The Colts running back leads the NFL in rushing as Week 10 games approach.

Terrin Waack

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. The Indianapolis Colts are home to the No. 1 rusher in the NFL at the moment.

Running back Jonathan Taylor.

"He is a monster," Atlanta Falcons head coachRaheem Morris said.

Well, the Falcons are tasked with trying to stop that monster Sunday at Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.

Taylor leads the NFL with 895 rushing yards and is averaging 99.4 yards per game on the ground this season. He's one of only two players with more than 800 rushing yards; the other is Buffalo Bills running back James Cook. Taylor is also averaging 5.7 yards per carry, which ties Cook for the best mark. Taylor's 12 rushing touchdowns, though, stand alone as the most. He has scored three touchdowns in three separate games this season.

"He's a guy that is so explosive," Falcons defensive coordinatorJeff Ulbrich said. "He's so fast. He has such elite vision. He has contact balance. They can block it for 5 (yards), and he can make it 25 (yards). So, he's complete in every way.

"Plus, he's a good receiver out of the backfield."

Taylor is averaging 24.2 yards through the air this season. He has tallied at least two receptions in every game, really averaging three per game and 8.1 yards per catch. He has scored seven touchdowns, giving him a league-high 14 touchdowns from scrimmage.

Taylor's 1,113 scrimmage yards ranks third, solely behind Tennessee Titans wide receiver Chimere Dike (1,514) and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (1,222). And for comparison purposes, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson's 1,058 scrimmage yards ranks fifth.

"It feels as though this is the first year I think that (Taylor) is really getting national attention," Ulbrich said. "I think that's probably a byproduct of the team."

The Colts are tied with the New England Patriots for the best record, both standing at 7-2 as Week 10 games approach. The Colts boast the No. 1 scoring offense, putting up 32.2 points per game. They're the only operation averaging more than 30 points.

Indianapolis' offense can do that because its air and ground attack are consistently firing. The Colts are tied for second in passing (257.8 yards per game) and fall eighth in rushing (125.6 yards per game).

"We're very, very confident in the scheme we've got," Falcons defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus said. "The game plan is very simple: Stick to what we know. Get off the ball. Dark room. Nate (Ollie, position coach) says, 'This is actually the biggest dark room game.' We got to go out there and stop the run."

The Falcons' run defense is 23rd, allowing an average of 124.4 rushing yards per game. They gave up a season-high 174 rushing yards in Week 7 to the 49ers, who were powered by McCaffrey's 129 rushing yards. Opponents' totals have only gone down since then, though.

Ulbrich thought his unitimproved against traditional runsin the Falcons' Week 8 loss to the Miami Dolphins, who totaled 141 rushing yards. He thought it improved against non-traditional runs in the Falcons' Week 9 loss to the Patriots, who totaled 110 rushing yards.

"There was a high volume of runs, so whenever there's that many runs against you, the yardage isn't going to necessarily say that you're making these improvements," Ulbrich said. "But I do believe we did. I thought we were firmer and more physical inside."

"victory.

The Colts picked Taylor in the second round of the 2020 draft. He had a career year in 2021, when he totaled a leading 332 carries for 1,811 yards for 18 touchdowns. He has cracked 1,000 rushing in three of his six seasons so far and that's bound to soon turn into four.

"Every time I've gone against him," Ulbrich said, "he's just given me nightmares."

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