Indianapolis, IN
Jaguars defense spotted the Colts 10 points, then shut down Old Man Rivers
Jarrian Jones, Antonio Johnson pulled down interceptions, Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen logged crucial late-game sacks
Seven facts about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ postseason history
The Jaguars are about to embark on their ninth postseason in franchise history. Here are some facts about their previous eight postseasons.
The Jacksonville Jaguars defense rewrote a few narratives on Dec. 28 in their 23-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The most important flip of the script happened in-game: After yielding 10 points and 112 yards on the Colts’ first two possessions, the Jaguars gave up only one more score (aided by a 55-yard kickoff return by Ashton Dulin in the third quarter) and 92 total yards the rest of the game, forcing four punts, two turnovers and a turnover on downs.
After gaining 48 yards on 11 carries on the Colts’ first two possessions, running back Jonathan Taylor had only 32 yards on 10 carries the rest of the game for 70 yards on 21 carries, the first time he’s failed to gain 100 or more yards against the Jaguars at home.
Phillip Rivers, the 44-year-old grandfather who returned to play this year after retiring in 2021, completed 7 of 11 passes for 52 yards on his first two turns with the ball, then went 10 of 19 for 95 yards.
Jarrian Jones and Antonio Johnson pulled down interceptions, with Jones’ second pick in two weeks leading to Cam Little’s tie-breaking field goal with 6:58 left. Johnson’s pick came in the end zone on a desperation heave by Riley Leonard, brought into the game for the final play from the Jaguars’48 because there are limits to a 44-year-old arm.
Jaguars finally got to Phillip Rivers
Because the Colts’ game plan was obvious ― get the ball out of Rivers’ hand as quickly as possible to keep him from being a sitting duck for the Jaguars pass rush ― it took some time for the Jaguars to get to him.
It finally happened in the second half. Travon Walker twisted out of a double team by two tight ends lined up on the same side, Tyler Warren and Mo Alie-Cox, and got to Rivers for a 6-yard loss in the third quarter on the final play of the third quarter, which led to a punt. Walker now has 3.5 sacks for the season.
Walker also figured in the second sack. Battling through another double-team against right guard Matt Goncalves and right tackle Jalen Travis, Walker forced Rivers to his left. Rivers ran into his own left tackle, Bernhard Raimann, who was in the process of being thrown backwards by Josh Hines-Allen.
Raimann knocked Rivers down, and Hines-Allen got credited for his team-high eighth sack of the season.
Walker had another tackle for a loss against Taylor, with the Jaguars getting four in the game. The secondary (without Jourdan Lewis for the rest of the season), was led by cornerback Montaric Brown with five tackles and two pass deflections. Six other Jaguar players had at least one pass defensed.
Safety Eric Murray had four tackles and deflected the ball that Jones intercepted.
Jaguars shackled Colts Big Three
The other narratives the Jaguars changed were long-term frustrations with three Colts players in particular, Rivers, Taylor and wide receiver Alec Pierce.
Rivers entered the game 8-2 versus the Jaguars as a starter, but two of the three losses have come when he was in a Colts’ uniform.
Taylor has been a monster against the Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. In three previous starts at home, he ran for 546 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. His lowest production against the Jaguars was 116 yards in a 2021 game.
Pierce had 17 receptions for 350 yards and four touchdowns (20.6 per catch) in eight career games against the Jaguars and had 10 for 271 yards and two scores in his last three games against the Jags. But Pierce was blanked this time: no receptions on five targets.
The Jaguars also played stout on third down after the first two possessions, when the Colts converted two third downs and scored on Taylor’s third-and-goal run from the 2.
From then on, the Colts converted only two of 11 on third down and failed on a fourth-down attempt.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) — A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
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