With backup quarterback Gardner Minshew and first-year head coach Shane Steichen, the Indianapolis Colts are making an unlikely playoff run this season.
However, the team will be without one of its best players for the second week in a row.
Running back Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out of the Colts’ Week 14 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Taylor recently had thumb surgery and will be out for an extended period of time.
However, the Colts’ decision not to place Taylor on injured reserve suggests that the team believes he will be fully recovered in time for the playoffs if Indianapolis makes the seven-team field.
Zack Moss will return to the starting lineup, a role he inherited earlier this season while Taylor was out with an ankle injury for the first four weeks.
During a five-game stretch from Weeks 2 to 6, Moss rushed 96 times for 466 yards and four touchdowns.
He also had 14 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Taylor returned in Week 5 but did not reclaim his starting spot until Week 7.
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When he was fully healthy, Taylor rushed for 377 yards and four touchdowns in five games, helping the Colts go 3-2.
Taylor was out this week due to surgery, so Moss took over in Indianapolis’ 31-28 victory.
While Taylor’s absence will be felt, it does not necessarily spell the end of the Colts’ playoff hopes.
Moss is capable of keeping the ground game going, and Minshew has proven to be an effective replacement for the injured Anthony Richardson.
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