INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – This was tricky, difficult stuff. December in the NFL can be that way.

What the Jaguars did Sunday was scrap their way to a tough division victory – and in doing so, they moved to within a victory of a division title.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence ran for two touchdowns and the Jaguars rallied from an early 10-point deficit before grinding their way to a critical 23-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in front of 66,080 at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday afternoon.

"You have to earn every one of them – we earned it today," Lawrence said, with Head Coach Liam Coen adding, "Very proud of the group going on the road in the division again, getting a huge win."

"We had a lot of guys sick all week," Coen said. "Guys that came up sick today, and a ton of them were key contributors as well. This is definitely an opportunity for us to continue to ascend and get better."

Kicker Cam Little's 42-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter gave the Jaguars a three-point lead and his 53-yard field goal gave them the final margin of victory with :18 remaining.

"We came in here to win the game and we did that," said running back Travis Etienne Jr., who rushed for 76 yards on 17 carries.

"It's hard to win in this league and you have to be on your Ps and Qs every week," said Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones, whose fourth-quarter interception set up Little's go-ahead field goal. "[The Colts] are a good football team. You can't really take them lightly in any moment because it is still the NFL.

"We got into some rough moments in the game, but you kind of saw the brotherhood kick in and we kind of came together and did what we needed to do to win."

The Jaguars, who entered the game having scored at least 25 points in a franchise-record eight consecutive games, committed two turnovers – both in the red zone – and were stopped on a key fourth down in the fourth quarter.

"It wasn't the prettiest," Lawrence said. "There are a lot of things on offense we can clean up."

The AFC South-leading Jaguars (12-4), winners of seven consecutive games and eight of the last nine, remain a game ahead of the Houston Texans (11-5) in the division. The Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers (11-5), 20-16, in Los Angeles, Cal., Saturday.

The Jaguars can clinch their third AFC South title in nine seasons with a victory at home against the Tennessee Titans in Week 18. The Colts (8-8) have lost six consecutive games.

"We have to go finish the job," Lawrence said.

The Jaguars remain the AFC's No. 3 seed in the AFC, a game behind the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos (13-3) and AFC East-leading New England Patriots (13-3). The Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City Thursday and the Patriots beat the New York Jets Sunday.

Sunday marked the Jaguars' second-largest come-from-behind victory this season. They overcame a 14-point deficit in a 31-28 home victory over the Chiefs in Week 4. The Jaguars entered Sunday having won four consecutive games by 14 or more points.

"The biggest positive is just finding a way to win," Lawrence said. "It's hard to win. That's a good team. Their season obviously the last few weeks hasn't gone the way they want it to, but it's still a really good team that's hard to beat."

Lawrence completed 23 of 37 passes for 263 yards and no touchdowns with an interception Sunday. Colts quarterback Philip Rivers, in his third game since coming out of retirement following a season-ending Achilles injury to starter Daniel Jones, completed 17 of 30 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown with an interception.

The Jaguars held Colts running back Jonathan Taylor 70 yards and no touchdowns on 21 carries, a 3.3-yards-per-carry average.

"Our guys did a great job digging in," Coen said.

The Jaguars registered two takeaways Sunday – one by Jones and an end-zone interception by safety Antonio Johnson on the game's final play. They now have 30 takeaways for the season.

Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker sacked Rivers on the final play of the third quarter, with defensive end Josh Hines-Allen registering a sack on a late Colts drive, and the Jaguars now have 27 sacks for the season.

"It was a tough win," said cornerback Montaric Brown, who had two passes defensed and a tackle for a loss for a Jaguars defense that held the Colts to 204 yards total offense. "It was a lot of ups and down through the game, but we got the job done. We're moving on."

2025 Week 17, Step by step:

• Kicker Blake Grupe's 33-yard field goal capped an eight-play, 29-yard drive for a 3-0 Colts lead with 11:14 remaining in the first quarter. The Jaguars opening drive ended when Colts linebacker Samsun Ebukam recovered a fumbled lateral from wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to running back Travis Etienne Jr. at the Colts 17.
• Running back Jonathan Taylor capped the drive following the Jaguars' fumble with a 3-yard run to push the Colts' lead to 10-0 with 12:49 remaining in the first half. Lawrence capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive on the ensuing possession with a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the Colts' lead to 10-7 with 5:38 remaining in the half. The Jaguars missed a chance to tie or lead at halftime when linebacker Germaine Pratt intercepted a pass from Lawrence to wide receiver Parker Washington with :15 remaining in the half.
• Lawrence's 6-yard run on a quarterback draw capped an eight-play, 81-drive and gave the Jaguars their first lead of the game – 14-10 – with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter. Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox's 5-yard reception from Rivers capped a five-play, 39-yard drive on the ensuing possession to give the Colts a 17-14 lead with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter. Little's 39-yard field goal with 1:25 remaining in the third quarter tied the game, 17-17.
• Little's 42-yard field goal with 6:58 remaining gave the Jaguars a 20-17 lead four plays after Jones intercepted Rivers to give the Jaguars possession at the Colts 21.

Notable: Center Jonah Monheim started in place of starter Robert Hainsey and Walker Little started for starting right guard Patrick Mekari Sunday, with Hainsey (groin) and Mekari (back) among seven inactive players for the Jaguars in the game. Little started the first 12 games of the season at left tackle. The five other Jaguars inactive players Sunday: Running back Bhayshul Tuten (finger), tight end Hunter Long, defensive tackle Maason Smith, rookie defensive end Danny Striggow (ankle) and cornerback Keith Taylor.

Jaguars injury report: The Jaguars reported no injuries Sunday.