There's No Quit in Colts RB Jonathan Taylor
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The Indianapolis Colts went into their bye week last week knowing their shot at a playoff season was realistically over.
The rest did the Colts some good though, and running back Jonathan Taylor has returned refreshed and ready to attack the remaining-four games of the season.
"Definitely high energy just from being able to reset, but it’s also another level of focus," said Taylor when asked about the team's mindset returning from the break.
"We know, 'Hey, we still have a job to do.' We still have four weeks left and everything is not set in stone yet," said Taylor.
"So, what can we do this week to put ourselves in the best position we can be in, and the same thing the following week. Definitely refreshed but it’s also a new level of focus."
"We’ve still got four weeks to try and make this thing what we want it to be.”
The Colts have their work cut out for them in their remaining games. Three of the four opponents are playoff contenders with the fourth being a contender for the No.1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft.
The Colts travel to Minnesota this week to take on the 10-3 Vikings who clinch the NFC North with a win.
Indianapolis then hosts the 7-6 LA Chargers on Boxing Day before traveling to New Jersey to take on the Giants who are 7-5-1. They finish their season against the one-win Houston Texans who have lost eight in a row.
It's been a different feeling for Taylor, struggling to this extent. An experience he thinks can make him better in the future.
“Talking to a lot of the older guys who have seen a lot of ball and seen a lot of scenarios of one, how to approach it and two, what are some scenarios that can come out of it," said Taylor.
"They’ve seen teams fall apart when they go through adversity like this, and they’ve also seen teams that have come back and fought. You can just see the fight in them whether it was the last six weeks or four weeks, whatever it may be."
"So, then it kind of pondered on me, what do I want to contribute to this team for these last weeks? I want to fight and that’s the vibe in the locker room as well. We’re not going to try and let this crumble. We want to fight until the very end.”
The Colts are 1-3 under interim coach Jeff Saturday. Their worst performance was their last performance against the Dallas Cowboys. The bye week came at a good time for Indianapolis to reset and show that they are ready to fight until the very end.
