Is the running game finally back on track for the Colts?
After struggling throughout the first half of the season, have the Indianapolis Colts finally found their once-dominant rushing attack?
Last season, the Indianapolis Colts had the second-best rushing attack in the NFL. Jonathan Taylor emerged as the best running back in the league and Indy was able to run itself to nine victories and the doorstep of a playoff appearance. With Taylor entering his third season, and a very expensive offensive line, just about everyone in the world assumed the 2021 season was just the beginning for this dominant rushing attack.
Ahead of this season, Taylor was viewed as the unanimous No. 1 fantasy player, people were debating if he’d be able to rush for 2,000 yards this season, and others talked about how Matt Ryan would have the privilege of being a game manager, playing off the elite run game. However, once the season started, all of these preseason expectations couldn’t have been further from reality.
Everything looked good after Week 1 when Taylor ran for 161 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries but it was all downhill from there. It quickly became clear that the Colts didn’t have a good offensive line and their run-blocking ability vanished sometime during the offseason. In the five games Taylor played after Week 1, he’s yet to reach 100 yards again. Part of that is because of an ankle injury that has been plaguing Taylor this season but the biggest problem is just that Indy hasn’t been able to run the ball as a team.
Entering Week 9, the Colts are averaging 87.8 rushing yards a game, that’s 29th in the NFL. There isn’t anyone that pays attention to football that can honestly say they saw this coming. The current Indianapolis team is the polar opposite of last year’s team which had everyone preaching the RTDB motto. The current squad has become a pass-first team. However, it seems like Indianapolis may have turned things around and rediscovered the run game recently.
This play was opened up by the threat of Sam Ehlinger running, one of the benefits of having a dual-threat QB. Let’s hope we see more action like this in the coming weekspic.twitter.com/CWCq3vrAIM
— Horseshoe Heroes (@HorseshoeHeroes) October 31, 2022
Colts’ run game has been looking promising
In Week 8, Indianapolis rushed for over 100 yards as a team for the third time this season and for the first time since rushing for 106 yards in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos. In Week 8, against the Washington Commanders, Indy ran the ball 29 times for 135 yards, 4.7 yards a carry. Taylor led the way with 16 carries for 76 yards, the most he’s had since Week 1.
Some of these yards were gained thanks to the inclusion of Sam Ehlinger in the lineup at quarterback. Ehlinger is a dual-threat QB, and although he only had 15 rushing yards on Sunday, the threat of his running helped hold defenders in the box giving Taylor and the other ball carriers just a little more space to make something happen. While it may have not seemed like it so far this year, Taylor is still a good back that can make a lot out of a little, so the second it takes for a defender to make sure Ehlinger didn’t keep the ball, is enough time for Taylor to break through the line of scrimmage for a nice gain.
It’ll be exciting to see how much Frank Reich incorporates plays like this moving forward with Sam Ehlinger at quarterback. He is still young, so there’s no telling how much the Colts want to put on Sam’s plate but one look around the NFL and it’s clear the kind of impact a dual-threat quarterback can create. Between RPOs and read options, Indy can do a lot of exciting things with the run game that should help it continue to return to its dominant form.
