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INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts kept quarterback Carson Wentz from getting in his own way as they attempt to stay in the playoff mix during the second half of the season.
It’s actually pretty simple: Lean more on running back Jonathan Taylor and less on Wentz.
Taylor led one of the franchise’s most dominating rushing performances in their 45-30 victory over the Zach Wilson -less New York Jets on Thursday.
Taylor rushed for 172 yards and the Colts finished with 260 on the ground. This wasn’t a game where the Colts needed to have long, clock-consuming double-digit play drives. Taylor made quick work of the Jets with long runs. He averaged 9.1 yards a carry with touchdown runs of 78 and 21 yards to become the first player in the NFL this season to have multiple touchdown runs of at least 20 yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The more Taylor runs the ball, the more those not too familiar with him learn about the second-year running back. It was the Colts’ first home prime-time game since the 2017 season.
It was also the third time in less than two seasons Taylor has had at least 150 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns. The Colts had that happen only three times between 2000-2019 and it already surpasses Hall of Famers Edgerrin James and Eric Dickerson for the most in franchise history.
Taylor’s performance came less than a week after he had 16 carries compared to the 51 pass attempts by Wentz against the Tennessee Titans. That didn’t work, as the Colts lost the game with two Wentz interceptions late in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Colts, a pass-first franchise for so many years, need to have success on the ground so Wentz doesn’t have to try to do too much, as they attempt to claw their way back from a 1-4 start.
QB breakdown: Wentz wasn’t one of the stars of the game, but his play couldn’t go unnoticed. He bounced back from his two interception game by going 22-of-30 for 272 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Wentz has now completed 63.4% of his pass attempts, which is the third highest of his six-year career, with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
Showing off the speed: Colts running back Nyheim Hines joined Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Cleveland’s Nick Chubb as the only backs to have a max speed of at least 20 miles per hour on multiple rushing touchdowns when he maxed out at 20.6 on his 34-yard touchdown run in the first half. Hines hit a max speed of 20.8 on a touchdown in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans. Hines rushed for 74 yards on six carries.
Troubling trend: The Jets didn’t have their starting quarterback, they lost their backup quarterback in the first quarter and the Colts still had a difficult time slowing them down with their third stringer at the position. The Colts, who rely more on their ability to force turnovers, gave up 486 total yards, allowed the Jets to go 8-of-14 on third down and only had two sacks. That’ll barely work against the Jets. It definitely won’t later in the season when they have to face Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Arizona’s Kyler Murray.