When a football team wins or loses, all eyes go to the quarterback. How many passes did they complete? How many interceptions did they throw and how many mistakes did they make? How many touchdowns did they score?
Those are the highlights – or mistakes – that will circulate on social media and television screens the following week until the next game happens. Then, the cycle begins all over again.
Jonathan Taylor knows this; the running back, in his fifth year with the Colts, has played in enough football games and worked with enough quarterbacks to know the kind of pressure they're under. So when Taylor sees second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson – who's played in just six NFL games – putting the Colts' 0-2 start on his own shoulders, Taylor knows just what to say.
"Just let him know like 'Hey, it takes all of us, you know, it's not all on you,'" Taylor said Thursday. "And of course, being at the helm, the quarterback position, a lot of the spotlight is on you, but it's the greatest team sport."
The Colts have scored 37 points across their two losses, tied for 18th-most (with the Chicago Bears) in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. The Colts have allowed 45 points and are tied for 12th in the league with the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs. PFF also gave the Colts' special teams a grade of 73.5 for seventh-best in the league.
"It takes all of us, offense, defense and special teams in order to get the win," Taylor added. "So you definitely don't want him to carry that on his shoulders, and you let him know he doesn't have to. And he won't."
Taylor and Richardson only played two snaps together in 2023, leaving the potential of the Colts' backfield up to everyone's imagination. Two games into the 2024 season, the talent the duo share is becoming evident. Taylor has 151 rushing yards on 28 carries and one touchdown, with 103 of those yards coming on 12 carries against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2.
Taylor didn't play in the fourth quarter of the Colts' loss to the Packers, as backup running backs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson split snaps for the final 15 minutes of the game. Head coach Shane Steichen said the circumstances of the game and a desire to throw the ball more led to the personnel change.
In the three quarters he did play in, though, Taylor showed just how much he brings to the Colts' offense when he's "rolling."
"He's rolling, and we can let him run and throw in some shots in there," Richardson said. "That's overall part of what we want because we have an explosive offense."
As Richardson learns how to get Taylor going, Taylor is also learning about how Richardson carries himself as a quarterback – and he likes what he's seeing.
"Number one, he's gonna fight until that clock strikes zero, he's gonna be a competitor until that clock strikes zero and you're never going to be out of the game until that clock strikes zero," Taylor said. "So when you have a guy at the helm like that, you know as long as there's time on the clock, we have a chance. That's all you can ask for."
Thursday's full practice report:
