INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — By the end of the first quarter on Sunday in the Indianapolis Colts' lopsided 38-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, chants of "MVP!" rang out as the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd showered appreciation on Jonathan Taylor.

The Colts' most explosive weapon had just scored his first of what would be three touchdowns on the day, an 18-yard run where he sliced through traffic on the right side to find the end zone.

He would follow that run with an 80-yard touchdown run on the Colts' first drive of the second half and then a 19-yard score on a little sweep catch to start the fourth quarter.

The MVP chants from the fans weren't hyperbole, though. Taylor is on a whole other level in 2025.

On the top-ranked team in the NFL, Taylor leads the league in rushing yards (850), yards from scrimmage (1,056), rushing touchdowns (12), and total touchdowns (14).

He joined Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, and Shaun Alexander on Sunday as the only other recorded NFL players to have three-plus scrimmage touchdowns in each of four separate games within a season. After tying his trio of scores with 153 rushing yards and 21 receiving, Taylor is also the first NFL player since Jamaal Charles in 2013 to have 500-plus yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns in a four-game stretch of a season.

“It meant a lot that the fans of Indianapolis are behind me like that," Taylor said after the game about the MVP chants. "And that's what continues to fuel not only myself, but the rest of the team. That's what they want to see. They want to see great product on the field and ultimately win games.”

Taylor may be modest, but his teammates know they're witnessing something rare.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously he is playing at an MVP level, and it's been exciting," defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. "The whole stadium was chanting 'MVP!' We're witnessing greatness right in front of us. So, it's been cool.”

"I mean, I think that he has a real shot (at MVP)," remarked wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was drafted by the Colts together with Taylor in 2020. "I know that the MVP is like a quarterback thing, but he's going to give it his best run at it.”

A teammate watching Taylor from the sidelines or even blocking for him is one thing, but the man who calls the offense and ensures the ball gets to Taylor throughout the game, head coach Shane Steichen, is deeply appreciative for what Taylor is doing for this offense.

“It's impressive. It's hard to put into words, to be honest, because when you see the way he's running, the way the guys are blocking for him, I mean, it's special. It really is," Steichen said. "And like I said, he's running hard. He's running physical. Even when things aren't clean in there, he's finding ways to get three, four (yards), and then the 80-yard touchdown run – he hit that thing down the sidelines, and to stay in bounds, it was as impressive as it gets.”

This isn't the first time that Taylor has taken over the league and been inserted into the MVP discussion. Back in 2021, he won the rushing crown as the NFL's leading rusher and amassed 2,171 total yards of offense and 20 touchdowns from scrimmage. He's on pace to do even better in 2025: 2,244 yards and 29.8 touchdowns, to be exact.

Taylor is as explosive as he ever was in his six pro years, but he's also developed elite patience and vision, which has helped evolve his game even further.

“Yeah, I mean, it's rare, right? That's some of those things – it's the patience," Steichen said. "I think it's kind of in your DNA a little bit, when he was a young player. Then, as you get going, and you start to see it more and more and more, and you get comfortable with your O-line, and how they're setting up blocks and the communication, and how it's coming together. It’s good. It’s real good.”

While Taylor continues to gain elite company among the NFL greats, he also continues to establish himself within the Colts' franchise record books; an organization that has been home to Hall-of-Famers Lenny Moore, Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, and Edgerrin James.

Each week, you can find Taylor's name in the postgame notes sent out by Colts Communications, passing those legendary names for one milestone or another (on Sunday, he tied Moore and James for a few different touchdown-related records that will feature only his name, soon enough).

Next up for Taylor and the Colts are the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium, on CBS. Pittsburgh's defense ranks 18th against the run (112.7 YPG) and is tied for 15th in yards per carry allowed (4.3).

Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL. 

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