Jonathan Taylor is no stranger to trampling the Silver & Black.
In four career games, the Indianapolis Colts workhorse running back galloped for 501 yards on 83 carries with five touchdowns when pitted against the Las Vegas Raiders. That all started when he was a rookie in 2020 (the 41st overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin) as he torched the Raiders for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in the Colts’ 44-27 victory.
The following trio of contests against the Silver & Black read:
108 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in 2021; 147 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in 2022; and 96 yards and a score on 21 carries in 2023.
Taylor gets another opportunity to face the Raiders, this time, with defensive-minded head coach Pete Carroll at the helm. And heading into this Week 5 matchup at home against the visiting desert marauders, Taylor leads the NFL in rushing with 414 yards on 77 carries and three touchdowns. The 26-year-old tailback exploded for 165 yards on 25 carries in the Colts Week 2 29-28 win over the Denver Broncos and, most recently, was “corralled” for 76 yards on 17 carries in Indianapolis’ first lost of the year — a 27-20 defeat — against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday.
Taylor is at the forefront of the Colts’ impressive offense helmed by head coach and play caller Shane Steichen. Indianapolis ranks fourth in points scored (123) and third in yards gained (1,589) while also boasting the fourth-most productive air attack (1,044 yards) and eighth-ranked ground game in yards (545) and second-ranked in touchdowns (seven).
Taylor is the tip of the Colts spear in the ground game and quarterback Daniel Jones (87 of 121, 71.9 completion percentage, 1,078 yards, four touchdowns to two interceptions, and 54 yards and three touchdowns on 18 rushing attempts) is the start of Indianapolis’ air attack. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren (the 14th pick in the 2025 draft) paces the Colts with 263 receiving yards on 19 catches. Right behind him is veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr at 234 yards and three touchdowns on 21 grabs.
That said, Jones did struggle against the Rams throwing two interceptions to just one touchdown, but he still completed 72.7 percent of his passes (24 of 33) in the loss.
“They’ve made a significant shift in their effectiveness from the offseason to now, and Daniel Jones has been right in the middle of all that. They’ve got good players. They’ve got extremely well equipped, skilled people,” Carroll said of the Steichen’s Colts offense. “Tyler (Warren), the new tight end, he’s their number one targeted guy. The tailback is elite. And so, it’s been a tremendous connection between, let’s say, Shane (Steichen) and Daniel to get him to play at this high level so early in his time with them. They’ve come out flying, and then they’ve have had great success on offense so far. So, Daniel has been the recipient of this opportunity, and thanks to Shane, I would think.”
Heading to Indianapolis to stymie (or marginally disrupt) Steichen’s offense is going to be a test of Carroll’s and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s coaching acumen and mettle.
Las Vegas’ defense did well to rebound in Week 4 against the visiting Chicago Bears, particularly against the run. The Raiders were one of the stingier units to run on prior to Week 3 — ranked as high as fourth — but the 201 output the Washington Commanders dropped on Las Vegas plummeted the overall ranking. Graham’s group yielded just 69 yards rushing and 202 passing yards in the 25-24 loss to the Bears.
But with how dangerous Taylor is on the ground and how effective Jones is through the air, Las Vegas must be disciplined and fundamentally sound in Indianapolis. If not, the Graham’s unit may get carved up something fierce by Steichen and his group.
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has long been the tone setter for the Raiders defense and his continued disruption (five total tackles, one interception, one forced fumble, and three pass deflections against Chicago) buoys the group. Las Vegas needs a strong game from leading tackler and linebacker Devin White (34 total tackles, five stops for loss, and a pass deflection), Jamal Adams, defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV, safeties Jeremy Chinn and Isaiah Pola-Mao, and cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, to name a few.
Communication and execution must come together, lest the Raiders give up touchdowns like this one against the Bears:
Head-to-Head
Sunday’s matchup is No. 23 for the Raiders and Colts. Thus far, the series record is knotted at 11-11 — 10-10 in regular season play and 1-1 in postseason action. Indianapolis rides a two-game win streak besting Las Vegas 23-20 in late December 2023 and 25-20 in November 2022. Las Vegas did win the early January 2022 contest 23-20. The very first game between the two franchises was in 1971 when the Baltimore Colts topped the Oakland Raiders 27-17 in the AFC Championship game.
Quotes of Note
“He’s really consistent and really firm technique wise, didn’t get knocked off the ball at all. Like you said, he hadn’t had a lot of opportunities and hadn’t had a lot of featured opportunities in passing down situations. They had some other stars on that team, so he couldn’t get the opportunity. But he’s contributed in a huge way, and he’s just as steady as a rock. And I don’t know if you guys have had chance to talk to him, but he’s a beautiful kid, and he has a lot to offer all of us. And so again, I think we’re just learning to appreciate it more. And he had a couple really big plays in the game too, which was great.”
—Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll when asked about defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV
