by The Indianapolis Colts will be without their most important offensive playmaker on Thursday night as the team ruled out Jonathan Taylor for their game against the Denver Broncos with an ankle injury. This will be just the second game Taylor has missed in his NFL career.
Taylor didn’t practice all week because of his ankle injury. He was listed on the injury report last week with a toe injury and actually missed the first practice of his career last Wednesday. The Wisconsin product rushed for just 42 yards on 20 carries in last Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. Taylor started the 2022 campaign with a bang, rushing for 161 yards and a touchdown in a Week 1 tie with the Houston Texans. He hasn’t gone over 71 yards in a game since.
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Taylor was the NFL’s best running back last season, leading the league with 1,811 carries and 18 touchdowns on 332 carries. With Taylor out, Nyheim Hines will take over as the starting linebacker. He has rushed just eight times for 11 yards this season.
The 2-2 Broncos have been boosted by their defense during the early regular season, as they currently rank fourth in the NFL in yards allowed per game (284.8). However, they are in the middle of the pack when it comes to defending the run, allowing 114 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 18 in the NFL.
Fantastic impact
Here’s how CBS Sports fantasy guru Chris Towers breaks down the impact of Taylor’s absence:
“We don’t exactly have a lot of history on what the Colts will do when Taylor is out — he’s only missed one game in his career. However, in that game, Nyheim Hines was the starting quarterback, carrying the ball 10 times and collecting 10 targets, turning them into eight catches for 66 yards with 29 yards on the ground.. You can’t project that passer role again — the Colts went into halftime of that game down 21 — but they’re in the realm of possibility as they try to make up for the loss of their star running back. Hines is an RB2 for Fantasy, especially in point-per-reception leagues, while the backup duo of Phillip Lindsay and Deon Jackson should probably be overlooked.”
