He may sport a horseshoe on his helmet, but he certainly doesn’t need one to dominate on the gridiron.
Coming off a franchise record-breaking five touchdown performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11, Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has run away from his competition and contemporaries.
Riding into Sunday’s affair on the heels of a monstrous seven game streak with at least 100 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown, the Wisconsin product extended his tally to eight in a row, tying Lydell Mitchell (1975-76) and Hall-of-Famer LaDainian Tomlinson (2006) for the all-time record.
Taylor’s electric performance not only etched his name in multiple record books, but also put him on the short-list for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, an honour that was last bestowed upon a running back in 2012 when Adrian Peterson took home the trophy as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
After week 11, the second-year phenom leads all NFL running backs in six key stats, per IndyStar:
- No. 1 in rushing yards (1,122)
- No. 1 in scrimmage yards (1,444)
- No. 1 in touchdowns (15)
- No. 1 in rushing touchdowns (13)
- No. 1 in runs of 20+ yards (10) and 40+ yards (3)
- No. 1 in rushing first downs (68)
Too fast for defensive lineman and linebackers, and too strong for safeties and cornerbacks, Taylor possesses a rare combination of size (5-10, 226lbs) and speed (4.39s 40-yard dash) that make him both tough to wrap up and hard to track down.
With the regular season heading into the home stretch, Taylor will look to cap off his remarkable sophomore campaign by adding an NFL MVP Award to his trophy case, one that includes two Doak Walker Awards (NCAA football’s top running back).
In a year where sure things are anything but a given, Taylor has stamped himself as a dependable ball-carrying rockstar.
Matthew Lomon 