The Indianapolis Colts can typically rely on running back Jonathan Taylor. On Sunday in Pittsburgh, however, that was not the case. The ball carrier only got 15 opportunities that went for 45 yards. This was by far his worst performance of the young season. The offense clearly has trouble moving the ball down field when a rushing attack is non existent. This will be something for head coach Shane Steichen to keep an eye on moving forward. Overall, wins are not going to come easily if the Colts’ best weapon on that side of the ball isn’t succeeding.
Indianapolis will take on the Tennessee Titans in an AFC South showdown in Week 6. This will be a good matchup to get back on track. One receiver, however, noted that one phase of the game has to be better.
Colts’ Josh Downs Keeps It Real With Offense’s Run Game
Wide receiver Josh Downs spoke to the media on Monday to reflect on the Week 5 loss. With Alec Pierce out, the Colts have had trouble stretching the ball down the field. The pass-catcher was pretty clear as to why that was the case on Sunday.
“I don’t think we ran the ball that well [on Sunday],” Downs said. “So, I mean, for like — speaks for itself there. But, you know, we gotta keep finding ways to stretch the field and find ways to make plays down the field, and we’re gonna figure that out this week.”
There aren’t going to be too many performances from Taylor that go the way they did against the Steelers. Despite that, Downs was very honest in his assessment. If a team can’t run the football, it’s going to be harder to use play-action.
The Colts wide receiver also spoke a little bit more about what went wrong in the 34-22 defeat. There were a lot of times when the offense just wasn’t playing up to par.
“Yeah, we just gotta better execute as a group,” Downs noted. “That’s just the main thing. And, give them credit. They played some of that stuff well, so, they got a pretty good defense, pretty good front seven. So, they were able to stop some of our plays, but we gotta execute better.”
Tennessee is currently allowing over 110 yards per game on the ground to opponents. Taylor will have a chance to redeem himself, as well as get the deep passing attack opened up.
Indianapolis Has To Get Taylor Back On The Right Track
It is critical to make opponents fear the run so they feel as if the box needs to be stacked. This will give more opportunities to Downs and Co. to find spots on the field where they are wide open.
The good news about Downs’ comments is that the Colts running back would certainly agree. Having just 45 yards on the ground as one of the game’s best is not acceptable for Taylor.
Colts WR Gets Honest On Jonathan Taylor’s Week 5 Performance