Lawrence completed 24 of 32 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, with wide receiver Calvin Ridley – playing in his first game for the Jaguars after being acquired from the Atlanta Falcons in a trade last November – catching eight passes for 101 yards and caught a touchdown.
“We could have, could have scored more points,” said Ridley. “We should have been in a better situation and that’s because obviously it was our first game. We’re still getting better. Of course we are still learning from each other, but I like where we are.”
Lawrence’s early touchdown pass to Ridley gave the Jaguars a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, and Lawrence’s second-quarter touchdown pass to wide receiver Zay Jones gave them a 14-7 lead.
Lawrence called it a “pretty sloppy game” overall.
“They presented us with some challenges offensively,” he said. “In the end we made the moves we needed to make to win. Defense really kept us in the game. We put them in a bad position a couple of times where they.”
“It was great to see how they picked us up when we needed it. Obviously it wasn’t a particularly clean game offensively. There’s still a lot to figure out, but don’t get too excited about a win. That’s difficult.” Victory in this league and also a division game.
“This is great for us. A good start.”
Richardson, making his first NFL start in his first game, completed 24 of 37 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown with one interception. His two-yard touchdown run tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter, and his touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Pittman tied the game early in the third quarter.
The Jaguars recorded four sacks – a career-high three sacks by outside linebacker Josh Allen and another by outside linebacker Travon Walker late in the second. The Jaguars also forced three turnovers, with defensive lineman Antonio Blackson recovering a fumble in the first half and linebacker Devin Lloyd recovering a fumble in the third quarter.
The Jaguars also stopped the Colts on four of five fourth-round conversion attempts.
“I did what was expected of me for this defense and everyone played their part,” Allen said. “If we keep doing that, keep growing, keep getting better, I think we can be a great team this year.”