Colts: We should’ve seen Jonathan Taylor’s breakout December coming

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has been unstoppable for several weeks now.

Based on how the game played out (in the first half!), you really wouldn’t have known that the Indianapolis Colts were down two key offensive linemen against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ vaunted defense, which is still one of the most complete units the NFL has to offer despite some injuries.

The Colts really imposed their will from the get-go, jumping out to a 21-7 halftime lead on the heels of some exceptional defense and controlling the time of possession battle with their improved rushing attack, which has really taken off over the last five weeks.

The emergence of rookie Jonathan Taylor is largely to thank for that, and we’re ashamed to admit that we should’ve seen his late-season breakout coming. While Indianapolis’ schedule hasn’t been favorable, he already runs as hard as any back in the league, and we all know tackling becomes incredibly difficult once the temperature outside starts dropping.

By now, we’re all familiar with Taylor’s rookie journey. He was hit with monster expectations after projected starter Marlon Mack was lost for the season with an Achilles injury back in Week 1 and struggled to live up to them early on, failing to register more than 70 yards rushing in eight of his first nine contests.

The 2020 second-round pick even bizarrely saw his workload diminish in significant fashion, especially in the second half of games, during the middle of the year. He played just 29% of the offensive snaps from Weeks 8 to 10.

Since the Colts’ overtime win over Green Bay in Week 11, however, something clicked and Taylor literally hasn’t looked back. To give you a full scope of how unstoppable the Wisconsin product has been during that stretch, let’s dive into his statistical breakdown, shall we?

• Week 11: 22 carries for 90 yards (4.09 YPC), four catches for 24 yards
• Week 13: 13 carries for 91 yards (7.0 YPC), three catches for 44 yards and a TD
• Week 14: 20 carries for 150 yards (7.50 YPC) and two touchdowns
• Week 15: 16 carries for 83 yards (5.19 YPC) and a touchdown
• Week 16: 18 carries for 74 yards (4.1 YPC) and two touchdowns

We understand the Colts’ second-half collapse, which was aided by some questionable pass interference calls, will be the prominent talking point (and rightfully so), but we seriously hope Taylor’s continued dominance doesn’t fall by the wayside in the aftermath.

After all, he was a huge reason Indy was able to build such a big halftime lead in the first place.

Refs screw Colts with terrible DPI penalties during Steelers ‘comeback’

The Indianapolis Colts have been hit with a series of confusing pass interference calls during the Pittsburgh Steelers' second half comeback.