'We have to keep it going': Jaguars plan to build on 24-0 shutout win over Indianapolis Colts

The first building block.

The Jaguars (1-1) dominated the Indianapolis Colts (0-1-1) on Sunday, pitching a shutout victory over their division rival. It was the third shutout the Jaguars have posted since 2017 — all three came against the Colts. They've had eight in franchise history.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game this team taught him plenty about itself.

"I just learned that this group is eager to win. They want to win, and they put in the hard work during the week and that's something I'm very proud of," Pederson said in his post-game press conference.

"[I] really appreciate what they've done and how they've been able to take the mistakes from a week ago and sort of minimize them going into this week and really attacking the game plan and really just attacking their job."

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Marvin Jones gives Pederson game ball

But for the group of players on this Jaguars team, the victory was almost like a sense of relief, something that a young team needed to get in order to continue to march forward through the rest of the season.

Someone that's been around the league a while, 11-year veteran Marvin Jones stressed after the game just how important it was for the team to get his win at this particular time.

"Most definitely [it's] important," Jones told the Times-Union in the locker room after the game on Sunday. "Just because, it shows everybody, including the young guys what it's supposed to look like. Once you get into a rhythm like that and you're hitting on all cylinders, it gives you a great deal of confidence. I think this win gives us confidence and we have to keep it going."

After the game, Jones gave Pederson the team's game ball, an important day for the new Jaguars head coach, earning his first victory in the Teal and Black.

Dominant defense for Jaguars

The defensive domination the Jaguars showcased in the shutout included three interceptions. The trio of rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd, second-year safety Andre Cisco and veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins came down with picks on Colts quarterback Matt Ryan.

Jenkins got the ball rolling early, picking off Ryan on the first drive of the game. After the game, Jenkins spoke in the locker room about his interception, noting that he "baited" Ryan into throwing the pick, something he remarked was "pretty cool."

"We had a defense called, I baited the QB, shot the middle first, and then shot outside," Jenkins said when asked to describe the interception. "I knew that would probably look enticing to him once I shot to the middle, once he saw me leave, he looked right and I was coming right back that way with him."

There wasn't any threat of the Jaguars faltering, either. Jacksonville gave Indy almost no wiggle room, holding them to a pitiful 2 of 10 third-down conversion efficiency. The Colts finished with just nine first downs throughout the game and 218 total net yards.

Against the run, Jacksonville held Colts star running back, Jonathan Taylor to nine carries for 54 yards. His longest carries of the day came in the third and fourth quarters; two carries that went for 21 yards each.

That sort of domination could only happen one way, according to defensive lineman Arden Key.

"We just had to punch them in the mouth," Key said in the locker room after the team's win on Sunday. "Last week, we started [out] great [in the] first half, then came [the] second half, we (were) a little dead, a little slow. So, this week knew that we had to focus on finishing."

Jacksonville was able to finish. The team opened, going up 17-0 over the Colts at halftime. In the second half of the contest, the team kept their foot on the gas pedal, especially defensively. After holding the Colts to just three first downs in the first half, the Jaguars held Indy to just six more during the second half.

It wasn't all a defensive showcase for the Jaguars, though.

Jaguars offense picks apart Gus Bradley's Colts defense

Offensively, Jacksonville was able to showcase just how efficient it could be. The team finished by converting 40 percent (6 out of 15) of its third downs, while converting 2 out of 3 of its fourth downs, one resulting in a touchdown to Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence completed 25 of 30 passes (83%, a career-high) for 235 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was 121.5, also a career-high.

Most of that was what the Colts' defense, led by defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, dictated they do, Lawrence noted.

"They play soft [in coverage]," Lawrence said after the game Sunday. "They'll give you things underneath. They just make you be patient for the whole game. A lot of teams get impatient, try to start forcing throws downfield, and really we did a good job of sticking to our plan.

"That was what we planned on doing and we executed it really well."

One of the players that benefited the most from the Jaguars' game plan on Sunday aside from Kirk (who caught six passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns) was tight end Evan Engram.

Engram led the team in targets (8) and receptions (7). He had 46 receiving yards.

As a veteran in the league, Engram understands just how important Sunday's victory is for Jacksonville. The team needed it to move forward with, to build off of.

"It's a big win. It's a division win. There's a lot of history to that rivalry, too. So, for us to get this win, was special for us, it was a big step for us," Engram told the Times-Union after the game. "The way our mentality is, there's more for us to accomplish, too. There's ways that we can be better even today that we're going to go find tonight and tomorrow. It was big for us going forward and for us to build on because we believe we can be a special team and we can have a special season."

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Young Jacksonville Jaguars show off talent against Colts