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Stephen Holder
INDIANAPOLIS — The crowd in Berlin was buzzing, with the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons locked in a heated overtime battle.
When the Colts took possession with 7:29 remaining in the extra period, in a sudden-death scenario, coach Shane Steichen decided not to overthink his offensive strategy.
Over the next seven plays, the Colts handed the ball to running back Jonathan Taylor six times. Taylor methodically churned his way down the field and through the Falcons’ defense, capping the drive — and a Colts win — with an 8-yard walk-off touchdown run.
The strategy was a no-brainer. Taylor had already scored on an 83-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, surpassing Hall of Famer Edgerrin James for the franchise record in rushing touchdowns. Taylor finished the game with 244 yards and three touchdowns, his fourth three-touchdown performance of the season, and was the NFL’s leading rusher by a comfortable 219-yard margin.
«You can feel it on the sidelines calling the game when guys are rolling,» Steichen said later. «He was rolling.»
Six weeks later, it’s not unusual to see Taylor fighting — often unsuccessfully — for a yard here and there. The contrast is jarring, but Daniel Jones’ injury and the resulting defensive adjustments have made this a reality for Taylor and the Colts.
The win over the Falcons was Taylor’s fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season, but he hasn’t surpassed that mark since. The dropoff has been dramatic: Taylor has averaged 3.5 yards per carry (tied for 41st), ranks 15th in rushing yards (350) and has only seven rushes of 10 yards or longer (18th). He has even been overtaken by James Cook III of the Buffalo Bills for the NFL rushing lead — Cook has 1,532 vs. Taylor’s 1,489.
The same player who was putting together an otherworldly season now looks like a mere mortal. What happened?
«If you have a guy who’s going for three touchdowns and 150 yards [every week], you’re going to start tuning in and saying, ‘We can’t let that happen,'» Taylor said after rushing for 46 yards on 16 carries in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. Taylor’s 2.9 yards per carry in the game was his lowest of the season.
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In his first 10 games of 2025, Taylor rushed for 1,139 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging a touchdown every 12.6 carries. Nearly 15% of his carries at that point were considered explosive runs (defined as 10 yards or longer).
But over the next two games, as the competition intensified, and with Jones limited by a hairline fracture in his left fibula, the Colts’ top-ranked offense began to show vulnerabilities. With the passing game not posing the same threat, Taylor drew more and more attention from defenders.
And since Jones was lost to a season-ending Achilles injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this month, the problem has only become more pronounced.
Philip Rivers’ decision to come out of retirement has given the Colts respectable quarterback play in Jones’ absence. But they are still dealing with some harsh realities. Among them: Safeties aren’t playing as deep as they were against the highly productive Colts passing game early in the season and some defenses are crowding the line of scrimmage before the snap.
In recent weeks, the Colts’ offensive line has also taken some hits. In Monday’s game, Indianapolis finished the night with only two of its five opening-day starting offensive linemen on the field.
«If you have a season like how we started, especially for myself in particular, you’re on track for a crazy season,» Taylor said. «But defenses also catch on. Defenses make adjustments. We have to do the same thing as well.»
But while the Colts try to do that, Taylor is left to cope with the kind of stretch he has rarely experienced in his career.
In the meantime, Taylor says, the goal is to maximize runs based on whatever running lanes are available. It takes a full-team effort to execute one of his vintage game-breaking runs. But even when big runs don’t materialize, he said, shorter, less-celebrated runs can also be considered successful based on how much running room was available.
Veteran backup running back Ameer Abdullah said, by that standard, Taylor is still finding success. Taylor is second in the NFL in yards after contact per attempt (2.69).
«He’s one of the best backs I’ve been around at making something out of nothing,» Abdullah said. «He has very patient feet.»
Taylor has kept it all in perspective. He has created incredible expectations by rushing for more than 1,400 yards in three of his six seasons and scoring 68 career touchdowns — third among active running backs. Now, he’s learning to deal with the burden of those expectations.
«This is a good problem to have,» he said. «You want people to say, ‘Hey, what is going on? Why are you not getting three touchdowns [a game]? Why are you not going for 150 yards?’ And then you start having games that a good back in the NFL would have and it’s like, ‘Hey, what is this guy doing?’
«So I guess those are good problems.»
