The Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12) visit the Indianapolis Colts (7-9) in the last game of a disappointing season for both teams. Neither team has much to play for. Jacksonville can’t even move up significantly from the fifth spot in the 2025 NFL Draft. Indianapolis blew its slim playoff chance with a catastrophic loss to the Giants. Our Jaguars vs Colts prediction is that underdog Jacksonville will cover the 3.5-point spread.
Head-to-head, Indianapolis has won 27 of the 47 meetings between the teams.
Offshore Odds: Indy is Favored by 3.5 Points at Home
| Team | Spread | Money Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | +3.5 (-113) | +164 | O 45 (-115) |
| Colts | -3.5 (-107) | -184 | U 45 (-105) |
Is This Doug Pederson’s Last Game as Head Coach?
Jacksonville had high expectations at the start of the season with a budding star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, a strong backfield tandem Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne, and a young corps of receivers.
However, their offense — supposedly head coach Doug Pederson’s bailiwick — disappointed. The defense was a sieve. Then Lawrence suffered a shoulder injury. A concussion suffered on a cheap shot against Houston ended his season.
Despite Pederson having won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, his record screams mediocrity. If the highest grade is dropped (13-3 when the Eagles won the Super Bowl), his record is 51-62-1 in the regular season and 2-3 in the playoffs.
A team with a talent like Lawrence cannot play as ineptly as Jacksonville has. They need to start over with an offensive guru. There will be a long line of qualified people who want to get their hands on this offense with a high draft pick in hand.
Indianapolis Must Live With Their Loss to the Giants
Had the Colts beaten the Giants in Week 17, they would hold a sliver of a chance at making the playoffs against another weak opponent with nothing to play for in Week 18. Instead, they surrendered 45 points in a devastating loss.
It cannot be blamed on young quarterback Anthony Richardson since he didn’t play. Veteran Joe Flacco did. He was intercepted twice.
Very succinctly: A team with playoff aspirations cannot lose to the New York Giants, a team that had its eye on the first overall pick and blew it by winning.
Richardson is not going to play against Jacksonville. It would be silly to play other key starters to any extensive degree. That includes running back Jonathan Taylor and wide receiver Alec Pierce. No information as to their status has been given.
Jaguars vs Colts Prediction: A Difficult Game to Gauge
There are changes on the horizon for Jacksonville. The Colts need to improve their defense and decide if they can move forward for the long term with Richardson at quarterback.
These games are hard to project. But given how the season has gone for the Jaguars, it would not be a surprise if they made it worse by winning and lowering their draft position. They will at least cover the spread.
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