Jonathan Taylor Climbs Colts' Record Book En Route to AFC Player of Week
One of the biggest elements missing from the Indianapolis Colts' offense this season has been the lack of dominant performances from All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, the NFL's reigning rushing champion.
However, for the first time in nine weeks, Taylor was sprung for a big performance last Sunday in a 25-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders behind a standout performance by the Colts' offensive line. For that effort, Taylor has been named the NFL's Week 10 AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Against the Raiders, Taylor carried the ball 22 times for 147 yards (6.7 avg.) and 1 touchdown as well as 2 receptions for 16 yards (8.0 avg.). His rushing yardage was tied for the second-most in the NFL for Week 10 and the most in the AFC.
This is Taylor's first AFC Player of the Week award this season and the second of his career. According to Colts Communications, "Taylor is the fifth Colts running back to win the award multiple times, joining Pro Football Hall-of-Famers Edgerrin James, Eric Dickerson, and Marshall Faulk, as well as Joseph Addai."
Per Pro Football Focus, Taylor had 64 rushing yards after contact, which was the fourth-most in the NFL, with an average of 2.91 yards after contact per attempt (12th), and he also forced 4 missed tackles (tied-5th) for an elusive rating of 72.7 (9th). Taylor also had three plays of 10-plus yards and picked up 7 first downs.
Not only was Taylor named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week, but he also made PFF's "NFL Week 10 Team of the Week," as did left guard Quenton Nelson.
In the third quarter, the Raiders mounted a comeback and claimed their first lead of the game behind a short rushing touchdown by Josh Jacobs. However, just two plays later, Taylor took off for a season-long 66-yard touchdown run to give the lead back to the Colts. It was the Colts' longest play of the season and is Taylor's fourth career rushing touchdown of at least 60 yards, which tied Lenny Moore for the most in franchise history.
The game continued to go back and forth, but the Colts don't keep themselves in it without Taylor's tenacious running.
Taylor's performance continued his ascent through the Colts' franchise record books. He passed Curtis Dickey (3,490) for the 10th-most rushing yards in team history. Taylor also overtook Marshall Faulk (14) for the fourth-most 100-yard rushing games in franchise history and passed Eric Dickerson (13) for the second-most games with 100-plus rushing yards and at least one touchdown in franchise history.
Taylor passed Faulk (33) and tied Moore (34) for the second-most total touchdowns by a Colts player in their first three seasons, and Taylor surpassed Faulk (198) for the sixth-most points by a Colts player in their first three seasons.
It's been a frustrating season overall for Taylor and the Colts offense. As the star playmaker has struggled with injuries (he's missed three games with an ankle injury) and navigating traffic through a porous line, he had just one touchdown and one 100-yard rushing game leading into Sunday's blow-up. Last season, he already had 9 touchdowns and four 100-yard games going into the 10th game.
The Raiders were a good "get right" recipe for Taylor, who now has 442 yards of offense and 4 touchdowns against them in three-career games.
Taylor is the second Colts player to win AFC Player of the Week honors this season after kicker Chase McLaughlin earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 5.
Follow Jake on Twitter and Facebook @JakeArthurNFL. Follow Horseshoe Huddle on Facebook and Twitter.
