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NFL Pick – Week 3

Two young quarterbacks will square off as the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts this weekend. Blaine Gabbert has never really shown that he can lead this Jaguars team to where they need to go, but he is still young. Andrew Luck had a poor first game in Chicago, but his home opener last weekend against Minnesota was terrific. Luck came through in the clutch to help the Colts pull out a last-second win in that game. Which quarterback will lead their team to victory here?

Game Overview:

Maurice Jones-Drew held out for a very long time this offseason. In fact, he didn’t even start the first week of the year for Jacksonville. Jones-Drew appears to be rounding into form. He is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He hasn’t found the end zone yet on the ground. Blaine Gabbert has a poor completion percentage of just 51.7% so far this year, but fans have to be happy about his three touchdowns compared to zero interceptions. Gabbert might be on the cusp of breaking out, but only time will tell. The Jaguars wide receivers are way worse than the NFL average, and that doesn’t help Gabbert at all.

Jacksonville’s defense was gashed for 216 rushing yards last week by the Houston Texans. The Jaguars currently rank 31st in the NFL against the run. Jacksonville doesn’t have that dominant defensive tackle to clog up the running lanes like most NFL teams do at this point. Overall, the Jaguars defense lacks star power. It doesn’t help at all that the Jaguars defense has been hit hard by injuries already this year.

After throwing three picks in his first game as a pro, Andrew Luck threw two touchdowns and no interceptions last weekend. Luck connected on a couple big passes with less than 20 seconds left after the Vikings tied up the game. In the end, Adam Vinatieri kicked a 53-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Luck has found two reliable receivers in Reggie Wayne and Donnie Avery through the first couple weeks. The problem for the Colts offense continues to be the lack of a running game. Donald Brown is the team’s leading rusher with just 93 yards through two games.

The Colts have a strong leader at the back of the defense in Antoine Bethea. If he stays healthy, it will certainly help this defense be much more solid. Vontae Davis is a new member of the team, and he makes the secondary much better as well. Dwight Freeney missed last weekend with an ankle injury, and he is listed as questionable for this one. The Colts front seven has struggled against the run in recent years, and this year appears to be no different. One guy that could help a lot is Pat Angerer. Angerer has missed the first two weeks with a foot injury, but he is listed as questionable for this Sunday.

Prediction:

Both of these teams have quite a few flaws, but I like the moves the Colts made in the offseason. Luck is certainly the better quarterback, and the Colts have an improved secondary. I like the Colts to cover at home.

Colts 24 Jaguars 17