Why Jonathan Taylor only had one carry in the second half vs. the Saints
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts suffered their third straight loss on Sunday when they fell 38-27 to the New Orleans Saints inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Despite the loss, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had the best performance of his season, finishing the game with 12 carries for 95 rushing yards.
He gained many of those yards early in the game. In fact, on the second Colts’ offensive drive, he had three consecutive carries totaling 62 yards, which included a 42-yard rush.
But in the second half, Taylor barely received any handoffs. He only had one carry in the second half.
“I wasn’t shocked, but there also wasn’t a discussion,” Taylor said. “We put points on the board, so whatever Shane (Steichen) calls – I’m with it. You guys can see, we are able to score points. You can score as many points as you want, but when it comes to situational football and you are really honing in on the aspects – that’s what the NFL comes down to. No matter how good or bad a team is – it always, usually, comes down to last drive or whatever the case may be. You always have to make sure you guys are playing really good situational football.”
Colts head coach Shane Steichen said there was no injury to Taylor, which led to that lone carry in the second half.
“Yeah, I think in that situation – Zack (Moss) popped a big one so then, you know, we kept Zack in the game there and just kind of ran the hot hand there,” Steichen said. “Then we got in the passing situations towards the end there. That’s what led to it.”
Zack Moss finished the game with 11 carries for 66 yards and a rushing touchdown. Moss’ one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Indianapolis a 17-7 lead.
Taylor also had one catch for 2 yards on Sunday.