Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor, Daniel Jones, and Tyler Warren were among those who had significant accomplishments on Sunday vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts (6-1) put together one of their most impressive victories of the season on Sunday, as they traveled to SoFi Stadium and slammed the Los Angeles Chargers (4-3), 38-24, marking their first win on the road against the Chargers since 2008.
Both the offense and defense got off to blistering starts, holding a 23-3 lead going into halftime before the Chargers' offense came to life in the third quarter. The second half required the Colts' offense to keep the pedal to the metal while the defense finally came up with a stop when they needed to in the fourth quarter.
Several Colts reached personal milestones or had performances that etched them in the franchise record books.
The "Crunching Numbers" series is reserved weekly for acknowledging milestones and achievements reached by the Colts and their individual players after each game. The following achievements by the Colts were provided postgame by Colts Communications, unless listed otherwise.
STAT LEADERS
- Passing: QB Daniel Jones (288 yards)
- Rushing: RB Jonathan Taylor (94 yards)
- Receiving: WR Alec Pierce (98 yards)
- Tackles: S Cam Bynum, CB Kenny Moore II (8)
- Sacks: DT DeForest Buckner (2.0)
- Takeaways: S Nick Cross, DT Grover Stewart (1 INT)
- Kicking: K Michael Badgley (1-of-1 FG [100%], 3-of-4 XP [75%])
- Punting: P Rigoberto Sanchez (2 punts, 45.0 net avg., 1 inside-20)
- Returns: RB Ameer Abdullah (2 kickoffs, 54.5 avg.)
Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren (84) celebrates a touchdown with head coach Shane Steichen in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesOFFENSE
- The Colts started Sunday's game 2-for-2 in the red zone, which gave them a streak of 12 straight red zone trips with a touchdown. It tied the second-longest streak (2010) in franchise history.
- The Colts scored 30-plus points for the fifth consecutive game, which is their first time doing so in the first seven games of a season since 2007.
- The Colts' 23 first-half points were their most in the first half of a game this season.
Quarterback Daniel Jones was 23-of-34 passing (67.6%) for 288 yards (8.5 YPA), 2 TD, and a passer rating of 113.4. He also had 5 carries for 7 yards (1.4 avg.).
- Jones has 200-plus passing yards in all seven games this season, which is the longest streak of his career and is tied with Drake Maye for the longest active streak in the NFL.
- Sunday was Jones' sixth game this season with a passer rating of at least 100.0, which ties the most such games within a single season in his career.
Running back Jonathan Taylor had 16 carries for 94 yards (5.9 avg.) and 3 TD, and caught 3 receptions (3 targets) for 38 yards (12.7 avg.).
- Taylor is the first player in franchise history to have three games with at least three rushing touchdowns within the same season.
- It was Taylor's fifth career game with three rushing touchdowns, which ties for the most in franchise history (Edgerrin James).
- Taylor has 10 rushing touchdowns so far this season, which are the most by a Colt through the first seven games of a season in franchise history. He’s the first player in the NFL to reach the mark since Derrick Henry in 2021.
- Taylor had 66 yards of offense in the first quarter, which is the second time this season he has surpassed 65 scrimmage yards in the first quarter. He is the first Colt to have at least 65 scrimmage yards in the opening quarter in multiple games within the same season since he did it in 2021.
Wide receiver Alec Pierce had 5 receptions (10 targets) for 98 yards (19.6 avg.).
- Pierce's 48-yard catch was his 14th-career reception of at least 40 yards, which is the second-most in franchise history within a player’s first four seasons.
Tight end Tyler Warren had 4 receptions (5 targets) for 69 yards (17.3 avg.) and 1 TD.
- He passed Dallas Clark (29 in 2003) for the fourth-most receptions by a rookie tight end in franchise history.
- Warren has a touchdown in four consecutive games, becoming the first Colts rookie to do so since Taylor in 2020. Warren also joins Evan Engram and Heath Miller as the only NFL rookie tight ends to have a touchdown in four straight games.
Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart (90) makes an interception in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesDEFENSE
- The Colts have recorded a takeaway inside the red zone in three straight games.
Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner had 5 tackles (2 for loss), 2.0 sacks, and 4 QB hits.
- He passed Donnell Thompson (40.0) for the fourth-most sacks in franchise history.
- It was Buckner's 10th career game with at least 2.0 sacks.
Defensive tackle Grover Stewart had 1 tackle, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup.
- It was his first career interception.
- Stewart and Laiatu Latu are the first Colts defensive lineman duo to each have an interception in the same season since Harvey Armstrong and Jon Hand in 1986.
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.
