BERLIN — With the Falcons attacking quarterback Daniel Jones, the Colts leaned on running back Jonathan Taylor and he carried them to a 31-25 victory Sunday at Olympic Stadium.
Taylor hit the Falcons with an 83-yard touchdown run, then an 8-yard touchdown run in overtime that was the game-winner.
Taylor’s 244 yards (on 30 carries) set a record for a Falcons opponent, surpassing Marshall Faulk’s 208 in the 2000 season. He had 30 carries.
Rookie outside linebacker Jalon Walker said he felt the defense “relaxed” on Taylor’s long touchdown run, which gave the Colts a one-point lead with 6:02 left in the game. Starting inside linebacker Kaden Elliss agreed, saying the defense stopped playing.
“He’s obviously a really good running back,” Elliss said. “He’s on a historic pace. It’s too bad his longest run really came on something where guys stopped playing, myself included.
“That’s just unacceptable for us as a defense. Go until you hear the whistle. That’s something that’s been preached since we were little. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
It was a major blunder by the defense, which had seven sacks and seven quarterback hits on Jones.
“I think a lot of people thought he was down,” Elliss said. “The run kind of got stuffed. You’ve got to go. Props to him. He kept his feet alive; he kept going. ...
“We should be used to that. We see Bijan (Robinson) every day in training camp and practice … We’ve got to keep hunting for that ball.”
Cornerback A.J. Terrell lost contain and Taylor was off to the races.
“He got bottled up in the backfield and just broke contain,” Terrell said. “Bad eyes. Everybody was looking at the pack, last-minute bounce out. Just tried to regain leverage and try to get him down. That’s all it was to it.”
In addition to Taylor running wild, the Falcons had a tough time with rookie tight end Tyler Warren, the Colts’ first-round pick. He had eight receptions (on 10 targets) for 99 yards and continually helped to move the chains for the Colts.
“They have Jonathan Taylor and they kept running the ball and he hit one,” Elliss said. “Great teams have things they can rely on, that they can fall back when all else fails.”
Despite the defense giving up a record-setting performance, they did cause some havoc. There the seven sacks and four forced fumbles, thought the Falcons recovered only one.
“I’m proud of the fight we showed,” Elliss said. “... Will look at the different plays we could have made, the ones that were close.”
The Falcons played without starting cornerback Mike Hughes, who has a neck injury. Dee Alford started in Hughes’ place but left with a concussion. He was in coverage with safety Xavier Watts on Jones’ 37-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce in the first quarter.
Cornerback Keith Taylor, who was called up from the practice squad, took over for Alford.
“They did good,” Terrell said of the backup cornerbacks. “Next-man-up mentality. ... The standard doesn’t drop. Mike is down. Dee is down. K.T. had a great week of practice. He was ready for it.”
It’s never good when safeties lead a defense in tackles, and that was the case with the Falcons on Sunday.
Rookie Xavier Watts had 12 tackles and Jessie Bates III added nine and an interception. Linebacker Ronnie Harrison and defensive tackle David Onyemata finished with seven apiece.
The sacks were by seven different players: Ronnie Harrison, Zach Harrison, Elliss, Jalon Walker, Arnold Ebiketie, Brandon Dorlus and James Pearce Jr.
The Falcons, who have dropped four in a row, need to go on a major roll to save the season.
“It stings,” Elliss said. “It hurts. We’re close, but you know with the six losses we can’t be close anymore. We have to get over the hump and start stacking some wins.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
