Horseshoe Huddle

Jonathan Taylor's Colts Teammates in Awe After Win vs. Falcons

The Indianapolis Colts are witnessing greatness firsthand when Jonathan Taylor touches the field.
Sean Ackerman|
Nov 9, 2025; Berlin, GERMANY; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the Berlin Game at Olympic Stadium.
Nov 9, 2025; Berlin, GERMANY; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the Berlin Game at Olympic Stadium. | Lisi Niesner/Reuters via Imagn Images

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Indianapolis Colts

The NFL hasn't seen a player get into the end zone as much as Jonathan Taylor has since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006. That's not just an opinion, it's a fact.

The Indianapolis Colts running back has 17 total touchdowns through 10 games in 2025, a mark that was last reached by Tomlinson in 2006 when he scored 22 touchdowns through the same span.

Taylor's teammates are watching history every time he takes the field, and they have nothing but praise for their MVP-worthy back.

"He's the best running back in the NFL, and he still doesn't take the credit for it," left tackle Bernhard Raimann said after Indy's win over the Atlanta Falcons. "That's just the kind of human he is, the kind of competitor he is, and he's still one of the hardest workers on the team. He's leading us. As an offensive line, it just makes it fun blocking for him."

Taylor torched the Falcons for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground, and he tacked on 3 receptions for 42 yards through the air. It was the second time Taylor had crossed the 240-yard mark in his career.

In half of the Colts' game this season, Taylor has scored three touchdowns. That's never been done before in NFL history through 10 weeks.

"JT is the best in the league, man," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "As a defense, we just know we've got to keep giving him shots on goal. Shots on goal, you could see it little by little, body shots, body shots, body shots, knowing that that home run is going to come sooner or later. Those type of runs, we've come to respect."

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Last season, Taylor finished with 1,431 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns in 14 games played. The sixth-year back already has more touchdowns this year, and he's only 300 yards away from eclipsing his mark from last year.

Something has clicked for Taylor this season. While he was never a bad or even average back by any means, this year has been immeasurably different.

"Man, he's just taken his game to a whole 'nother level," Franklin continued. "Like [Bernhard Raimann] said, he's the most humble dude in that locker room. No matter what, he's going to give it to his teammates, give it to God. That's the type of man he is... Look, I'll scream it from the mountaintops: He's the MVP in my book."

The league hasn't had a non-quarterback MVP in over a decade. The last player to accomplish that feat was Adrian Peterson, who ran for 2,097 yards and 13 total touchdowns with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012.

Peterson had a tremendous season, but Taylor has a chance to do even better. The Colts' back is only 14 touchdowns away from tying Tomlinson's NFL record of 31 total touchdowns in 2006, and he has seven games left to reach it.

Taylor isn't just getting garbage time touchdowns, either. The MVP candidate is making plays when it matters most: in one-score games late in the fourth quarter.

"He had some big-time plays in situations that weren't perfect, not exactly how you draw them up," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "... It's not always perfect. It's not what you expect or what you talk about in the film room all the time, but somehow he makes a play and makes it happen, and you saw that several times today in critical moments."

Taylor had an 83-yard touchdown against Atlanta that probably would have been a 5-yard carry for any other back in the league. The original play design was for Taylor to run up the gut, but he bounced outside to the edge and exploded down the sideline for a touchdown to set the Colts' new franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in franchise history.

The Colts have relied, and will continue to rely on, Taylor's legs to get wins. With a tough seven-game stretch incoming after the bye week, the Colts will need Taylor to continue his MVP form to close out the regular season.

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Sean Ackerman
SEAN ACKERMAN

Sean Ackerman is the co-Deputy Editor of Indianapolis Colts on SI. Ackerman, a graduate of Western Kentucky University, majored in broadcasting. He's in his third year covering the NFL.

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