Gardner Minshew and the Indianapolis Colts missed an opportunity to jump into sole possession of first place in the AFC South in Week 6, as they were hammered by the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 37-20 on Sunday afternoon.
Minshew, who was filling in for injured rookie Anthony Richardson, had his first real hiccup of the season in the loss, going 33-for-55 with 329 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
Afterward, Minshew took responsibility for the defeat.
“At the end of the day, I was careless with the ball,” Minshew said, according to James Boyd of The Athletic. “I didn’t do a good enough job taking care of it. (I) put our team in a really bad spot, and that’s not fair to the rest of the guys. Really gonna look at this, hold myself accountable.”
Minshew was making his second start and fifth overall appearance of the season in the loss to the Jaguars. He also started back in Week 3, when Indianapolis defeated the Baltimore Ravens. Minshew made a brief appearance in Week 1 and then relieved Richardson when the first-year quarterback suffered a concussion in Week 2. Minshew also stepped up in place of Richardson last week when the No. 4 overall pick went down with a shoulder injury.
On the season overall, Minshew has thrown for 882 yards, three touchdowns and three picks while completing 65.2 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 81.2.
The 27-year-old is in his first season with Indy after splitting the first four years of his NFL career between Jacksonville and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Gardner Minshew has played in 38 games over the course of his professional tenure, starting 26 of them. He has gone 9-17 as a starter, with his best season coming in 2019 when he totaled 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 starts for the Jags.
The Colts’ loss to the Jaguars in Week 6 was not only bad because it dropped them into a second-place tie, but it also guaranteed they would lose a potential tiebreaker to Jacksonville. With the win, the Jags completed a season sweep of Indianapolis.
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