When: 1 p.m. Sunday. Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis. TV: CBS

INDIANAPOLIS -- What better way to get back on track than facing a team that has struggled all season?

The Indianapolis Colts, losers of two of their last three games, have an opportunity to rebound from an embarrassing 22-point loss at home to the New England Patriots last weekend when the face the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9). The Jaguars are in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

The Colts beat Jacksonville 44-17 in Week 3.

ESPN.com Colts reporter Mike Wells and Jaguars reporter Mike DiRocco discuss Sunday’s game.

Wells: Quarterback Blake Bortles made his regular-season debut when he replaced Chad Henne against the Colts in late September. Where is he in his development, and is there confidence within the organization that he has the necessary tools to lead the franchise in the future?

DiRocco: The last six games will be important for Bortles, because it will give GM David Caldwell and coach Gus Bradley an indication of where he is in his development. Bortles has thrown an NFL-high 14 interceptions in the first 10 games, and the Jaguars want to see him average less than one per game over the last six. The Jaguars are pleased with Bortles’ understanding of the offense, his poise in the pocket and his confidence, especially the way he bounces back after throwing interceptions. They want to see improvement in his decision-making. He has thrown four pick-sixes and three interceptions in the red zone. They don’t want to see him throwing across his body any more, either. Even with those issues, Caldwell and Bradley have no doubts about Bortles being the player to lead the franchise over the next decade.

Losing Ahmad Bradshaw to a fractured ankle obviously will impact the running game. Does this mean it will be the Trent Richardson show from now on, and can the Colts rely on him to provide the balance the offense needs to keep teams from ganging up on Andrew Luck?

Wells: It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for Richardson. He shared the workload with Bradshaw in the nine games they played together, but now he’ll be the workhorse in the backfield. That’s kind of a scary thought when you take into account that Richardson rushed for zero yards on seven carries against the Patriots last weekend. Richardson and general manager Ryan Grigson have a lot on the line, because there’s no excuse for Richardson not to be effective. He has been in the system for more than a year and no longer has to split carries. Produce and it will soften the blow of Richardson’s inconsistent play the past year. Struggle and the questions continue as to why Grigson gave up a first-round draft pick for a player who hasn’t been worth it so far.

Denard Robinson is a familiar name to people up here in Big 10 country from his playing days at Michigan. I see that he leads the Jags in rushing. Why has the transition from quarterback to running back worked for him?

DiRocco: The most important thing is that he has always been dynamic with the ball in his hands, which we saw on a consistent basis at Michigan. He’s got good speed, vision and elusiveness in the open field. What he had to learn was how to carry the ball as a running back, which means adjusting to carrying the ball inside, reading blocks at the line of scrimmage to hit the hole and knowing that defenses are accounting for you on every play. It’s the opposite as a quarterback. Robinson added about 10 pounds to his frame in the offseason, and that has shown in the way he is running behind his pads. He’s running through arm tackles and pushing tacklers backward. This is just Robinson’s first season as a running back, so there is more room for development.

Losing to the Patriots the way they did at home indicates the Colts aren't quite ready to be considered a serious contender in the AFC. What pieces do they need to get there?

Wells: You’re right, the Colts can’t be taken as serious as contenders in the AFC, yet. Where do I start with their area of concerns? The offensive line has not progressed. The line is at fault, too, for the problems in the running game. Things changed once they replaced A.Q. Shipley at center with undrafted free agent Jonotthan Harrison. They averaged 118 yards a game rushing with Shipley starting at center, and they're only averaging 95 yards a game rushing with Harrison starting. That’s one. The defensive line was supposed to be improved with the addition of Arthur Jones. It has been fine with Jones on the field. The issue, though, is that Jones has played less than three games this season because of an ankle injury. The Colts could be looking for two new starting safeties in the offseason, because veteran Mike Adams is a free agent, and there’s no reason to believe LaRon Landry, who has been demoted, will be brought back next season.

Sticking with the running game, the Patriots gashed the Colts up for 244 yards last weekend. The Jaguars rushed for 105 yards against Indy earlier this season. Do you think they’ll try to copy what the Patriots did, or will they let Bortles fling the ball around the field to try to pull off the upset?

DiRocco: The Jaguars are striving for balance, not only because the Colts might be susceptible against the run but because they want to take some pressure off Bortles. Tight end Marcedes Lewis returns from a high ankle sprain this week, and that’s a big help in the running game. Lewis is one of the league’s better blocking tight ends and does a good job of setting the edge. One of the Jaguars’ biggest goals over the final six games is to cut down on turnovers, and that means Bortles taking more calculated risks. Bortles will have to make several plays in the passing game, but the Jaguars aren’t going to put the entire game on his shoulders.

It looks like the Colts haven't had a lot of success stopping the tight end this season, but Jaguars tight ends caught just one pass in the earlier meeting. Lewis wasn't playing then, and this will be his first game back. Why have the Colts had issues with tight ends?

Wells: Their linebackers aren’t fast enough to stay with opposing tight ends, and their safeties aren’t strong enough for them. Watch the video clip of New England’s Rob Gronkowski manhandling Sergio Brown on the sideline last weekend for further proof of that. Opposing quarterbacks recognize the mismatch and take advantage of it. Tight ends on Denver, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England all had effective games against the Colts. Indianapolis just doesn’t have the personnel capable of matching up with the athletic tight ends that play in the NFL these days.