Pat McAfee’s rant about Jonathan Taylor is all of Colts Nation

Many Colts fans had strong thoughts about the usage of Jonathan Taylor in Sunday’s loss.

In Week 11, Jonathan Taylor had one of the most dominant performances in the NFL when he produced over 200 yards from scrimmage and five total touchdowns as the Indianapolis Colts embarrassed the Buffalo Bills. Everyone was excited to see what Taylor would do for an encore in Week 12, but the Colts had different plans.

Going up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their No. 1 rushing defense, everyone was excited to see the strength on strength matchup. Indianapolis instead chose to run a pass-heavy offense and went away from Taylor the majority of the game.

The Colts were having some success as they were able to build a 10-point lead over the defending champs going into the second half, and that’s when everyone thought they would unleash Taylor. A run-heavy second half would’ve shortened the game while protecting the lead.

Instead, Indianapolis decided to stick with the pass and that decision may have backfired. While they were having some success, Wentz also was sack-stripped and intercepted, both helping the Buccaneers get back into the game and eventually win.

Many Colts fans criticized Frank Reich for not committing to the run game, but no voice was louder than Indianapolis legend Pat McAfee. On The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee delivered a passionate message, in his typical NSFW way, about how the Colts needed to just feed Taylor.

Pat McAfee passionately tells Colts to feed Jonathan Taylor

McAfee’s rant captured a sentiment shared across a lot of the Indianapolis fanbase. Although the Colts were leading most of the game, many were baffled that they weren’t seeing a heavy dose of Taylor.

To put his low usage into perspective, on Indianapolis’ first 10 drives, Taylor was given the ball just eight times for a total of 25 yards. The gap between his eighth and ninth carry is likely the period that McAfee points out about not even seeing Taylor. His eighth carry came in the middle of the second quarter and he didn’t rush it again until early in the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t until the Colts’ last full drive that they committed to getting Taylor the ball. On that drive, he had eight carries for 58 yards and a game-tying touchdown.

The success of that drive makes it seem like if Indianapolis committed to Taylor earlier in the second half, the game would have unfolded differently. Taylor could have kept putting points on the board while also draining the clock.

That possibility does give some merit to the anger of fans like McAfee, who just want to see the best running back in the NFL get a workload that’s representative of his status.

3 silver linings from the Colts’ loss to the Buccaneers

The Indianapolis Colts may have lost on Sunday, but there were some positive takeaways that fans can be excited about moving forward.