INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jonathan Taylor took matters into his own hands Sunday.
And this time, he made sure he hung onto the ball each time he crossed the goal line.
One week after enduring perhaps the most embarrassing moment of his five-year NFL career, Taylor showed everyone that he learned his lesson by rushing for 218 yards and three scores, leading the Indianapolis Colts past the Tennessee Titans 38-30.
“Like I said, that was something that never happened before and would never happen again,” Taylor said, referring to dropping the ball before crossing the goal line last week at Denver. “I already had predetermined in my mind, next time, I was going all the way through the tunnel."
He delivered on that promise after his first score, a 65-yard burst, rekindling memories of former Raiders star Bo Jackson at the same time he was trying to erase the thoughts of his miscue that cost Indy a touchdown in a crushing loss to the Broncos.
But the first sprint was only the start for Taylor. He broke free for a 70-yard TD run on the first play of the second half, again carrying the football with two hands through the end zone, and capped the day with a 1-yard TD plunge.
Taylor needed 29 carries to post the second-highest single-game rushing total in the NFL this season. It was also the second-highest game total of his career, his most TD runs in a game since scoring four against Buffalo in 2021 and it put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since he won the 2021 NFL rushing title.
Anthony Richardson had nine carries for 70 yards and one TD as Indy (7-8) had a franchise-record 335 yards rushing — 17 more than the previous mark set in 1956. Richardson's sixth TD run of the season also broke the franchise record for TD runs by a quarterback, and it came on a day he threw only 11 passes.
“You want to be able to run it every game, but, obviously, it was going good today and guys were popping it,” coach Shane Steichen said. “Single-game (franchise) record? Incredible. It’s fun to watch.”
For the Titans (3-12), it was the opposite — another bleak chapter in a miserable season.
Their fourth straight loss came with three more turnovers and the breakdowns of what has mostly been a pretty stingy defense. Two of the Titans past four opponents have rushed for at least 200 yards, and the final tally represented the most rushing yards allowed by the franchise since it moved from Houston to Nashville in the late 1990s.
“The speed of Jonathan Taylor showed up and we couldn’t get him on the ground," Titans coach Brian Callahan said. "He had a couple of explosive runs, and sometimes that’s all it takes.”
Even the quarterback change, from Will Levis to Mason Rudolph, didn't help.
Rudolph wound up 23 of 34 with 252 yards, two touchdown passes and three interceptions and helped Tennessee close the gap from 38-7 by scoring the final 23 points of the game. But Kenny Moore II's second interception of the game, as time expired, sealed the outcome.
The game got away from Tennessee quickly after Rudolph threw a picture-perfect 38-yard TD pass, Titans backup kicker Brayden Narveson came up short on a 53-yard field goal and Richardson tied the score with a 5-yard TD run early in the second quarter.
Taylor broke free with the 65-yard run, a short field goal gave Indy a 17-7 lead and Richardson capitalized on Moore's first interception with a 27-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left in the first half to make it 24-7.
Things only got worse for the Titans.
Taylor turned his next carry into a 70-yard score, going untouched in front of the Tennessee bench, protecting the ball with two hands. His 1-yard run made it 38-7 midway through the third quarter and the Titans spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
“You get excited, sometimes maybe a little too excited, when you see that (open field),” Taylor said, drawing laughter. “Then you just start analyzing, where are the defenders? Then it’s like ‘OK, it’s just a foot race, I’ve got to get in.’”
Injury report
Titans: Kicker Nick Folk missed the game with an abdominal injury and while DT T'Vondre Sweat (eye) returned, RG Dillon Radunz (shoulder). Callahan said LB Kenneth Murray Jr.'s injured wrist “doesn't look good for him.” There were no updates on LB Otis Reed IV (ankle) or S Amani Hooker (shoulder).
Colts: Pro Bowl LG Quenton Nelson (ankle) left, but returned for Indy's final series. Starting CB Jaylon Jones (throat) and defensive back Tre Flowers (shoulder) did not return after getting injured. WR Alec Pierce (concussion) and LB E.J. Speed (knee) were both inactive.
Up next
The Titans close out their road schedule next Sunday at Jacksonville while the Colts visit the New York Giants next Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Michael Marot, The Associated Press
