The Indianapolis Colts were looking at a potential 0-3 start and (desperately) needed a win against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. The Colts got just that, improving their mark to 1-2 in 2024 as they look to face a red-hot 3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers team in Lucas Oil in Week 4.

RUNNING BACK JONATHAN TAYLOR’S VINTAGE DAY, GROUND GAME, HELPS COLTS EARN NEEDED VICTORY

For the Colts, Sunday’s win over the Bears starts with running back Jonathan Taylor, who looked like his old self with 23 rushing attempts for 110 yards and two rushing touchdowns. On a day when the Colts’ passing attack struggled behind 22-year-old quarterback Anthony Richardson, Taylor led the way with 135 all-purpose yards, helping to breathe life into an inconsistent passing attack for much of the afternoon.

Both Trey Sermon and Richardson contributed to the Colts’ 150-yard rushing performance, with Sermon adding 16 yards and Richardson 24. Overall, Indianapolis averaged 4.5 yards per attempt against a stout Chicago defense that allowed just 75 total rushing yards to the Houston Texans the week before.

Indianapolis certainly can’t expect to find a winning streak in such a long season, but having Taylor and one of the league’s better offensive lines to lean on will be extremely beneficial for Richardson, who is still learning his way in the NFL. Still, credit must be given where it’s due. Just a week after Taylor had 103 rushing yards on 12 carries, the Colts leaned on the All-Pro back early and often on Sunday and were able to come away with a win as a result.

COLTS’ PASSING OFFENSE REMAINS STRUGGLING BEHIND INEXPERIENCED QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON

Despite such strong play from the Colts’ rushing attack, their passing game continues to struggle under second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. In some ways, that should have been expected. After all, Richardson is the NFL’s youngest starting quarterback, and he’s still figuring out how to navigate and become a more efficient passer. There will be highs and lows as he takes the helm, and the Colts should (and will) be patient with him.

That doesn’t change the fact that the 22-year-old now has two straight games with two turnovers. In fact, the types of turnovers Richardson had are ones he needs to improve on, with one coming early in the red zone and costing the Colts a chance at a short field goal, and the other coming when a wide-open Michael Pittman Jr. missed for a big gain.

As many others have noted, you don’t take Richardson at No. 4 overall in the 2023 draft if the plan is to cut him after he hasn’t even gotten a double-digit start in the NFL. Frankly, that idea is nonsense and isn’t going to happen. Yes, Richardson needs to work on showing signs of improvement as the season progresses, but expecting him to figure it out so quickly despite the flashes he has shown is unrealistic. Growth and development are part of working with such an inexperienced quarterback, and only time will tell if Richardson can pull it all together and be consistent enough at the NFL level.

COLTS’ DEFENSE COMES UP WITH KEY TURNOVERS, FOUR SACKS, IN STRONG EFFORT AGAINST BEARS’ OFFENSE

After a two-week stretch where the Colts defense simply couldn’t stop the run and got in its own way, Sunday’s game was different and might just be the turning point this unit needed to get back on track. Sure, you wouldn’t exactly classify the Bears’ offense as one of the best in the league. But again, the Colts deserve credit for limiting Chicago’s offense to 63 total rushing yards on just 2.3 yards per rushing attempt.

Indianapolis’ secondary also deserves some credit, as the final box score doesn’t necessarily tell the full story of their efforts following Sunday’s win. Much of Chicago’s offensive play came when they trailed.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was under pressure most of the day. The Colts, despite not having their best defender in defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, came away with four sacks and consistently put pressure on Williams. The rookie No. 1 overall pick also had a few ugly moments, throwing two costly interceptions to Colts sophomore cornerback Jaylon Jones. Jones was terrific Sunday with five tackles and the two interceptions.

Jones wasn’t the only Colts player to make a significant impact on Sunday, as rookie first-round pick Laiatu Latu had one tackle-for-loss and a crucial strip-sack of Williams late in the fourth quarter, leading to another rushing touchdown by Jonathan Taylor and a 21-9 lead for Indianapolis. Those are exactly the kinds of plays the Colts drafted Latu for, especially as they continue to deal with injuries along the defensive line to start the season. For Latu, the strip-sack couldn’t have come at a better time, with the Colts clinging to a one-score lead.