Indianapolis demolished the Las Vegas Raiders 40-6 on Sunday as the Colts' historic season continues. But NFL analysts continue to underestimate the Colts' success. Despite being the league-leading rusher, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has elected to snub Jonathon Taylor and Tyler Warren from their All-Quarter team.
Choosing Bijan Robinson and James Cook at running back and Brock Bowers (was was ruled out for this game in Indianapolis) and Brenton Strange at tight end, PFF continues their streak of underestimating the Indianapolis Colts. In fact, despite having the No. 1 scoring offense and having the highest yards per attempt at eight, not a single Colts player, offense, or defense made the list.
The Shane Steichen-led Colts made a statement on Sunday as they dominated the Raiders on all sides of the ball. Sacking Geno Smith three times, forcing two interceptions on batted passes, and even returning a kickoff for a touchdown, which was negated by a holding penalty, Indianapolis continues to be outside the top 10 in power rankings and off the radar of many analysts.
The Indianapolis Colts made a statement win at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Raiders
Comparing Robinson, who is labeled First-Team, to Taylor through the first four weeks (since the Falcons were on a bye this week), it's clear Taylor is having the more dominant season.
Taylor has faced eight-plus defenders in the box on 25% of his rushes, while Robinson has faced the same just 10% of his rushes. Taylor has a 5.1 yards per carry average, and Robinson has a 4.3 average, giving the edge to Taylor even more since he faces a stacked ox 15% more of the time.
For touchdowns, Taylor has three (excluding this week), and Robinson has one. Taylor also has a higher yards over expected gain average at just over 0.6, and Robinson has just under 0.5, which over the course of 20 attempts, start to add up.
Tyler Warren leads all tight ends with 307 receiving yards, and leads tight ends with at least 20 catches in yards per catch with just over seven. He also has a near 75% catch average and a target of 6.3 yards per target, meaning he's catching the ball in short situations and getting high YAC.
Outside of Emeka Egbuka, Tyler Warren is the frontrunner for rookie of the year, and Taylor is on his way to another repeat of his 2021 season of 1,800+ yards and 18 touchdowns. Warren is on pace for 1,200 yards, 80 catches, and 10 touchdowns, along with another 300 yards rushing and a handful of touchdowns in the running game. It's time the Colts' elite players get the respect they deserve.