Jonathan Taylor enjoyed his first London trip with the Indianapolis Colts, and after helping his team beat the Washington Commanders 30-13, he already wants to come back.

Taylor played a big role in the Colts’ win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, rushing for 95 yards on 20 carries and scoring two touchdowns. The scores also took his career total to six touchdowns in international games, the most in NFL history.

“We stayed in the countryside, so that was beautiful to see, and we also got to go downtown a little bit, and that was awesome, and this stadium,” Taylor said, according to the NFL.

Taylor also had some fun with his first touchdown. He sat down and pretended to sip tea during his celebration, giving the London crowd a moment to remember.

“The experience was awesome,” Taylor said, according to the NFL's official page on Instagram.

NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo had previously urged the league not to fine Taylor after Kyle Juszczyk was punished for a similar “invisible beverage” celebration.

The Colts did not have the best start. Daniel Jones lost a fumble, while Indianapolis failed to pick up a first down on its opening three drives.

Washington could only turn that early pressure into two field goals, though, before Taylor scored on a 5-yard run to put the Colts ahead.

Taylor found the end zone again after Jaylon Carlies intercepted Commanders quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. Washington answered with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Kaliakmanis to Treylon Burks, but Indianapolis stayed in control.

Jones added a 4-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, while Spencer Shrader made three field goals as the Colts finished off the 30-13 victory.

The Colts moved to 2-2 and will face the Pittsburgh Steelers next. Washington dropped to 1-3 and will return home to play the New York Giants.

While Taylor is now one of the Colts’ biggest stars, his journey to the NFL started with ambitions that had little to do with football.

Did Jonathan Taylor always plan on becoming an NFL star?

Jonathan Taylor’s path to the NFL could have looked very different. Before becoming one of the Indianapolis Colts’ leading players, Taylor was fascinated by space and had dreams of studying astrophysics.

Taylor finished high school with a 4.1 GPA and applied to Harvard, eventually getting accepted after visiting the campus and completing an interview.

“Once I found out that [Wisconsin] was a top-20 academic institution [in the country], that kind of sealed the deal,” Taylor said, according to Observer.

But football gave him something to think about. He wondered whether he could play in the Big Ten and chose Wisconsin after learning more about its academic reputation.

He arrived at Wisconsin in 2017 as the fifth-string running back but quickly moved up the depth chart. Taylor went on to become the first player in top-tier college football history to rush for at least 1,900 yards in three straight seasons.

“If he wasn’t so good at this, he’d be working for NASA right now. He’s that smart,” Former Wisconsin running backs coach John Settle said.

Taylor eventually entered the 2020 NFL Draft and was picked by the Colts in the second round.

He later led the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in 2021, proving that his decision to pursue football was paying off.

Written by

Debanjali Rakshit