Indianapolis might be getting one last look at Jonathan Taylor in a Colts uniform on Sunday, with the Nov. 10 trade deadline two days after kickoff. If it is his farewell at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys are bringing exactly the kind of defense he’d want to see on the way out.
Neither team arrives in good shape. The Colts lost 42-7 in Jacksonville in their first game after trading Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, and Dallas let a fourth-quarter lead get away in a 33-30 overtime loss to Arizona. There’s plenty for Indianapolis to attack, and a couple of problems it can’t let Dallas find.
Jonathan Taylor gets the NFL’s worst run defense
Dallas allows 152.8 rushing yards per game, the most in the league, and 5.0 yards per carry, according to ESPN’s team defense stats. Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards against this front, and Tyler Allgeier had 147.
Taylor has 610 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, and his 18 runs of 10 yards or more rank fifth among running backs, according to PFF. His 4.1 yards per carry is a career low, and he’s running without Nelson in front of him now.
That makes volume the answer. A Colts offense that averages 5.7 yards per pass attempt should be handi...