Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor continued a historic 2025 season with a legendary 286 all-purpose yards, three-touchdown performance in a 31-25 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons at Olympiastadion Berlin on Sunday morning.
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes the gaudy performance solidified Taylor in the MVP conversation and predicts the Colts winning the AFC South on the strength of the running back’s play.
“The Indianapolis Colts running back was already among midyear favorites for the NFL's top honor. Then he ripped off 286 scrimmage yards, including 244 on the ground, against the Atlanta Falcons to headline the league's first-ever Berlin game. The highlight was an 82-yard scoring scamper, but this is the kind of thing Taylor's been doing all year as the centerpiece of Shane Steichen's rejuvenated attack. No one -- not even elite quarterbacks -- has enjoyed such a special start to 2025. Four years after clearing 1,800 rushing yards as a young breakout, this ball carrier might win the Colts the AFC South with his own legs,” Benjamin said while deeming Taylor’s MVP case a “Winner” in Week 10.
Indianapolis wasn’t able to extend its lead in the AFC South, but only because the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, the only two teams that can conceivably catch the Colts, given the Tennessee Titans’ futility, played each other.
Still, Indianapolis kept pace with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos at the top of the conference, improving to 8-2.
The Colts own a head-to-head over the Broncos after a 29-28 win at Lucas Oil Stadium in early September.
If Taylor were to somehow win the MVP, it’d be the first time a RB has won the award since Adrian Peterson in 2012 for the Minnesota Vikings. Saquon Barkley had MVP hype during his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, but that faded by the campaign’s end. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen ended up winning the award instead.
With a little under half the season left, Taylor has plenty of time to finally bring the MVP award back to the running back fraternity and prove it’s not just a QB award.