JACKSONVILLE – Call it a re-emphasis. Or a re-commitment.
Whatever your name is, make no mistake:
The Jaguars’ defensive players are always thinking about what to take. And as they prepare for a key AFC South game just days after their first game of the season without anything, the mindset is strong.
“It’s a focus for us,” defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said Thursday as the Jaguars (2-3) prepare to play the Indianapolis Colts (2-2-1) in the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., Sunday at 1 p.m.
The main focus was produced during this period.
The Jaguars, after forcing an NFL-low nine turnovers in 2022, led the NFL with nine turnovers in four games. Their first game without a win this season came last Sunday in a 13-10 loss to the Houston Texans at TIAA Bank Field.
“Any time you focus on something and it doesn’t happen, you come back to work that Wednesday like it was yesterday,” Caldwell said. “They came back, and they focused on creating change, and that’s what you have to do.”
The area is Sunday. Colts quarterback Matt Ryan leads the NFL with 11 fumbles in five games, with one of those fumbles coming in a 24-0 Week 2 loss to the Jaguars — a game in which the Jaguars sacked Ryan five times.
“That’s one of the things we always try to do is push the quarterback,” Caldwell said of the Jaguars, who have recorded 10 sacks in five games. “He (Ryan) is a big back, he’s smart. He knows when to take the ball away, so we just have to go out there and try to stick to what we believe in. be true to it and depart from it.”
Ryan this season is also tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions. The Jaguars intercepted Ryan three times in Week 2.
“They’re coming, and we just didn’t get it [last Sunday],” Caldwell said. “This is another thing that we have to continue to improve, turn the ball over and give the offense another opportunity.
“That’s our mindset, and we’ll continue to work on it.”
