The Indianapolis Colts offense leaned heavily on the run game on Sunday against the Chicago Bears to help them secure their first win of the 2024 season.
This week’s performance came on the heels of a disappointing loss one week earlier to the Green Bay Packers, where, inexplicably, the run game seemed to be forgotten about.
In that game, despite Taylor totaling 103 rushing yards, he had only 12 carries. Anthony Richardson also had only one designed run in that contest.
This week, however, there was a concerted effort to get both involved in the run game. Excluding the kneel-downs at the end, the Colts ran the ball 30 times in this game. Taylor had 23 of those carries, Richardson on several designed runs had five rushes, and Trey Sermon had two.
Taylor was again quite efficient, rushing for 110 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown run, at 4.8 yards per pop. Richardson had 28 yards on his five carries, and Sermon had a 15 yard run that put the offense near the goal line.
Now, having said all of that, a caveat to mention is that with the Colts leading this entire game versus trailing by a score or two against Green Bay, the opportunity to run the ball today was more prevalent.
But regardless of being up 10 or down 10, what we saw against the Bears needs to be the blueprint going forward for the time being.
As Richardson continues to navigate the learning curve that comes with gaining NFL experience, there are going to be ups and down as we saw on Sunday. Richardson was able to generate two more explosive pass plays, but also had two interceptions and other off-target throws.
The Colts offense needs something to hang its hat on to help them sustain drives and to take some of the playmaking burden off of Richardson and the passing game.
The one-two punch of Taylor and Richardson in the backfield can be a real stressor for opposing defenses. This, in turn, can then help open up opportunities in the passing game to be exploited, whether that be through the RPO game or the rushing offense creating short down-and-distance situations.
Each week is going to look a bit different and the game-flow will dictate whether the Colts have to go more run-heavy or pass-heavy at certain times. However, moving forward, what we saw against the Bears needs to be the general formula, and unlike in Green Bay, the run game shouldn’t take a back seat.
