Jonathan Taylor Gives Blunt Take on Colts' Collapse

Colts head coach Shane Steichen called up his old friend Philip Rivers, who hadn't touched an NFL field during game day since January 2021, when the Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. Rivers accepted Steichen's offer, but the Colts have since lost all three games with Rivers under center.

Their most recent defeat was to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a game in which the Colts blew a 10-0 lead. After the loss, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor took some questions from the media, and he answered them honestly.

ESPN reporter Stephen Holder asked Taylor if the Colts were a good team that ran out of juice or a team that simply wasn't good enough.

"I mean, obviously, when you go and lose five or six in a row, you start looking like 'Hey, okay, we have to be better'. Good teams don't lose five or six in a row," Taylor said. "... It's hard to win in this league. [There's] a small margin [for] error. Regardless of penalties and things like that, you just think about actual plays — making a play, making a catch, getting a first down."

"It's those one, or two, or three, or four plays that those great teams make. They find a way."

The Colts were eliminated from playoff contention before Sunday's kickoff. 2025 marks the fifth consecutive season in which the Colts have missed the playoffs.

Indy rode the momentum of Taylor in the first half of the season, and the star back was even considered as one of the MVP favorites.

On the year, Taylor has 309 carries for 1,559 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. Taylor has been Indy's workhorse, but his efforts weren't enough to lead the Colts to a postseason appearance.

At the end of the day, whether it was injuries or a lack of skill, the Colts will be on the couch again in January. The Colts have the fourth-longest playoff drought in the league, making the 2026 season all the more crucial as the failed years accumulate for general manager Chris Ballard.