JACKSONVILLE – Correspondent John Shipley examines five key plays from the Jaguars’ 42-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in a 2026 Week 8 game at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville

1.Finding a Lane. One of the longest defensive scores in franchise history came from one of the franchise's young talents Sunday, with second-year safety Rayuan Lane III catching a deflection off Colts tight end Tyler Warren's hands in the red zone. Lane – playing for starter Eric Murray, who sustained an elbow injury on Sunday's opening kickoff – accelerated and saw clear space in front of him, returning the Jaguars' second takeaway of the day for a 92-yard touchdown and a 28-0 lead with :10 remaining in the first half. "I just thought about running and scoring, it was huge," Lane said. It marked the second-longest defensive touchdown in franchise history behind linebacker Devin Lloyd's 99-yard touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs last season. "That kind of really broke the game open," Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said of Lane, who also registered the game-clinching tackle late in fourth quarter of a Week 4 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. "It was a massive play to stay focused throughout the tip and be able to control that ball and take it to the house. He has made a number of those plays. When you have second-year players that have been primarily special teams contributors step up and make plays for you on defense, that's huge."

2.Go, Tuten, go. A steadily improving Jaguars running game had its most-productive game of the season Sunday, highlighted by running back Bhayshul Tuten's 39-yard run in the second quarter that pushed the Jaguars' lead to 21-0 with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter. Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. scored on a 28-yard third-quarter run, with Tuten also scoring on a 25-yard screen pass on the final play of the third quarter for the game's final margin. "They set up blocks really well," Jaguars rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher said of Tuten and Rodriguez. "They run through arm tackles and break tackles. It's great to watch them. It's super fun to watch those guys."

3.Consensus is in. Boerkircher continues to ascend as the midway point of his rookie season approaches. Boerkircher, a second-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, scored his first career touchdown on a pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the Jaguars' last game – a Week 6 loss to the Houston Texans. That was a one-handed, contested receptionm and Boerkircher on Sunday turned in an equally impressive reception to give the Jaguars a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. "I thought Boerk's body control and adjustment was pretty impressive as well to make the finish," Coen said of the play. Lawrence on first-and-10 avoided pressure with the help of a block from tight end Brenton Strange, then found Boerkircher – who made a smooth adjustment for the ball – open near the goal line for a 31-yard touchdown with 7:14 remaining in the first half. "Some of those wide-open catches feel harder to catch," Boerkircher said. "Being able to adjust to it kind of made it feel a little easier. It's a weird thing, but it was cool." Added Boerkircher of his second touchdown in as many games, "The game is slowing down, too. That's part of it and then I think just building their trust has been really cool." Added Coen of Lawrence's effort on the play, "When Trevor is doing those kind of things, you feel like he's in a rhythm, he's in a flow, he's seeing it and able to just react and go play, so that was really nice to see."

4.BTJ responds. Third-year wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. has fought through some struggles over the last two seasons, but the 2024 first-round selection consistently has responded. He responded in a big way Sunday, scoring the game's first touchdown. Starting on their own 2-yard line, the Jaguars picked up chunk gains running – and with a 46-yard catch-and-run by Strange – and faced third-and-goal from the 12-yard line. Lawrence found Thomas in the middle of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. The crowd at EverBank showed their support for the talented receiver, chanting "BTJ" after the score. "To see that happen for him, super-exciting," Rodriguez said.

5.Turnover time. Lane's takeaway was a major turning point, but it wasn't the Jaguars' only big takeaway Sunday. Undrafted rookie defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. recovered a fumbled reverse by Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and wide receiver Josh Downs, setting up a 50-yard touchdown drive for a 14-0 Jaguars lead in the second quarter. Second-year linebacker Branson Combs recorded his first career interception in the second half in a dominant defensive effort that came two weeks after the Jaguars allowed a season-high points in a 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans the week before last week's bye week. "We knew we'd get right back on the right page," Combs said after the game. "We just attack people, play physical, and it's typically going to turn out well."