Indianapolis Colts running back and 2021 NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor is coming off a huge game in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Taylor tallied 91 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 attempts as Indianapolis won its third consecutive game.
His reward? Taylor was “randomly” drug tested by the NFL for the second time this season immediately after the game.
Taylor was also tested by the league following an Oct. 22 outing in which he put up 75 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Cleveland Browns. That came three games into his return from both an ankle injury and a holdout from the Colts’ organization following an offseason filled with contract drama.
Since struggling to an extent in his first two games back from being sidelined (37 yards on 14 carries), Taylor has been his old self more recently.
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Jonathan Taylor stats (past 5 games): 377 rushing yards, 4.4 average, 5 TD
Taylor’s performance has Indianapolis in the midst of a three-game winning streak and at 6-5 on the campaign. If the season ended today, the upstart Colts would be the seventh seed in the AFC Playoffs and take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round.
Typically, the NFL likes to focus on otherworldly performances when it comes to who to “randomly” test. Taylor did not put up the most eye-opening numbers for running backs this past week.
That went to Los Angeles Rams youngster Kyren Williams (204 total yards, 2 TD) and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers (139 total yards, 2 TD). To our understanding, neither player was tested.
It has us wondering what is going on between Jonathan Taylor and the NFL at this point. Seems to be a lot less random than the league wants us to believe.