Jonathan Taylor rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns and Carson Wentz passed for 272 yards and three touchdowns as the Indianapolis Colts rolled to a 45-30 victory over the visiting New York Jets on Thursday night.
Taylor, who carried 19 times, scored on scoring runs of 21 and 78 yards for the Colts (4-5) while topping 100 for the fourth time this season. Taylor scored on an 83-yard run in Week 6 vs. the Houston Texans and has notched the two longest runs in the NFL this season.
Wentz completed 22 of 30 passes, connecting on touchdown throws to Michael Pittman Jr., Jack Doyle and offensive lineman Danny Pinter. Nyheim Hines added a touchdown run for Indianapolis.
Quarterback Mike White departed early for the Jets (2-6) due to a right forearm injury sustained during the first quarter. White completed 7 of 11 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown in his second start in place of rookie Zach Wilson (knee).
Journeyman Josh Johnson replaced White and established career highs of 317 yards and three touchdowns while completing 27 of 40 passes with one interception. Rookie Elijah Moore caught his first two career scoring receptions, and Ryan Griffin and Ty Johnson had one TD catch apiece.
The Colts outgained the Jets 532 yards to 486 and racked up 260 on the ground.
Indianapolis struck first when Hines exploded for a 34-yard run with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
White evened the score with a 19-yard pass to Moore nearly 3 1/2 minutes later. The touchdown occurred shortly after Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner delivered the hit that rattled White’s throwing arm.
The Colts went ahead for good on Taylor’s 21-yard run with 13:24 left in the second quarter and made it 21-7 on Wentz’s 1-yard shovel pass to Doyle with 4:59 remaining.
New York’s Matt Ammendola kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the half, but Indianapolis increased its lead to 28-10 on Wentz’s 11-yard scoring pass to Pittman with 12 seconds remaining.
The Colts continued to pour it on in the third quarter as Wentz tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to Pinter on a tackle-eligible play with 6:54 left. Just 52 seconds later, Taylor ripped off his 78-yard touchdown run to make it 42-10.
Moore caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Josh Johnson as New York cut its deficit to 42-16 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Josh Johnson tossed fourth-quarter scoring passes of 13 yards to Griffin and 22 yards to Ty Johnson to bring the Jets within 15 with 3:35 left.
–Field Level Media