With one game, everything can change in the NFL.
That appears to be the case for the Indianapolis Colts backfield. In his season debut, Zack Moss averaged 4.9 yards per carry on his way to 88 yards and a touchdown in a 31-20 victory against the Houston Texans.
Moss also had 4 receptions for 19 yards. Only Colts top receiver Michael Pittman Jr. had more catches in the victory.
"While the offensive line played better from a run-blocking standpoint, Moss also was finding gaps and being patient with his carries and cuts, taking time to hit full-burst," Drake Wally wrote. He would even bust off an 11-yard scamper to help further unlock the offense as the quarters progressed."
With Moss back, the Colts nearly doubled their output on the ground from Week 1 to 2, and most of the rushing yards for Indianapolis in Week 1 came from quarterback Anthony Richardson. Deon Jackson led the Colts running backs with 14 rushing yards during the season opener.
After that performance, Indianapolis was connected to several running backs last week -- D'Andre Swift through a trade and James Robinson, Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette in free agency.
On Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams made Cam Akers inactive for Week 2, Bleacher Report's Jack Murray floated the Colts as a potential landing spot.
"Adding Akers could provide a spark to the room and he could potentially help ease the transition from Taylor should he move on to another team," wrote Murray.
Essentially, the Colts were being linked to any possible available running back.
But instead of signing a running back, that needed spark came from Moss.
The concern going forward is Moss won't be able to stay healthy for the entire season. He's never played more than 13 games, and he's yet to have more than 126 touches in a campaign.
Even after missing Week 1, Moss is on pace for 187 touches this season.
But in eight games with the Colts last season, Moss posted 365 rushing yards and 4.8 yards per carry on 76 attempts. Extrapolate those numbers over an entire season, and Moss would have more than 150 rushes.
While he likely isn't capable of 20-plus touches every week, Moss appears able to handle the lion share of the work in Indianapolis' backfield.
Therefore, for now, the Colts need to trade or sign a veteran running back has diminished greatly.
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