Colts hope Jonathan Taylor’s final game is a sign of future success

Jonathan Taylor had just completed the handoff when he noticed a 300-pound defensive tackle closing down on him.

So the Indianapolis Colts running back did what he does best: he left the defender trailing.

Taylor found a rushing opening after executing a jump cut to his right, amid all the bodies at the line of scrimmage. Taylor encountered linebacker Blake Cashman on the second level after avoiding Houston Texans defensive tackle Kurt Hinish in the backfield. Cashman swooped down on Taylor’s legs but came up empty-handed as Taylor high-stepped out of the tackle.

Taylor then looked around the field and found only 40 yards of open space. Taylor needed only one escort before reaching the end zone for his longest touchdown of the season, a 49-yard run from receiver Alec Pierce.

Taylor was utterly dominating the Colts’ biggest game of the season on Saturday night, with the winner earning a trip to the playoffs. It was a vintage performance, the kind he hadn’t given in two years. Taylor had 145 yards and the game-tying touchdown five minutes into the third quarter.

It was the kind of performance that fans had been hoping for since the star’s return. Taylor was acutely aware of the murmurs.

“Everyone’s asking, ‘Hey, when are you going to break a long run?'” he asked a few days later.

Is Taylor, the 2021 NFL rushing champion and single-season rushing leader for the Colts, finally back?

He used to be — until he wasn’t. Taylor was forced to leave the game in the third quarter after suffering a heel injury. The Colts declared him questionable to return. They reduced his status to questionable minutes later.

“That’s kind of been the whole year for him,” quarterback Gardner Minshew explained. “He’s battling through one thing or another.”

Surprisingly, Taylor managed to return to the game late in the fourth quarter.

“You have to dig really deep,” Taylor remarked.

Taylor returned on the Colts’ final possession, with a six-point deficit, and assisted in getting the team into the red zone. Taylor was on the sideline for the game’s decisive play, a fourth-and-1 from the Texans’ 15. Minshew misfired on a ball intended for fourth-string running back Tyler Goodson. The pass was intercepted. The Colts were defeated.

Taylor was demoted to the status of bystander.

Taylor had that kind of season, with 2023 covering the emotions spectrum from irritation to ecstasy to perplexity. Taylor was limited to 10 games and 741 yards in his most physically demanding season, not to mention an unpleasant and protracted contract battle with his organization.

Much of Taylor’s experience this season suggested he was a long way from his 2021 version. Taylor, on the other hand, provided a lasting reminder of his potential impact in his farewell appearance on Saturday night.

“I understand. He hasn’t been as consistent on the field this year, and he’s been in the news for a variety of different reasons,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “Everyone has years like that.

“But he seems to get in the end zone every time he plays.” He has a natural ability with the ball in his hands. He’s a game changer, man.”

Taylor’s 2023 season has it all: success, adversity, and new wealth (a new $42 million contract). However, the Colts hope Taylor’s final act of the season, a 188-yard performance against Houston, is only a taste of what’s to come.

Taylor’s season was everything from ordinary from the first day of training camp. He set the tone when he demanded a trade on the first day of practice, in response to the team’s refusal to extend his rookie contract a year early.

This sparked an extremely public feud between an NFL team and its star player, with Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa, and Colts owner Jim Irsay exchanging barbs on social media.

Meanwhile, Taylor was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list after indicating that he needed additional time to heal from offseason ankle surgery. In training camp, he never saw the field. The Colts then granted Taylor and Kawa freedom to seek a trade partner in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season. The Colts eventually declined to make a deal as talks heated up.

“It definitely got rocky,” said receiver Michael Pittman Jr. “I was like, ‘Oh man, are we really going to lose him?'”

The sides had been dug in. A solution appeared elusive. Chris Ballard, the Colts’ general manager, said it clearly.

“It sucks,” he said.

Taylor was on the PUP list for the first four weeks of the regular season. Taylor, on the other hand, was rounding into form in his workouts behind closed doors. And the Colts’ surprise 2-1 start forced them to reconsider their strategy with their game-changing rushing back.

Ballard called Kawa in the days before up to the Colts’ Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams with a proposal: he wanted to talk about a contract if Taylor’s camp was interested. Taylor signed his agreement less than a week later.

Taylor has always had a lot of support from his teammates. His absence was seen as a de facto contract holdout by some on the outside — his ankle surgery was first regarded as routine — but he was viewed as a sympathetic figure within the Colts’ locker room. Taylor’s own beliefs opposed outward impressions that he was acting selfishly.

“In this league, as much as we love the game and being able to play it at the highest level, we understand that this is a business,” added Franklin. “Every single man in this room — along with living out that lifelong dream — they’re here to take care of their family.”

“[Taylor] stayed the same — which I admire a lot — through good and bad times,” said guard Quenton Nelson. Just a humble and resilient guy. The ability to work regardless of what happens. He’ll keep fighting and do his best for this squad and this city. I know how much it matters to him, and it is significant. And I admire that guy.”

His “brothers,” as Taylor refers to them, were everything to him. He claimed that their backing never wavered because he had previously proved himself as a team-first player.

“Everybody [understood] it,” Taylor added. “There is no doubt about the team with me. Everyone is always asking me about carries, awards, and other such things. I simply want to win.

“And even when you have those accolades and carries, it’s the receivers who get those edge blocks.” That block up to the linebacker is being worked by [Quenton Nelson] and Ryan [Kelly]. It is we, not I. That was never called into doubt.”

TAYLOR’S REPUTATION FOR MAJOR PLAYS is unrivaled. Since Taylor’s arrival in the league in 2020, no player has had more explosive runs. He has 129 such carries (10 yards or longer).

However, they were more difficult to come by at times this season. Taylor’s longest carry was five yards in his first two appearances of the season, in Weeks 5 and 6. His presence has an impact because of how defenses regard him. Taylor did, however, have to lower his standards on occasion.

“It doesn’t have to be a 50-yard run to be successful,” he added. “It could be a 5-yard run and a first down when it was second-and-5.” Perhaps it was second-and-seven and you got a 6-yard run. ‘OK, we’ve got a manageable third down,’ you think. Let’s get started.’

“But of course if you can break it, you’d like to break it.”

Taylor didn’t frequently recognize it, but signing a significant extension comes with a lot of pressure, especially given his past transfer demand and contract struggle.

Taylor’s 2021 version, when he set a team single-season record with 1,811 yards, was desired and expected by fans. However, as Pittman pointed out, “it takes time to get rolling.”

Then there’s this: not every season will be a record-breaker.

“Everybody loves the 2021 year, but I always tell people that was special,” Taylor went on to say. “And it was unique for a reason.”

“Everyone would do it every year if you could do it every year.” So you basically have to keep playing every single game. Continue to work. Take what they give you, and when the opportunity to profit on a mistake arises, you capitalize on it.”

But you must be present on the field to do so. Taylor also missed time after having thumb surgery in November, missing the next three games.

“Injury-prone” was added to his list of potential criticisms. It also put Taylor’s fortitude and character to the test.

“There will be ups and downs throughout the season and throughout your career,” said coach Shane Steichen. “It’s how you handle them.”

Taylor handled them effortlessly. He returned on Christmas Eve against the Atlanta Falcons and was stopped for 43 yards by their five-man front. He bounced back a week later, though, with 96 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Then there was the explosion against Houston, a club that came into the game allowing 3.3 yards per carry, good for second in the NFL. Taylor had the second-highest rushing total of his career, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt.

“It’s days like today where you realize you need J.T.,” Minshew said Saturday night.

Taylor finally finding his feet is one of the more promising developments for the Colts in 2023. And the excitement generated by his late-season surge can be mixed with the anticipation of fourth-round draft pick Anthony Richardson’s comeback from shoulder surgery in 2024. In 2023, the future franchise quarterback and the top runner shared just one snap together, like ships passing in the night.

“That’s gonna be a really awesome sight to see,” Taylor said of playing alongside Richardson.

It was an appropriate comment, because Taylor had no idea that his presence this season had inspired others in the same way.

“When I see him out there,” Franklin explained, “that gives me hope.”