Even before the season began, there was a strong sense that the Colts had a chance to have a potent rushing attack.
While there was no clarity as to when Jonathan Taylor was going to make his season debut, he proved that he could be one of the best running backs in the league after leading the NFL in rushing yards in 2021. Plus, the team still had Zack Moss in tow, a talented rusher who was averaging over 93 yards per game ahead of Sunday's contest.
Respecting Moss' for carrying the load in Taylor's absence, quarterback Gardner Minshew said Moss has helped both his teams.
"Man, Zack's been tough," Minshew said. "He's been toting the mail for us - a lot of carries, a lot of hard yards and I'm really proud of him and happy for him. Happy for myself as a fantasy owner with Zack Moss. He had a really good stretch and [I] picked him in [training] camp. I had a good feeling."
For the first time this season, both running backs were able to play in the same game and the results were impressive.
In the Colts' 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans, Moss had a career day, rushing for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Taylor was also effective, despite his limited snaps. He had 18 rushing yards on six carries and had a 16-yard reception.
.Snapping a 20-game streak of the Titans' defense not allowing a 100-yard rusher. That was second only behind the San Francisco 49ers (32).
A great sign of what's to come with this duo, head coach Shane Steichen said that he expects big things as the season goes along.
"It's obviously a great one-two punch with both those guys," Steichen said. "Zack's seeing it well, getting JT back in the fold [with] his big-play ability - to have those guys back in the backfield is going to be huge going forward."
Helping to lead the way for their production is the play of their offensive line. Coming into Sunday's game, they'd consistently created big holes for their rushers, helping the group to average 115.8 rushing yards per game.
"When you have guys up front like we have, it's not like, 'Hey, let's just run this play," Taylor said. "It's, 'Hey, let's go run this play, let's dominate everybody that's across from us and let's go score.' And when you have guys like that in front of you, it's - I don't know what kind of person you could be, but it's really hard to not give more than you even have. Just try to empty the tank every single time."
So, with Moss playing at such a high level and Taylor continuing to get more playing time as the season progresses, there is a chance for this running-back tandem to do some damage this year.
"I think it can get really scary," Taylor said. "You guys have been getting a taste these past few weeks with Zack. So, now it's on me in order to do my part and continue to help this team and that's what I'm gonna do every single day. Grind inch by inch, but we'll get there."
