Houston Feels the Heat as Colts Take AFC South Lead - Jonathan Taylor Sends a Warning to Texans
Watching the AFC South division rotate around as the Houston Texans sat home on the couch for their Week 6 bye might've led to some degree of frustration for DeMeco Ryans and Co.
Someone has to take on the burden of an early bye week, but the realization that the Indianapolis Colts are bona fide front-runners will make Ryans’ unit especially keen to get back to work this week.
While tracking down the Colts might be the more immediate goal for the Texans, Indy's superstar running back Jonathan Taylor is making noises that they won't get taken by surprise either.
"It just puts a bigger target on your back," Taylor admitted after the Colts’ 31-27 win over the Arizona Cardinals. "It makes us understand we got to come out every single week ready to go. We're gonna get everyone's best shot.”
Of course, Taylor's open and frank admission doesn't provide the Texans with any controversial bulletin board material; he's a savvy veteran to his very core.
On the flip side, Taylor's words should undoubtedly reinforce just how hard the challenge is going to be if they're going to chase the current divisional leaders down.
Most stubbornly, the Colts’ five wins and a three-game lead this early leaves little or no wiggle room for the Texans moving past the bye,, and the perilous trip to Seattle only then rolls into tough matchups against the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos.
Furthermore, when you add the difference that Daniel Jones adds at quarterback as a dual-threat signal caller, the multi-dimensional threat the Colts now carry with Taylor and also explosive rookie Tyler Warren at tight end presents quite a challenge.
Coach Ryans headed into the bye week with studious self-scouting on his agenda, but his huge defensive brain will have gone into overdrive as he watched the Colts win again.
Looking very much on the bright side, at least the Jacksonville Jaguars lost against the Seattle Seahawks, and in doing so displayed a lot of the same old frailties in pass pro that Ryans will have noted.
After all, getting after the quarterback is a core strength of the Texans, so they will be keen to get after Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence as they attempt to try and even the series on November 9th.
It's pretty hard not to stew over just how damaging the winless 0-3 start to the season might ultimately prove to be going down the stretch.
Even so, Ryans will be sure to remain his ever upbeat self, especially as he charts a course back into a divisional race that unquestionably has only increasing degrees of difficulty firmly in play.
Key takeaways from Chicago Bears' breakthrough win over Commanders in Week 6
The Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Commanders, 25-24, on Monday Night Football, thanks to a last-second field goal by Jake Moody that sent Jayden Daniels packing.
It's a very different feeling than what this team experienced in 2024, when Daniels connected with Noah Brown on the final play of the game -- the infamous Fail Mary -- to send the Bears' season into a tailspin.
One of the biggest reasons why this year's outcome was different was the performance of D'Andre Swift and the running game.
Swift ended Week 6 with 108 rushing yards, 67 receiving yards, and a touchdown
Swift ran with power and explosion. He deserves all his flowers. But he also -- finally -- had the benefit of some wide running lanes thanks to what was clearly the best run-blocking performance of the year by Chicago's offensive line.
Perhaps new left tackle Theo Benedet was the missing piece to unlock Ben Johnson's ground game.
Johnson met with reporters after the game and summarized the team's stunning victory. He noted that Swift and Moody received game balls for their effort, and was especially proud of how the running game took control when it mattered most.
Check out all of his post-game comments:
The Chicago Bears have now won three games in a row, and have another winnable contest up next week at home against the New Orleans Saints.
There's a good chance the Bears could be riding a four-game winning streak when they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 8, who are expected to have Lamar Jackson back in the fold.
