Indianapolis Colts’ running back Jonathan Taylor has enjoyed an impressive bounce-back season in 2024, and his production could skyrocket even further this weekend against the New York Jets.
Coming off of two disappointing seasons plagued by injury and inconsistency, Taylor has relatively returned to his once-dominant form in 2024. He ranks top ten in yards per carry this season (at 4.9) and is fourth among all running backs in rushing yards per game (88.0). He is also on pace to break 10 rushing touchdowns for the first time since his historic 2021 campaign.
Taylor currently sits at 616 yards rushing this season and that number could grow exponentially this weekend against the Jets. Among the many factors leaning in Taylor’s favor this week, the return of starting quarterback Anthony Richardson should provide a major boost to the veteran running back.
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All five of Taylor’s rushing touchdowns this season have come with Richardson at quarterback, and Taylor averages nearly a full yard per carry more with the 22 year old signal caller under center. With the Colts’ run success rate back to a more sustainable rate and with Richardson drawing away defenders in the box, Tayor should have more room to run this weekend than he has had in recent weeks.
Anthony Richardson back as the starter should be a nice little boost to Jonathan Taylor again.
Taylor w/ Flacco: 49 rushes for 220 yards (4.4 ypc). 12% explosive run rate
Taylor w/ Richardson: 77 rushes for 396 yards (5.1 ypc) and 5 TDs. 17% explosive run rate
The other massive factor to consider this weekend is the Colts’ opponent on the other side of the field. The Jets are the 26th best defense in football this season in rush EPA, and that number falls even further to 30th in the past five weeks. Their defense is also coming off of a putrid game against the Arizona Cardinals where they racked up over 20 missed tackles in the blowout loss.
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The Colts have ranked favorably as a rush offense this season, sitting inside the top 10-15 in yards per carry, yards, and yards per game on the ground. The impressive aspect of those stats is that the Colts have faced just one run defense that ranks in the bottom half of the league in rush EPA through 10 weeks this season (the Chicago Bears at 24th).
The Colts have been grinding out adequate days against top tier run defenses this season, but this weekend is a chance to feed Taylor against a unit that is struggling to stop anything on the ground. The return of Richardson as the starter compounded with the Jets’ struggles stopping the run could lead to a massive performance for the star running back.
A Trey Benson Week 10 reel that is also a reminder to play RBs vs. the Jets defense (league-high missed tackle rate vs. RBs) pic.twitter.com/WiZbCQaTYa
If the Colts enter this game committed to running the football, nothing should stop this team (or even Taylor for that matter) from hitting season-best numbers on the ground. This is the clear path to victory for the Colts’ offense and Taylor is primed and ready for a massive day.
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INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts are heading home. The team announced Friday that starting in 2027, Training Camp will move from Westfield’s Grand Park to the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis.
The team has been at Grand Park in Westfield since 2018. By making the switch, the Colts join more than 25 other NFL teams that now prefer to hold camp at their own year-round practice facilities. The team says the move is driven by “growing logistical and technological demands” that are better met at their home base.
“This was a tough decision, because we’ve had a wonderful experience at Grand Park and have valued working so closely with the city of Westfield and Hamilton County over seven summers,” the team said. “We’re grateful to Mayors Scott Willis and Andy Cook and their staffs, Hamilton County’s business, tourism, public safety, and community leaders, and of course the people of Westfield and the hundreds of volunteers who shared their time and energy to make sure camp was safe, smooth, and enjoyable for all.”
Fans of the Grand Park experience don’t have to say goodbye just yet. The Colts confirmed they will return to Westfield for the 2026 training camp before making the permanent move to Indianapolis the following year.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two people were injured, one critically, in a shooting on the east side of Indianapolis, police said Friday morning.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded around 1:20 a.m. to a home on North Colorado Avenue at 33rd Street. That’s a few doors down from where a man was accidentally shot during a card game on Thursday.
IMPD says both victims were “awake and breathing” when taken to a hospital.
Police have not said what led to the shooting and no arrests have been made.
PLYMOUTH, Ind. (WISH) — A 35-year-old Indianapolis woman was hospitalized and later jailed after state troopers on Wednesday afternoon pursued her in a high-speed chase on a snow-covered U.S. 31.
Online court records on Thursday night did not yet show a court case for Amber McDowell, but a news release issued Thursday night from state police said she’s facing primary charges including low-level felony counts of OWI and resisting law enforcement with a vehicle as a result of the chase.
Online court records on Thursday night showed an active arrest warrant for McDowell in Hendricks Circuit Court in Danville on multiple criminal charges, including misdemeanor counts of OWI, driving while suspended, having a false certificate for motor vehicle registration, driving with an open alcoholic beverage container, and speeding. She had failed to appear for two court dates in 2021 following her initial hearing in December 2020.
The release also said McDowell was wanted on an arrest warrant from Kentucky, though no details were provided.
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Wednesday’s chase began about 1:15 p.m. when troopers saw a red 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier car speeding northbound on a rural stretch of U.S. 31 near 14th Road in southern Marshall County. It’s about an 8-minute drive south of the Marshall County city of Plymouth. The northern Indiana county of 46,400 residents sits south of St. Joseph County, where South Bend is located.
The release said a trooper activated emergency lights, and McDowell accelerated and drove erratically, passing other vehicles on U.S. 31. McDowell lost control of her car about 14 miles into the chase, near the Marshall County town of La Paz. The car entered the center median of the divided highway, but she managed to regain control and flee about 8 miles farther north until she crashed into a concrete ditch on the U.S. 31 interchange for State Road 4 and the southern St. Joseph County town of Lakeville.
The chase reached speeds of nearly 100 mph, state police said.
Following the crash, McDowell fled from the car on foot before troopers fired a taser and then took her into custody. Upon her arrest, troopers said, McDowell displayed signs of intoxication.
News 8 on Thursday night reached out to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office for a jail booking photo of McDowell but did not receive an immediate response.
