. T.Y. Hilton had bigger numbers, after all (six catches, 95 yards). The reason for Rogers’ mention here is the timeliness of his contributions. This game was teetering for a while, largely because the Colts could not establish any offensive rhythm. It was Rogers who stepped up and hauled in a 21-yard pass from Andrew Luck early in the second quarter, providing the Colts with just their third first down of the afternoon. With Donte Moncrief out of the lineup with a shoulder injury and Hilton temporarily slowed after tweaking his knee, the Colts needed a receiver to pick up the slack. Give Rogers credit for being the guy willing to accept that challenge.

>> CB Vontae Davis: The Colts were down to the bone at cornerback with Darius Butler out with a concussion and Rashaan Melvin with a knee injury. That left a group of corners that included Darryl Morris and Chris Milton. Who? Exactly. But Davis was able to take his game to a higher level at a time the Colts most needed it. His two leaping pass breakups against Jacksonville wideout Allen Robinson in the first half prevented two potential huge plays for the Jaguars. Jacksonville had to settle for a field goal on one of the possessions and was forced to punt on the other. Davis gave the Colts’ defense the kind of playmaking it so often lacks. He finished with three pass breakups for the day to go along with his four tackles.

>> Tight ends: With the Colts missing red zone killer Moncrief, the tight ends effortlessly stepped into the role of red zone threats when needed. Dwayne Allen’s leaping catch of Andrew Luck’s impressive throw in the third quarter was clutch. It was matched, perhaps, only by Jack Doyle’s 1-yard touchdown reception from Luck with nine seconds remaining — a catch made in traffic and in spite of Luck’s forceful throw. Throw in the contributions of Erik Swoope (one catch, 22 yards) and the tight ends again proved to be a position of strength on this roster.

THUMBS DOWN

>> Interior offensive line: If there was one common thread between the Colts’ two meetings with the Jaguars this season, it’s the continued success by Jacksonville’s front to create pressure right up the middle. The Jaguars have many weaknesses, but their defensive front is not among them. The Colts again struggled to contain players like defensive tackle Malik Jackson, who registered two sacks and four total hits on Luck. Some of this was the result of struggles on stunts and twists, while other instances were just the result of the Colts losing one-on-one matchups. This is going to be an ongoing issue for the Colts. The Jaguars have much of their defensive stalwarts under contract, and they’ll be back to continue their assault on the Colts next season.

>> Rushing defense: The Colts, once again, couldn’t stop the run. What else is new, right? On Sunday, Indianapolis gave up 182 rushing yards. In four of their final six games, Colts opponents were well above 100 rushing yards. Against Pittsburgh (148), Houston (185), Oakland (210) and Jacksonville, the Colts’ defense proved quite porous against the run. Tackling, or the lack thereof, continues to be an issue. But the Colts also have seemingly had execution issues against the run, too. The Colts entered the game allowing 4.6 yards per carry, 29th in the NFL. Jacksonville did even better, averaging 6.1.