Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has seemingly returned to form

The star RB’s name was utilized in various talking points following Indy’s brutal loss, but not enough has been said about Taylor’s day on the ground.

Jonathan Taylor’s homecoming game in Wisconsin (where he played college ball) was a dominant showing. His day on the ground proved that he can be, and still is, the talented back that he was prior to injury and contract disputes. Still, unfortunately, the only discourse surrounding him following the Colts’ loss was of his usage, or lack thereof, during the latter half of the game.

It’s a fair argument from both sides. Jonathan Taylor’s biggest crux since he entered the league has been threefold: ball security, pass protection, and receiving prowess. It’s been long established that Taylor’s game is a weakness in these areas, and his inability to develop as a pass catcher, something modern-day backs are focusing more and more on as the game evolves, has shown to be more negatively impacting than it has on a positive note. Meanwhile, the other side of said argument has insisted on having your best playmaker on the field in winning time. Again, a fair argument, but at some point you have to trust in your team’s coaching staff to make its personnel calls as they see fit.

With that being said, defenses across the NFL appear to have finally caught up to the pass-happy league that we have resided in for years now. Defensive philosophies have shifted to heavy usage of two-high shells (two safeties back deep) to combat what have been pass-dominant offenses, and it has resulted in a leaguewide decline of the passing takeover that we’ve recently come to know of.

This sounds like music to runningbacks’ ears, and that it was for Jonathan Taylor on Sunday.

After a concerning output in the season opener, one which featured Indy’s OL as having the NFL’s best run block win rate (80%), Taylor rebounded in his college football town in a big way. While the run blocking wasn’t as dominant in Week 2, the Colts OL provided more than enough room for its rushing attack to get going, and slowly but surely, it did.

Did Jonathan Taylor’s eyes open wider from week to week to allow him to rush to the tune of 8.6 yards per carry? In a metaphorical sense, potentially. More likely, it was the slight offensive scheme change between the two weeks that happened.

While he did score in the season opener, Taylor’s output included a 3.0 yards per carry average (on 16 rushes) with a longest rush of just 7 yards. Fast forward to Week 2, those numbers improved to the previously mentioned 8.6 ypc with a long of 29, while also taking 5 of his 12 carries for 10+ yards. The aforementioned scheme altering that happened between weeks? A zone-heavy rushing attack (15 zone rushes versus 1 gap rush) in Week 1 versus a perfect blend of both in Week 2 (6 zone rushes versus 6 gap rushes).

This could very well be a difference in how each defensive coordinator called their games versus how Indianapolis adjusted from week to week, but with how stark the difference was, I’m willing to bet it at least had some effect on the overall rushing efficiency. Only time will tell if this philosophy will continue, but as it stands, the numbers suggest it should and the team’s offensive MVP from past seasons should be grinning from ear to ear.