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Jonathan Taylor piles up 3 TDs in Colts' win vs. Titans: Key takeaways

23 December 2024Last Update :
Jonathan Taylor piles up 3 TDs in Colts' win vs. Titans: Key takeaways

Running back Jonathan Taylor scored three touchdowns and quarterback Anthony Richardson added two more as the Indianapolis Colts collected a 38-30 win over the visiting Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The Titans opened scoring in the first quarter on a touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to Calvin Ridley, but the Colts scored the game’s next 38 points.

Richardson scored Indianapolis’ first points on a rushing touchdown in the second, and Taylor gave the Colts the lead for good on their next drive on a 65-yard scoring run. Richardson later added a passing touchdown to Josh Downs as part of the Colts’ 24-point second quarter.

Taylor added two more touchdowns after the halftime break, including a 70-yard run on the first play of the third quarter. The tailback later a 1-yard run midway through the third as Indianapolis (7-8) extended the lead to as many as 31 points.

Taylor’s 218 rushing yards and three rushing TDs were both season bests, and Richardson added 131 passing yards and 70 rushing yards in the win. Both the Colts’ 38 points and 458 yards of offense in the game were season highs as Indianapolis is still in playoff contention.

The Titans (3-12) stormed back, though, scoring the game’s final 23 points — including two rushing touchdowns from Tyjae Spears and a passing touchdown from Rudolph to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

Taylor redeems himself

Taylor vowed to be better, and he kept his promise.

One week after the Colts running back inexplicably dropped the ball on what should’ve been a 41-yard TD against the Broncos — a mistake that has nearly shut the door on Indy’s playoff hopes — he bounced with one of the best performances of his career. Taylor finished with 29 carries for 218 yards — his second career 200-yard rushing game and 35 yards shy of his career high — and three touchdowns.

Taylor exploded for a 65-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. When he reached the end zone, he put two hands on the ball for safety to acknowledge that last week’s blunder was finally behind him. Taylor even kept running through the end zone and down the tunnel, and when he emerged from the bowels of Lucas Oil Stadium, third-string running back Tyler Goodson playfully pulled at the ball as Taylor still held it firmly in his chest while jogging back to the sideline.

His redemption tour continued with a 70-yard TD run on Indy’s first offensive play of the second half. Taylor’s huge performance put him over 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the first time since he won the league rushing title in 2021 and was named first-team All-Pro. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer

Richardson shakes off bad start

Richardson was picked off near the end zone in the first quarter by Titans safety Amani Hooker, marking Richardson’s 12th interception of the year. Richardson was trying to throw the ball to tight end Drew Ogletree, but he threw it too late and off his back foot. Richardson has now thrown an interception in seven of his 11 starts during his second pro campaign.

After Richardson’s early mistake, the Colts got back on track by running the ball on every play of their ensuing six-play, 57-yard TD drive that knotted the score at 7. Richardson broke off a 29-yard run to put Indianapolis in the red zone and capped the possession with a 5-yard TD run. The dual-threat signal caller finished just 7-of-11 passing for 131 yards, including a 27-yard TD pass to Downs in the second quarter, and one pick. Richardson also totaled nine carries for 70 yards while improving to 6-5 as a starter this season. — Boyd

Titans storm back but fall short

The Titans jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Rudolph delivered a 38-yard strike to Ridley on Tennessee’s second drive of the game. However, the Titans’ success was short-lived.

Rudolph and Spears tried to engineer a comeback, leading three straight touchdown drives in the second half to cut Indy’s lead to 38-30. But on Indy’s final drive, Richardson completed a 10-yard pass to Michael Pittman Jr. on third-and-8 from Indianapolis’ 34-yard line and had a 9-yard rush for a first down two plays later that helped bleed the clock and slam the door shut on the Titans.

Spears registered 10 carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns. Rudolph, in his fourth start of the season, finished 23-of-34 passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II intercepted Rudolph twice, including on the final play of the game, and fellow cornerback Sam Womack III also recorded a pick. — Boyd

Required reading

  • NFL Week 16 scores and live updates: Playoff picture, standings, inactives, predictions, betting odds and more
  • NFL mock draft, top 10 picks: Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders at No. 1?
  • Where the Colts’ 10 highest-paid players have let them down this season

(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

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