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Gameday takeaways: Disappointing day

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior writer John Oehser's five takeaways from the Jaguars' 16-13 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., Sunday

1."Its disappointing …"We begin Game-Day takeaways with Head Coach Gus Bradley, whose disappointment was palpable after a loss to the Colts in a game the Jaguars had multiple chances to win. Very, very palpable. The Jaguars failed to score on their final eight possessions, with two of their final three possessions ending with missed field goals of 53 and 48 yards by kicker Jason Myers. The first miss came with :01 remaining in regulation and the second came with 8:13 remaining in overtime; the latter led to Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri's 27-yard game-winning field goal. "We're not doing enough of the good things yet consistently to get us over the hump," Bradley said. "We're close." The late-game misses negated a 116-yard receiving game by wide receiver Allen Hurns and the first 100-yard-rushing game of rookie running back T.J. Yeldon's career. The Jaguars didn't commit a turnover, but were penalized 13 times for 92 yards. "It's disappointing," Bradley said. "Although there were a lot of plays – a lot of critical plays – there were some errors that led us to the result we had."

2.Run, T.J. Run.Persistence paid off for the Jaguars' running game Sunday. Throughout the early part of the season, the Jaguars had struggled to run consistently while showing hints and flashes of productivity in the area. On Sunday, the Jaguars continued to run Yeldon through some early short runs and the rookie got stronger as the game continued. His 36-yard run in overtime to the Colts 44 was his longest run of the season and helped flip field position in the Jaguars' favor. "When you run the ball, sometimes it's two yards and three yards then one will pop," Bradley said. "You just have to be patient with it." Yeldon finished with 105 yards on 22 carries, with 65 yards on 10 carries coming after halftime. "It's always tough to run the ball in this league, especially early in games," Jaguars guard Zane Beadles said. "You stick to it and you're in a game where you have the opportunity to run the ball – runs start popping and those two- and three-yard runs turn into six- and eight-yard runs. There is going to be plenty for us to look at tomorrow and improve upon in that area. We just have to keep grinding."

3.Another tough day for Myers.The opportunities were there at the end; the kicks just didn't go through. Myers, a rookie kicker who struggled in the regular-season opener before back-to-back solid games in Weeks 2 and 3, missed two game-winning attempts on Sunday. Myers first missed from 53 yards with :01 remaining in regulation, a kick that came moments after he missed from the same distance seconds after Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano called timeout. Myers said he didn't hit the first 53-yarder well, but he narrowly missed the 53- and 48-yarders. "I aimed them both down the middle," Myers said. "I hit them both down the middle. One just kind of went off on the right on me and one turned left on me." Bradley, asked afterward about his patience with the rookie, replied, "I wasn't even thinking about that."

4.Whoops – really, really whoops.The Jaguars had a solid first half defensively Sunday – with a glaring exception. The Colts' lone touchdown drive was significantly aided by penalties, with the Jaguars committing five on the drive, three of which gave the Colts a first down. Defensive end Chris Clemons' 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for contacting Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's helmet gave the Colts a first down on third downs, as did interference penalties on cornerback Davon House and safety James Sample. The drive ended with a two-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to tight end Coby Fleener. The Jaguars finished with 13 penalties for 92 yards. "When you're playing aggressive and playing physical, sometimes those plays happen," Bradley said. "It's the foolish plays we need to take a look at."

5.Still battling.The Jaguars entered the game with a shorter injury report than the previous week. It lengthened a bit again Sunday. Jaguars middle linebacker Paul Posluszny left the game in the second half with an ankle sprain, and cornerback Aaron Colvin left the game in the fourth quarter with an aggravated shoulder. Rookie safety James Sample left the game with a shoulder contusion. None of the three returned to the game. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles had his ankle taped early in the first quarter, but said afterward the issue didn't bother him the rest of the game. "It was fine," Bortles said. "We taped it up and it was good to go."

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