All Indianapolis Colts’ fans know Jonathan Taylor is fast. He ran a 4.39 40 in college. But what has made him one of the best backs in the league is how powerful he has proven to be pushing the pile and getting tough yards in traffic. He has never been one of those fast guys who go down when someone breathes heavy on him. You know, like some wide receivers do.
Sometimes, however, Taylor likes to remind us just how fast he is. He did that again in the first half of the Colts game against Denver on Sunday.
With Indy trailing 7-6 late I the first quarter, Daniel Jones and company faced a third-and-two from their own 46-yard line. Taylor drifted out into the right flat and was mostly uncovered. Jones spotted him for an easy conversion. But the Colts’ star was not content with a first down.
Colts' Jonathan Taylor does something that no ball carrier has done in five years
Taylor turned upfield with room to run. Broncos' linebacker Alex Singleton was slow to react and, despite having a little bit of an angle, could not reach Taylor before he turned the corner.
But Denver’s all-world cornerback Pat Surtain II was there to clean things up. Surtain has 4.4 speed and is a sure tackler. Except by the time he neared the ball carrier, Taylor had hit top speed. Surtain sprinted downfield alongside, and eventually he was joined by safety Talanoa Hufanga, who had a much better angle on the play coming from deep.
Surtain and Hufanga were finally able to run Taylor out of bounds after the Colts’ back had sprinted 43 yards to the Broncos’ 11-yard line. Jones snuck in for a touchdown a few plays later to put the Colts up 13-7.
Jonathan Taylor reached a top speed of 22.38 mph on his 43-yard reception, the fastest speed by a ball carrier since Raheem Mostert in Week 2, 2020 (23.09 mph). #DENvsIND | #ForTheShoepic.twitter.com/rkCNlYhagG
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 14, 2025
It was soon confirmed that “sprint” was the right word to use for what Taylor did. He was clocked at 22.38 miles per hour on the play. No ball carried has hit that speed since Raheem Mostert went 23.09 MPH a full five years ago.
Taylor would later catch a seven-yard touchdown and would, of course, supply tough running throughout the game. That’s what he is best at. Getting those tough yards. But it’s still fun to see him in the open field and be reminded of just what a rare athlete Indy has in their backfield.