What We Discovered from Sunday’s 12 video games

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Michael Baca’s takeaways:

1. Taylor carries Colts late to edge Falcons. Mired by safety woes, turnover tendencies and quite a few third-down failures on Sunday, the Colts turned to their star working again to get them out of the muck of a efficiency destined to outcome of their first shedding streak of the season. Jonathan Taylor delivered, producing 113 speeding yards within the fourth quarter and including one other 35 yards in time beyond regulation — together with his 8-yard game-winning landing — to get Indianapolis again within the win column. It was a becoming ending for Taylor, who completed with a career-high 244 speeding yards whereas discovering the tip zone thrice. In order to get to OT, J.T. produced the play of the sport within the fourth quarter on an exhilarating 83-yard TD run, which now stands because the longest rush this season. The Colts RB first gave the impression to be bottled up on the line of scrimmage earlier than breaking out of a bunch of our bodies, then dashing to his left and up the sideline with pissed off Falcons defenders left in his wake. The play immediately ended a irritating stretch for a Colts staff that hadn’t hit pay dust because the opening quarter. In further time, the Colts protection wanted to cease the Falcons’ first possession, and Zaire Franklin got here up large with a 2-yard sort out for loss and large sack on third right down to pressure a punt. Tyler Warren delivered a giant 23-yard reception to get the Colts into field-goal vary, nevertheless it was Taylor that sealed the deal on the bottom — which made him the Colts’ all-time chief in speeding TDs. Taylor, who added 42 receiving yards to his day, might need additionally jolted his case for an MVP season within the course of. 
2. Falcons waste nice pass-rushing effort. Atlanta’s move rush wreaked havoc on the Colts, producing 16 pressures on 39 dropbacks to the tune of seven sacks whereas forcing two turnovers. It was an effort worthy of victory towards the league’s high offense, however a lowly offensive displaying finally prevented the Falcons from strolling out of Berlin with an upset win. Michael Penix Jr. had a tough day by way of the air, finishing solely 42.9% of his passes (12 of 28; 177 yards) whereas getting sacked thrice and shedding a fumble on a kind of events. Any whiff of stress had the Falcons’ second-year QB flushing out of the pocket, solely to both throw it away or run for a menial acquire. Even when he had time to throw, Penix struggled to persistently hit his targets in stride — his greatest miss coming within the first half when he underthrew Kyle Pitts for a positive TD. The Falcons produced 140 yards speeding at a wholesome tempo (4.8 YPC), permitting alternative for the passing sport to take benefit. Penix noticed success when focusing on Drake London, who caught Penix’s solely TD move and got here up clutch on a 2-point conversion late within the fourth quarter, nevertheless it was robust to attach elsewhere. The Colts acknowledged that in third-down conditions by taking away London, and the Falcons didn’t convert in all eight of these conditions. While the Falcons protection wasn’t excellent — Jonathan Taylor rushed for 228 yards after contact — Penix picked a nasty time to have a nasty day. 
3. Issues on offense persist for Colts. Had it not been for Jonathan Taylor’s spectacular night time in Berlin, it is seemingly the Colts would have been taking the lengthy flight dwelling on a two-game skid. Daniel Jones was roughed up by the Falcons and Atlanta’s constant pressures compelled pointless errors, most notably his interception on the finish of the primary half. It may’ve been worse, too, as two of Jones’ three fumbles on the day have been safely recovered by the Colts. Jones completed 19-of-26 passing for 255 yards with one TD and the decide, however regardless of higher days seen by way of the air, the Colts QB gutted out the victory, evidenced by the bloody mouth he performed with as he led a field-goal drive late within the fourth quarter to get the sport into time beyond regulation. Jones’ 53 speeding yards (seven makes an attempt) usually got here in large moments for a staff that additionally struggled in key conditions (2 of 12 on third down; 2 of 4 on fourth down). Indianapolis actually has some issues to work on, chief amongst them the safety, ball safety and penalty points. A Week 11 bye is an opportune time to try this because the Colts go into the ultimate stretch of the season as legit contenders.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Falcons-Colts (by way of NFL Pro): Jonathan Taylor rushed for 228 yards after contact in Berlin, the one sport since no less than 2017 with greater than 200. Taylor compelled 11 missed tackles and gained 165 further yards, probably the most by any participant this season.

NFL Research: Jonathan Taylor joined Jim Brown, Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry as the one RBs with a number of profession video games with 200-plus speeding yards and 3-plus speeding TDs. Taylor’s 286 scrimmage yards on Sunday are probably the most in a sport by a participant in Colts historical past, overtaking Marshall Faulk’s 267-yard sport in Week 13, 1998.