On Sunday, we'll finally get a look at what Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor can do out of the Colts' backfield in a game that actually matters.
And for more than two snaps.
The Colts' Week 1 opener against the Houston Texans won't be the first time Richardson and Taylor will line up next to each other in the Colts' backfield, of course. There was that blip in Week 5 of the 2023 season, when Taylor came off PUP and before Richardson sustained a season-ending shoulder injury. And there were a handful of snaps this preseason in games against the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.
Of course, those preseason games don't count for much – the Colts ran their base plays, and when head coach Shane Steichen was asked how much of his offense we saw in those games, he grinned and replied: "Not much."
One of the great mysteries about the 2024 Colts is how Richardson and Taylor will stress opposing defenses. But with the anticipation of unveiling the 5-28 backfield in earnest should come a zoomed-out perspective, which is that how the Colts' rushing attack looks in Week 1 can and will evolve as the season goes on.
"No. 1, just building it with actual in-game play – that's gonna be the biggest thing," Taylor said. "It's going to be awesome to finally be able to build that. I know we had those limited snaps last year. So it's gonna be awesome to finally start to build that with actual in-game reps, aside from the preseason."
Offenses grow as seasons progress. It's maybe easy to forget Taylor, during his record-smashing 2021 season, had fewer than 65 rushing yards in four of his first five games (he didn't drop below 70 the rest of the season, and went over 100 yards nine times). On his way to scoring 20 total touchdowns, he didn't reach the end zone in his first three games that year.
Defenses, too, will play the Colts differently in September than they will in December. And as Richardson and Taylor grow together, they'll work on finding solutions to how they're defended while also building their backfield chemistry.
"You start getting different looks, you start getting different defensive coordinators scheming you in different ways," Taylor said. "So then it's on us — hey, how do we want to handle (things), of course with the coaches, but then also me and Anthony will communicate. 'Hey, how do we want to handle this? What are you thinking? What are you seeing?' I think that's just gonna come over time from us getting different looks from different coordinators."
But the most important thing for Richardson, Taylor and the Colts' offense is the opportunity those two playmakers have in front of them to grow, adjust and adapt together. And that process begins, but hardly will end, Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thursday's practice report
