How the Colts will replace Jonathan Taylor vs. Patriots
INDIANAPOLIS - Last season, the Colts beat the Patriots on Sunday Night Football on arguably the best run of Jonathan Taylor's life -- 67 yards through the heart of Bill Belichick's defense.
On Sunday, they'll have to beat New England with someone else.
The reigning rushing champion will miss his third game of the season Sunday, again with a nagging ankle issue. After trading Nyheim Hines to the Bills this week, the Colts will start Deon Jackson for the second time.
Indianapolis is also ruling out quarterback Matt Ryan (shoulder), linebacker Grant Stuard (pectoral) and cornerback Tony Brown (hamstring). Left tackle Dennis Kelly will be questionable with calf and ankle issues.
Taylor missed the entire week of practice after tweaking his ankle in Sunday's loss to the Commanders. It's the same ankle he hurt in the first meeting with the Titans, when he was trapped under a pile of bodies. He missed the next two games and then was efficient in his two games back, rushing 26 times for 134 yards.
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At 3-4-1, the Colts are in a challenging spot with Taylor. They want to insulate Sam Ehlinger as he makes his first starts in the NFL, but the more Taylor plays on the ankle, the more he tends to aggravate it.
"I thought we had a chance, that it might progress a little bit better than it did this week, but it didn’t," Colts coach Frank Reich said. "So, we’ve got to be smart, do what’s right for the player and do what’s right for the team."
It creates an opportunity for Jackson, who has surprised as a second-year, undrafted player. He's caught all 14 targets on the season for 108 yards, including 10 in his one start against the Jaguars, which the Colts won with a season-high 34 points.
He's spent the past two seasons learning as a receiver by watching Hines. That figures to be a key part of his role again Sunday, when the Colts might play with a backup left tackle in Bernhard Raimann if Kelly can't go.
"It's a lot of looking at who your defenders are prior to the game," Jackson said of his preparation. "It's watching a lot of film, seeing how people are going to play you in certain coverages, seeing how their hips are and little stuff like that. I learned a lot from Nyheim while he was here, and I'm going to continue to build on what he taught me."
The Colts could also elevate one or both of Phillip Lindsay and Jordan Wilkins from the practice squad. They're evaluating Zack Moss' availability after acquiring him from Buffalo in the Hines trade.
The Colts will get defensive end Kwity Paye back from an ankle injury. He missed the past three games and will now fill a critical role after the team lost Tyquan Lewis for the year to a ruptured patellar tendon.
Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts news: Will Jonathan Taylor play vs. the Patriots?
