The Colts offense demonstrated that it simply isn’t as explosive without their superstar running back Jonathan Taylor. The offense has clearly missed their tailback during last weeks tough loss to Cincinnati and Saturdays win over Pittsburgh. The struggles may finally be close to an end for Indianapolis as they may be getting an early Christmas present.
Colts’ Jonathan Taylor to be Cleared for Week 16
I have argued for a long time that running backs were overvalued and it was actually elite offensive line play that builds offensive. As much as I stand by my hypothesis, that might not be 100% true when it comes to Taylor, who can provide Indianapolis with a tremendous boost when he is healthy.
Taylor is officially close to being cleared to play after missing three games with a thumb injury that required a surgical procedure. Indianapolis Head Coach Shane Steichen stated in his Sunday press conference that Taylor’s recovery is progressing well and the elite tailback has a chance to be in the starting lineup on Christmas Eve against the Atlanta Falcons.
“We’ll see how the week goes,” Steichen said. “He’s feeling good though.”
While Taylor provides an irreplaceable spark on this offense, the team has won six out of seven games including a dominating performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. This is the seventh game of the season that the Colts have been forced to play without Taylor.
Taylor suffered the injury on November 26th in a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and underwent surgery just three days later. After sitting out the first four games of the season due to a contract holdout, Taylor has rushed for 414 yards and four touchdowns in five starts this season. He has struggled to build up momentum but he was just starting to catch his stride at the time of the injury.
Taylors return would be perfectly timed this week as the offense is down several key pieces with backup running back Zack Moss going down with a forearm injury and wide receiver Michael Pittman suffering a brutal concussion after being hit by a Steelers player this past week.
With Taylor returning, the Colts will look forward to continuing their improbable playoff run as the team is currently sitting as the seventh seed in the AFC. They are tied with Cincinnati at 8-6 but lose the tie breaker due to last weeks game where they were missing Taylor. Indianapolis will play the Christmas Eve game against a struggling Atlanta team with aims at pushing for a division championship over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville has also been dropping games lately as the playoffs loom ever closer.
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