What do you get when you combine a struggling team coming off a very impressive win and a struggling team coming into its first prime-time home game since 2007? Well, you get a New York Jets team that gets handled by the Indianapolis Colts.

As these two teams met up for Thursday Night Football, the pre-game headlines of Mike White versus the World quickly shifted to Jonathan Taylor versus the inept Jets defense as the game progressed, a natural progression and what many expected to happen.

White, who was a debut darling after putting up more than 400 yards last week in a win over the Bengals, quickly was ruled out of this game after suffering an injury to his arm/hand/wrist that took the wind out of this feel-good story as soon as it started. Journeyman backup Josh Johnson entered the game, and while he put up a fight in relief of White, it was not enough for the Jets, as they fell 45-30.

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Jonathan Taylor may be the best RB in the league

Look, any running back behind the strong offensive line that the Colts roll out there should find success (see Hines, Nyheim), but Jonathan Taylor is another breed of RB, and his 200 total yards on just 20 touches is a perfect description of just what he can do.

Constantly running around, over, and through Jets’ defenders, Taylor enjoyed copious amounts of success on Thursday, culminating his night with a 78-yard scoring run where he used his track speed to run away from all 11 members of the Jets’ defense. It only took 21 touches for Taylor to earn his 200 total yards and 2 scores, and the Colts did not need him for much of the second half after his long run.

Is it fair to crown Taylor as the best RB in the league? Certainly has a good amount of evidence working in his favor – and his workhorse role in only his second season only backs that claim up.

Michael Pittman Jr. is WR1 in Indianapolis

Carson Wentz has never truly had that kind of WR1 to throw to, but Michael Pittman Jr. quickly is developing into that for him, even if not many people expected it to happen.

Thursday marked the fifth consecutive week that Pittman Jr. has hauled in a TD pass, and he certainly is the first option in the Colts’ offense. Six-plus targets in all but two games so far in 2021 has helped elevate Pittman Jr. into fantasy relevancy, and his role for Indianapolis will only continue to elevate.

Going against a sorry New York secondary can help any player, but Pittman Jr. has been able to produce at a consistent level for weeks now, so he is for real – and here to stay.

Colts defense better than TNF showing

The Jets were only the second team to score 30-plus points against the Colts this year (Baltimore was the other), which can be a bit misleading when relating that to how Indy’s defense performed. But playing more conservatively allowed the Jets to throw the ball all over and put up 30 points, sticking the Colts’ defense with a stinker.

Indianapolis has forced at least one turnover in every game this year and kept all but the Ravens and Jets under 385 offensive yards, so they are a stronger unit than what they showed on Thursday.

Having the Texans (once) and Jaguars (twice) on their remaining schedule, the Colts have plenty of time for their defense to regain its stout composure and show why they are one of the league’s best units.