Colts & Jaguars square off in week 3

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) - When the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars square off on Sunday, Colts fans can expect a thrilling game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Of the last nine meetings between the teams, seven of those have been decided by one possession or less.

The Jaguars have won three of the past four meetings, including a 17-3 win at Lucas Oil Stadium last November.

“We want to win the AFC South. That’s our mission. That’s our goal. We’ve got Jacksonville coming in this week and it’s going to be another tough matchup. We want to get this whole thing started off the right way and if we win our division and give ourselves a chance to be in the playoffs, anything can happen,” said Indianapolis Colts cornerback Jerraud Powers.

This off-season brought some changes for the Jaguars as Mike Mularkey took over as head coach.  Mularkey served as head coach with Buffalo in 2004-05 in his only previous stint as a field leader.  Mularkey served with Miami (2006-07) and Atlanta (2008-11) after leaving Buffalo.  He held the offensive coordinator positions with each club.

Also, Mularkey was the coordinator with Pittsburgh from 2001-03, and his NFL coaching experience dates back to 1994.  He played from 1983-88 with Minnesota and from 1989-91 with Pittsburgh.

Interim Head Coach Mel Tucker was retained as defensive coordinator after coaching the final five games of 2011 once Jack Del Rio left the team.

Running back Maurice Jones-Drew leads the offense with 31 carries for 137 yards after two games.  Jones-Drew has been one of the most prominent rushers ever against the Colts.  He has 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns on 230 attempts, ranking fourth in all-time rushing yards against Indianapolis.  He is positioned to pass two performers closest to him on that list. (1,251 Fred Taylor; 1,230, Thurman Thomas).

Jones-Drew has seven 100+ outings against the Colts, and he will be facing a Colts defense that limited Chicago’s Matt Forte to 80 yards and Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson to 60 yards in the first two games.

Quarterback Blaine Gabbert started 14 games in the 2011 season, and he opened the first two games this year.

He left the Jaguars’ 27-7 loss to the Texans late in the fourth quarter with a glute muscle injury.  Mularkey says Gabbert should be fine but may be limited in practice this week.  Backup Chad Henne filled in for Gabbert last Sunday and completed both of his pass attempts.

“I think they are a lot better than their record shows. Defensively, they are very tough. They have a tough front seven. They play hard. You’re not going to get easy yards on them. As an offense, I think we know it’s going to be a dogfight. It’ll be a good game,” said Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

The Week 3 meeting between the Colts and Jaguars is the earliest the teams have met since a season-opening game in 2009.

The Jacksonville game is part of a three-game home stand for the Colts that will continue with Green Bay on October 7. Indianapolis has a bye week following Sunday’s game.