Colts hoping to keep playoff hopes alive as Jags chase AFC South crown

Jacksonville (11-4) at Indianapolis (8-7)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

BetMGM NFL odds: Jaguars by 6 1/2.

Against the spread: Jaguars 9-5-1; Colts 8-7.

Series record: Colts lead 28-21.

Last meeting: Jaguars beat Colts 36-19 on Dec. 7 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Last week: Jaguars beat Broncos 34-20; Colts lost to 49ers 48-27.

Jaguars offense: overall (15), rush (19), pass (15), scoring (7t).

Jaguars defense: overall (13), rush (1), pass (24), scoring (10).

Colts offense: overall (8), rush (10), pass (11), scoring (6).

Colts defense: overall (25), rush (5), pass (31), scoring (18).

Turnover differential: Jaguars plus-12; Colts plus-1.

DE Josh Hines-Allen. In 11 matchups with Indy, Hines-Allen has 11 1/2 sacks — his highest total against any opponent — including at least one in four straight games. He's also had 39 tackles, 20 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles against the Colts. The injuries to Indy's offensive line could lead to another big day from the Jaguars defense and top pass rusher.

RB Jonathan Taylor. The Pro Bowler looked as if he'd run away with his second NFL rushing title in Week 10. He'd had five 100-yard games with a season-high 244 yards in Berlin. Since then, he's averaging 70.0 yards per game, has two TD runs and is second in the league's rushing race. Indy needs more from Taylor against a team that held him to 74 yards on 21 carries in Week 14.

Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence vs. Indy's secondary. Lawrence was 17 of 30 with 244 yards and two TDs in the rain earlier in the month. But Brian Thomas Jr. has dominated the Colts — 15 catches for 312 yards in three games — and Jakobi Meyers has made a huge impact since being acquired in a trade. The Colts secondary must regroup after getting shredded by Brock Purdy and the 49ers last week, but it will be tough for this injury-depleted group that ranks 31st in the league.

Jaguars: CB Jourdan Lewis will miss the rest of the season because he will have season-ending foot surgery. Three additional players, including C Robert Hainsey (groin), G Patrick Mekari (back), did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. ... CBs Montaric Brown (neck), G Ezra Cleveland shoulder), LB Jalen Mcleod (ankle), WR Tim Patrick (foot) and RB Bhayshul Tuten (finger) have done limited work on the first two practice days. ... CB Greg Newsome (shoulder) and DE Danny Striggow (ankle) were upgraded from non-participants Wednesday to doing limited work Thursday.

Colts: Indy's offensive line has taken some big hits in recent weeks. RT Braden Smith went on injured reserve (concussion/neck) and C Tanor Bortolini (concussion protocol) has been ruled out this week. It's still unclear whether LT Bernhard Raimann (elbow) will play Sunday. Dalton Tucker, who started at RG, on Monday also sat out Wednesday’s walkthrough because of a shoulder injury and did limited work Thursday. ... The other big news is that Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner was put back on injured reserve with a neck injury Friday. ... Two-time All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner has missed three straight games but is on track to play Sunday. ... DE J.T. Tuimoloau (oblique) and receiver-returner Anthony Gould (foot) will not play this week.

Jacksonville has won four of the past five in the series and owns 11 straight wins as the home team. ... Indy has won five of the past six at Lucas Oil Stadium and is 18-6 all time at home. ... The Jags are seeking their fourth season sweep of the Colts, their third in the past nine years. ... The teams have split the season series in eight of the past 10 years. ... Indy won the first five games in the series, including the only two matchups when these teams were not division rivals.

Jacksonville and Indy will both be watching the Texans-Chargers game closely Saturday. Not only would a Texans loss keep the Colts playoff hopes alive, it would also give the Jags a pathway to clinch their first AFC South title since 2022. ... The Jags have won six straight and seven of their past eight and have allowed no sacks in a game a league-high five times this season — one short of the most in a single season in franchise history. ... Lawrence needs four TD passes to reach 30 in a single season for the first time and five for No. 100 in his career. ... Thomas has had 85 yards receiving or more in three straight games. ... RB Travis Etienne Jr. has scored in each of his past three games. He needs 1 yard to join the 1,000-yard club and two TDs to surpass Marcedes Lewis (33) for No. 5 in franchise history. ... Meyers has 31 catches, 400 yards and three TD catches in the past six games. ... Only three players from the 2022 have had 10 or more quarterback hits in each of their first four NFL seasons and Jags DE Travon Walker is one of them. ... LB Foyesade Oluokun has had 100 or more tackles in six straight seasons. ... Devin Lloyd's nine interceptions rank second among the league's linebackers since 2022. ... Indy has lost five straight and six of its past seven, sliding into the No. 8 slot in the AFC playoff race. ... The Colts are one of four teams in the league with no turnovers in the red zone. ... QB Philip Rivers is chasing career win No. 135 and needs 251 yards to pass Ben Roethlisberger, who starts this week ranked No. 6 all time. Rams QB Matthew Stafford is seventh at 63, 988 and Rivers is eighth. ... Taylor needs one TD run to tie his own franchise record of 18. He also needs two total TDs to break his own franchise record for TDs from scrimmage in one season (20). He set both marks in 2021. ... Tyler Warren ranks fourth among NFL tight ends with 748 yards receiving this season. That's a Colts single-season record for a rookie TE. ... DE Laiatu Latu has had 10 1/2 sacks and three interceptions in his first 30 games. Only three other players (Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit; Shaquille Leonard, Indy; and Brian Urlacher, Chicago) have achieved that feat since 2000. ... DeForest Buckner has 43 sacks since joining Indy, the most in franchise history by a defensive tackle. ... Indy has had at least one takeaway in a league-best 14 games this season.

Lawrence. He's thrown for at least 225 yards and two TDs in each of his past four games, one coming in the first matchup against Indy. This time, he'll be playing in the controlled environment of a dome stadium. Lawrence leads the AFC in TD passes and needs 343 yards to surpass Blake Bortles for second in franchise history. Expect a big day against Indy's struggling pass defense.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) tackles Denver Broncos tight end Adam Trautman, left, during the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) runs with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Denver, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (14) catches a touchdown pass against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — A bombing at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said, as long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilize the country, even as large-scale fighting has subsided.

Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in Homs, Syria's third-largest city, in an area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood dominated by the Alawite minority.

SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators, who have not yet been identified, and a security cordon was placed around the building, Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel. The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.

The Syrian government blamed the church attack on a cell of the Islamic State group, saying IS had also planned to target a Shiite Muslim shrine. IS did not claim responsibility for the attack. The group follows an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels.

Syria recently joined the global coalition against IS and has launched a crackdown on IS cells, particularly after an attack on U.S. forces earlier this month that killed two service members and a civilian translator.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “unequivocally condemns the deadly terrorist attack," and stresses that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The U.N. chief also noted Syria's commitment to combat terrorism and hold perpetrators accountable.

The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of President Bashar Assad last year. Assad, himself an Alawite, fled the country to Russia. Members of his sect have been subjected to crackdowns.

In March, an ambush carried out by Assad’s supporters against security forces triggered days of violence that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites.

In a statement, the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora described the attack as “a continuation of the organized extremist terrorism specifically targeting the Alawite community, and increasingly other Syrian groups as well.”

The council held the Syrian government “fully and directly responsible for these crimes,” adding that “these criminal acts will not go unanswered.”

Local officials condemned Friday's attack, saying it came “within the context of repeated desperate attempts to undermine security and stability and sow chaos among the Syrian people.”

“Syria reiterates its firm stance in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added in a statement.

“Remnants of the former regime, IS militants and collaborators have converged on a single goal: obstructing the path of the new state by undermining stability, threatening civil peace, and eroding the shared coexistence and common destiny of Syrians throughout history,” the Syrian information minister said in a post on X.

The mosque’s deputy imam — a religious official who helps lead prayers — told Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariyah television that worshippers were praying when they “heard a loud explosion that knocked us to the ground. Fire broke out in one corner of the mosque. Those of us who were not wounded rushed to help get the injured out. Within minutes, general security forces and the Red Crescent arrived.”

“The explosion was huge,” he said. “It shattered the mosque’s windows and caused a fire that burned copies of the Holy Quran.”

Neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, also condemned the attack. In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed “Lebanon’s support for Syria in its fight against terrorism.”

On Monday, clashes erupted intermittently between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, in mixed neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, forcing temporary closures of schools and public institutions and prompting civilians to shelter indoors. A late-evening ceasefire was then announced by both sides amid ongoing de-escalation efforts.

Tensions flared again on Friday between government security forces and Kurdish forces in Aleppo, with the two sides trading blame.

The head of internal security in Aleppo province, Col. Mohammad Abdul Ghani in a statement said snipers from the SDF opened fire on a Ministry of Interior checkpoint, wounding an officer, and security forces returned fire.

The SDF in a statement said that “factions affiliated with the Damascus government” targeted a checkpoint manned by Kurdish forces with rocket-propelled grenades and they returned fire.

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Abou Aljoud contributed from Beirut.

Syrian security forces inspect the damage after an explosion in the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria Friday, Dec. 26, 2025.(AP Photo)

Syrian security forces secure the area outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the predominantly Alawite Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood after an explosion inside the mosque, in Homs, Syria, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo)

Syrian security forces inspect the damage after an explosion in the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria Friday, Dec. 26, 2025.(AP Photo)

Syrian security forces inspect the damage after an explosion in the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria Friday, Dec. 26, 2025.(AP Photo)

Syrian security forces inspect the damage after an explosion in the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria Friday, Dec. 26, 2025.(AP Photo)