The Jacksonville Jaguars are the defending AFC South champs and the favorite to win the division title again in 2023. The Indianapolis Colts are in the early stages of a rebuild with first-year head coach Shane Steichen and rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson about to make their regular season debuts.
While the Jaguars strung together five straight wins to close out the regular season in 2023, Indianapolis finished with only four victories on the year. Still, one of those wins was a 34-27 upset of the Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Buy Jaguars TicketsUnsurprisingly, most don’t think the Colts are well-positioned to do it again vs. the road favorite Jaguars on Sunday.
With the Jaguars listed as a 4.5-point favorite against the Colts, here are what experts are predicting about the Week 1 matchup:
USA Today
Chris Bumbaca: Jaguars 23-17
Jarrett Bell: Jaguars 28-19
Lorenzo Reyes: Jaguars 25-17
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Jaguars 24-14
Nate Davis: Jaguars 23-16
Safid Deen: Jaguars 23-14
Tyler Dragon: Jaguars 26-17
Victoria Davis: Jaguars 24-20
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Jaguars 27-18
Brooke Cersosimo: Jaguars 26-17
Dan Parr: Jaguars 28-19
Gennaro Filice: Jaguars 27-17
Tom Blair: Jaguars 24-17
ESPN
Matt Bowen: Jaguars
Mike Clay: Jaguars
Jeremy Fowler: Jaguars
Dan Graziano: Jaguars
Kimberley Martin: Jaguars
Eric Moody: Jaguars
Jason Reid: Colts
Lindsey Thiry: Jaguars
Sam Wickersham: Jaguars
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Jaguars
Will Brinson: Colts
Jared Dubin: Jaguars
Ryan Wilson: Jaguars
John Breech: Jaguars
Tyler Sullivan: Jaguars
Dave Richard: Jaguars
Jamey Eisenberg: Jaguars
Sporting News
Anthony Richardson will be making his first start against a Jacksonville team that took off around Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence last season. The Jaguars ranked 26th in the NFL in sacks last season, so monitor how much they turn up the pressure. Calvin Riley – who has been reinstated after a year-long suspension – will make his presence felt as a new target for Lawrence.
Pick: Jaguars 31, Colts 21
Athlon Sports
Alek Arend: Jaguars 34-23
Matt Audilet: Jaguars 35-17
Cameron Flynn: Jaguars 24-14
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 1 picks
Gary Davenport: Jaguars
Brad Gagnon: Colts
Ian Hanford: Jaguars
Kris Knox: Colts
Maurice Moton: Jaguars
Wes O’Donnell: Jaguars
Brent Sobleski: Jaguars
Bottom Line
Only a handful of experts are picking the Colts to pull off the upset. The final tally:
Jaguars: 37
Colts: 4
