Jonathan Taylor Bottled Up in Colts’ Loss to Chiefs

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was stymied by his standards as the Kansas City Chiefs handed the Colts their third loss of the season.

The Chiefs beat the Colts Sunday afternoon 23-20. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made his fifth field goal of the day from 41 yards out to ice the game in overtime.

Taylor, 26, has had arguably his best season as a pro. In his sixth season out of Wisconsin, Taylor has racked up 1,197 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor an Award Favorite

Because of this monster season, DraftKings Sportsbook currently has Taylor third in their most valuable player odds at +1800, and first in offensive player of the year odds at -140.

Those odds may take a hit, as the Chiefs held Taylor to 58 yards and no touchdowns on 16 attempts Sunday afternoon. It was Taylor’s second-lowest total this season, only slightly more than his 45-yard output three weeks ago in Pittsburgh against the Steelers.

While 58 yards is by no means a bad game, it is minuscule by Taylor’s lofty standards this season. He is averaging just over 113 yards and 1.5 touchdowns per game through week 11, and is head-and-shoulders above the next best player in total rushing yards.

Coming off their week 11 bye, the Colts were 4.5-point underdogs at Arrowhead Stadium. These odds were slightly unexpected to some, as coming into the game, the Colts had one of the better records in the AFC. By comparison, the Chiefs were sitting at 5-5 after dropping two straight games, the latter being a demoralizing loss to their rival, the Denver Broncos.

Game Trends

The Colts surged out to a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter, and subsequently led 14-9 at halftime. Their two scores came on two Daniel Jones touchdown passes, one to tight end Andrew Ogletree and the other to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

All of the Chiefs’ points in the first half came off the leg of Butker, who hit on all five of his attempts and had 15 of Kansas City’s points.

The Colts were unable to find the endzone in the second half, though they did score six points in the third quarter by way of Mike Badgley’s field goals. Their offense sputtered late in the game, as they punted on their last four possessions in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Chiefs finally scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter on the back of running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt had his best game of the season, rushing for 104 yards and that touchdown. The last time Hunt rushed for over 100 yards was also an overtime win for Kansas City, last November against Tampa Bay.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, like Taylor, had a pedestrian game by his high standards. The former MVP completed only 63% of his passes for 352 yards and an interception. The interception came on the Chiefs’ first drive and ended up in the hands of Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu, who took it to the Kansas City 3-yard line to set up Indianapolis’ first score. Latu also had 6 tackles on the day and a sack of Mahomes.