'We Want Our Respect': Streak Broken, Colts Demand NFL's Attention

Eight games and 12 years later, the Indianapolis Colts finally vanquished the hated rival New England Patriots.

All it took was a performance for the ages from NFL MVP hopeful Jonathan Taylor, who capped off the 27-17 win Saturday night with a statement-making 67-yard rumble through the heart of the Patriots' stacked box to close out a game in which the Colts dominated from start to finish.

Now, with a frustrating eight-game losing streak against the Patriots snapped, the Colts — winners of five of their last six games — are demanding respect from the rest of the NFL as Indianapolis looks like a serious Super Bowl contender, thanks to a dominant run game and a turnover-heavy defense that is firing on all cylinders as the season winds down.

"“It was very special," Colts' star linebacker Darius Leonard — who picked off a Mac Jones pass in the first half — said following the win, according to video via Colts.com. "The thing we want is our respect – we aren’t getting that. We know if we play four quarters of football that we are going to be a tough team to beat. We got to continue to come in and go to work and continue to get better and just try to be 1-0 each week.”

The Colts are slowing starting to earn their respect, but in the eyes of the heart and soul of the team, that respect level isn't where it needs to be, considering the rebound the Colts have had after starting the season 1-4, dealing with a significant number of injuries.

Now, at 8-6, the Colts are firmly in the AFC playoff picture and are eyeing another national statement on Christmas Day in a nightcap matchup with the NFC's Arizona Cardinals, who have looked like a Super Bowl contender throughout the season.

The rebound from the rough start isn't surprising to anyone within the facility, though it is certainly surprising to many outside of the facility. However, the Colts are playing exactly like many pictured they would be when fully healthy and firing on all cylinders: running the football down teams' throats, playing aggressive defense and simply not beating themselves. That's a winning formula that can lead to a team hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.

"I’m not surprised, our players aren’t surprised. There’s a lot of belief and a lot of conviction in that we have the guys, we have the coaches, we have the process," Colts' head coach Frank Reich said following Saturday's win, according to video via Colts.com. "We say our MO from the start is, if that’s really true, then we’ll play our best football in November and December. We’ll keep getting better, we’ll learn from our mistakes, and we’ll play our best football in November and December.

"We had a tough schedule early on, we didn’t play well enough. We didn’t coach well enough and we’ve learned from it and continued to get better," Reich added. "We’re the five seed, we got to win every one of these games. What we said in there was, 'hey, this is a great team win but this counts for one. It counts for one, that’s it.' So, we got to dial it back in and get ready to play against, obviously, the best team in the NFL next Saturday.”

The Colts certainly have the right players, coaches and process in place for this current version of the team on the field. They never get too high, never get too low, and are consistently focused on the task at hand, which is going 1-0 every single week.

Though the Colts are receiving a ton of national attention in the last few days following the emotional win over the Patriots, don't expect the mindset to change inside the locker room.

"“The confidence level is high. It’s the same mentality every week, 1-0," Taylor said, according to video via Colts.com. "Same routine. Don’t change, don’t waiver. Things aren’t going your way, continue to work continue to keep your nose on the grindstone. Things will play out. We know we are a great team. We just have to make sure we put it together each and every single Sunday”.

Have thoughts on the Colts' recent run of success? Drop a line in the comments section below letting us know how you feel!

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