The Indianapolis Colts have a new running back who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. Namely, his name is Jonathan Taylor.
The rookie from Wisconsin had the most productive rookie debut in the NFL in 2017, and scored a total of five touchdowns in a 55-24 rout of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
The North Carolina A&T alumni entered the game with his team leading 20-10, but a late field goal cut the deficit to 20-17. That set up a fourth-and-one from the Buffalo 48. With a wave of crowd support, the rookie took the handoff and gave his right ankle an “extreme tap” to fend off defender Jordan Poyer, who was already planted in the ground. Taylor dove over the pile for the first of his five touchdowns.
With 5 minutes and 27 seconds left in the game, Taylor had scored his fourth touchdown and put the game away.
The score shook up the best rookie race in the NFL this season. Heading into the contest, Taylor had a single-game high, 24 yards rushing, in which he averaged 6.6 yards per attempt. Joining him on the start list Sunday was Ronald Jones, who scored twice in the Eagles’ victory over the Washington Redskins.
The Bills’ rookie in the race had five rushes for 57 yards, but two fumbles and no touchdowns.