Jonathan Taylor is a star, and his performance in Berlin on Sunday furthered his MVP candidacy.
While the MVP is seen as a quarterback award, Taylor’s 286-yard performance against the Atlanta Falcons in a 31-25 Indianapolis Colts win on Sunday morning will enhance his résumé. In fact, he’s already moved up the odds board for MVP. He holds the fourth-best odds to win MVP following Sunday’s day slate of games, sitting at +650 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Taylor’s 244 yards on the ground on Sunday helped expand his lead in the rushing total race, giving him 1,139 yards on six yards per carry. That rushing total was also the most in any game this season.
Not only did Taylor put up big yards on Sunday, but he also had three rushing touchdowns. Ahead of Sunday night football, Taylor’s 17 touchdowns from scrimmage were by far the most in the league. Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs and Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs were tied for the second-most following Sunday’s day slate, with each of them having 10 this season.
Suffice it to say, Taylor has had a monster year, with Sunday being his best outing yet. But let’s take a look at seven stats that put how good Taylor has been this season and was against Atlanta into perspective:
1. Taylor is one of three players in NFL history to have multiple career games with at least 240 rushing yards, joining Corey Dillon and O.J. Simpson.
2. Taylor is the first player in NFL history with 15 or more rushing touchdowns and an average of 6.0 or more yards per rush in the first 10 games of a season.
3. Taylor is the eighth player in NFL history with 240 or more rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a game. He’s the first to do so since Doug Martin in 2012.
4. Taylor joins Derrick Henry, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown and LaDainian Tomlinson as the only players in NFL history with three career games of 200 or more rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Taylor needs three more to tie Derrick Henry for the most in NFL history (six).
5. Taylor is the fourth player in NFL history to have more than 7,000 rushing yards and 70 touchdowns before turning 27 years old, joining Emmitt Smith, Brown and Tomlinson.
6. Taylor’s 244 rushing yards on Sunday morning against the Falcons are the 18th-most in a single game in NFL history.
7. His 83-yard rushing touchdown against the Falcons is the longest play from scrimmage ever in an NFL international game.
