Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin is in the midst of his seventh season in the NFL with 102 games under his belt. Of those 102 games, six have come against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium.
Zero have resulted in wins.
Franklin and the Colts will attempt to change that on Sunday, as Indy has not won in Jacksonville since 2014. Franklin and the rest of the longest-tenured Colts have heard about the “curse” repeatedly. But the only way for the talk to stop is by finally getting a win at the home of their divisional opponent.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a tough place to play,” Franklin said about Jacksonville. “I just think we just consistently haven’t put out a good performance there, but none of that really matters. New team, new year, new situation. So, just got to approach it with a fresh mindset, ready to play.”
On the surface, the Colts should be favored to win this matchup. The Colts have won two straight and have shown obvious improvement throughout the year. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are 0-4, the lone winless team in the NFL.
But when you dig deeper, the Jaguars have not been far away from snagging a few victories this season. Outside of a blowout at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, the Jaguars’ average margin of defeat this season has been four points. The Jags could have won all three contests if a couple of plays had gone differently.