It's been a modest start to the season for the Indianapolis Colts'running game through three weeks.
As an offense, the Colts are averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, which ranks 24th in the NFL. When it comes to Jonathan Taylor, his overall production is among the best in the league once again. Taylor is sixth in rushing yards entering Week 4, and he is tied for first in rushing touchdowns.
However, those stats are, in part, due to the number of opportunities he's had. Taylor leads the league in carries, but when it comes to efficiency, he's averaging just 3.9 yards per carry. Taylor also ranks 20th in missed tackles forced, 28th in average yards after contact, and 18th in PFF's breakaway rate metric, which measures how often a player generates
a run of 15-plus yards.
All that said, the run game hasn't been bad by any means. This is still a productive element of the Colts' offense. But we haven't seen the usual big-play abilities from this phase of the game either.
Creating more chunk plays in the ground game could, in turn, give the passing game a boost. Entering Week 4, Taylor ranks 22nd in percent of snaps that have come against heavy boxes, according to Next Gen Stats. More big runs could force a defense to bring more defenders closer to the line of scrimmage, thus helping to open up opportunities downfield -- an area the Colts are struggling to produce without Alec Pierce.
Defenses certainly still have to be very mindful of Taylor and the run game. However, more efficiency on the ground will play a vital role in maximizing the potential of the Colts offense and help to open up areas of the passing game.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: How Jonathan Taylor can give Colts' downfield passing game a boost
