3 major storylines to watch in Jaguars vs. Colts Week 14 matchup

Sunday's Week 14 matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts will be a big one.

Both teams will enter the game at 8-4 and tied for the AFC South lead -- although the Jaguars hold the current tie-breaker.

So before the week of practices for these two teams begins, let's highlight three storylines to watch for as the next several days unfold.

A lot is up for grabs in the AFC South

As we just mentioned, this is a big game with the Jaguars and Colts tied at 8-4 and sitting at the top of the AFC South race. The winner, however, will have a distinct advantage going into the final month of the season.

For one, whoever wins will be in sole possession of first place in the AFC South. That team will also hold the head-to-head tie-breaker and have the better overall division record as well.

While these two teams will meet once more after Week 14, with just four games left in the season after Sunday, for whichever team is playing catch-up, there will not be a lot of time to make up ground.

Can Trevor Lawrence build off last week's performance?

Following a four-turnover day in Arizona, Trevor Lawrence was excellent last week against Tennessee. With the run game stifled, Lawrence and the passing game had to shoulder the workload for the offense in that game and did so quite well.

Beyond Lawrence's production, he was effective at pushing the ball downfield and took advantage of the Titans' defense over the middle of the field. Lawrence also did not have any turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF.

This week, the Colts will be without cornerback Sauce Gardner. The Lou Anarumo defense has been very good at disguising coverages to throw a variety of looks at quarterbacks. What Lawrence sees pre-snap likely won't be what he sees at the top of his drop against this defense.

Can the Jaguars' pass rush get after Daniel Jones?

Over the last three games, led by Josh Hines-Allen, as well as Arik Armstead for two of those games, the Jaguars' pass rush has been picking up steam and getting after the quarterback more consistently.

The play of the defensive front has picked up. Anthony Campanile continues to mix in blitzes and simulated pressures, not to mention that the coverage on the back end has been more sticky, which provides more time for those up front to get home.

Getting after Jones will be one of the keys to this game. Under pressure in the last two games, Jones is completing 42.3% of his passes at just 5.5 yards per attempt, per PFF.

In order to get these opportunities to rush the passer, the Jaguars must first find a way to contain Jonathan Taylor and the run game, which then will put the Colts' offense in more obvious passing situations.

This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars vs. Colts: 3 key storylines to watch in pivotal Week 14 game