INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay caused plenty of double-takes back in August when he said his team had the capability of putting up "Star Wars"-type offensive numbers this season with Andrew Luck back.

Joking or not, Irsay should hope his offense can continue to be one of the top-scoring teams in the NFL. Because if the past few weeks are any indication, for the Colts to stay in the playoff hunt, that unit will have to score a lot and the defense will have to find a way to get necessary stops.

The Colts are in the midst of a three-game winning streak, and it has been the offense leading the way, averaging 36 points while getting a late-game assist from the defense in each of the past two games.

The defense has made big plays in the fourth quarter to seal the past two victories, but it's not the same unit that was getting to the quarterback earlier in the season. The Colts gave up 54 points and 762 total yards with no sacks against Jacksonville and Oakland, who are a combined 4-14 this season.

"You don't want to get to the point of always being a bend-but-don't-break defense," Colts linebacker Anthony Walker said. "We want to be able to make plays earlier in the game, not wait until the final minutes to come up with a play."

The disappointment from Sunday's 29-26 victory against Jacksonville is that the offense looked like it was going to score 40-plus points in the first half only to have limited opportunities and be held scoreless in the second half.

"We've got to play four quarters," Colts coach Frank Reich said. "We've got to be more consistent. But, thankfully, we were good enough early on to score enough points."

Back to the first half.

The Colts knew their offense would be tested against the Jaguars, who were ranked second in the NFL in total defense entering the game. That meant the offensive line had to protect Luck, the receivers had to beat Jacksonville's defensive backs and the running backs had to find creases.

And for one half, the Colts made the Jaguars look helpless. This wasn't about the running game or throwing to receiver T.Y. Hilton. This was about Reich seeing where the mismatches were and using his the tight ends, the best receiving group on the roster, to exploit Jacksonville's weaknesses.

Eric Ebron continued his impressive first season with the Colts by scoring three touchdowns -- two receiving, one rushing -- and Mo Alie-Cox added a TD reception, the 15th this season by a Colts tight end.

"You have to be in tune with Andrew," Ebron said. "That's the thing with Andrew, everyone has to be on their P's and Q's because Andrew sees everything. He's like a wizard out there, and you have to be in tune with him. It makes our offense dangerous because you just don't know who is going to get the football."

Luck, who has 26 touchdown passes this season, has thrown at least three touchdowns in six straight games, the third-longest single-season streak in league history. Only Tom Brady (10 games) and Peyton Manning (eight games) have longer streaks than Luck.

And remember all the questions surrounding the offensive line and whether it's a legitimate group?

Those questions can stop, the same way questions about Luck's surgically repaired shoulder stopped weeks ago. That same Jacksonville defense that came to Indianapolis and produced 10 sacks in October 2017 didn't have a sack Sunday.

"I think it's kind of a slap in the face to us thinking that we can't block just four guys doing teases or rushes or whatever," Colts center Ryan Kelly. "Eventually, they brought out some exotics on third down. Nothing we couldn't handle, and I think we all five played well together."

The offensive line and Luck's ability to get rid of the ball quicker has been so good that he hasn't been sacked in four straight games -- the longest streak by a starting quarterback since Eli Manning went five straight in 2010. Luck has attempted 185 consecutive passes without being sacked. He hasn't been sacked since his first pass attempt against New England in Week 5.

Even when Luck showed signs of rust early in the season, the Colts did not struggle scoring. They've scored at least 21 in 8 of 9 games and are averaging 28.8 points and 379.8 yards a game.

It's not ideal for the offense to have to score nearly 30 points a game every week, but this unit is built to take on the challenge if necessary.

The next challenge is Tennessee, which held New England to 10 points and more than 100 yards below its season average in total yards Sunday.