Indianapolis Colts Defeat the Injured New York Jets, 45-30

The Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, 45-30, presenting their best game of the year so far.

Even though the Jets lost Mike White early on, that can’t diminish the fantastic game of the hosts, who were in control from the kick-off until the end. The main reason for that was superb Jonathan Taylor who had 172 yards on the ground tonight, 210 overall from the scrimmage.

The Colts produced 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground, two by Taylor and one by Nyheim Hines. Taylor’s 78-yard rush towards the endzone put an end to this game, lifting the Colts to 42-10 midway through the third.

“When he gets to the second level, I feel like it’s going to the house,” coach Frank Reich said about Taylor. “He’s just fast, strong and elusive. Playing really good.”

The hosts created the difference in the second period, one they outscored the Jets 21-3, with Taylor, Jack Doyle, and Michael Pittman all getting one TD each.

After a long time, we saw Carson Wentz delivering without a single remark, having 272 yards with three touchdown passes, without a turnover or negative yards, despite being sacked once. This should be a boost for the veteran QB who was heavily criticized over the past few weeks.

On the other side, the Jets lost Mike White early on in the first period, and the third-string QB, Josh Johnson, had to enter the field. He played well overall, throwing for 317 yards for three touchdowns and a pick, plus adding 18 more rushing yards.

White injured his forearm and left the game in the first period, already racking up 95 yards and a TD pass. According to head coach Robert Saleh, he should be ready for the next game.

“We feel good about him getting healthy over the weekend and being ready for next week,” Saleh said of White

That, however, won’t be the case for Marcus Maye, safety, who apparently tore his Achilles and is out for the season.

“I’m sick for him,” Saleh said. “It’s not looking good.”

Leaning on my faith. Y’all just pray for me and wish the best for me! I love my teammates more than y’all know! Hold it down! I’ll be alright, God got me! 🙏🏾

— Marcus Maye (@alldayMAYE) November 5, 2021

The injury-plagued Jets couldn’t do much better than this. They fought without several key players and eventually posted an honorable loss.

Their rushing game was very bad, with only 88 yards generated, 49 of them coming from Michael Carter. Eliah Moore had two touchdown receptions and 84 receiving yards, Keelan Cole 66, Ty Johnson 40, and a TD.

The Jets are now 2-6, sitting third in the AFC East ahead of only Miami Dolphins. The positive trend in their game is that the receivers started playing very well, moving the chains constantly. In this game, with the third-string QB, the Jets had 412 passing yards.

NYJ has two divisional matches coming up, both at home. The first is next week against the Buffalo Bills and after that against the Miami Dolphins. Following that event, the Jets visit the sorry Texans, and there might be a chance for them to win one of the two latter contests.

The Colts are after the playoffs, and they can’t afford to lose anymore. Their next rivals are the Jacksonville Jaguars, and after that, Wentz and the co. jump to Buffalo to meet the Bills. At the moment, Indianapolis is second in the AFC South, behind the Tennessee Titans, who are 6-2. With four wins and five defeats, the margin for error for the Colts is way too small, and we’ll see in the upcoming few weeks whether they have the quality to get out of this tough situation.