Jonathan Taylor on Sunday angered one of the most testy subclasses in the United States: fantasy football managers.
The Indianapolis Colts running back committed an end zone cardinal sin in his team’s Week 15 matchup against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. The Colts led the Broncos 13-7 to start the third quarter.
With Indianapolis facing 1st-and-10 on Denver’s 41, Taylor broke through for a huge run that led him all the way to the end zone. But Taylor dropped the ball a split second early before crossing the plane to score.
Several fans on X could not help but imagine the impact Taylor’s blunder had on fantasy football. Many imagined the roller coaster of emotions Taylor’s fantasy managers must have felt once the play was later ruled a touchback via a fumble in the end zone.
Imagine getting eliminated in the fantasy playoffs because Jonathan Taylor dropped the ball a second earlypic.twitter.com/JE3MQwXXRz
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) December 15, 2024
Jonathan Taylor managers LOOK AWAY pic.twitter.com/ZU9erxpBfO
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 15, 2024
Jonathan Taylor: Fumbles the ball out of the end zone in the fantasy playoffs
All of us: pic.twitter.com/peIoJZMUa4
— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) December 15, 2024
Jonathan Taylor fantasy managers watching refs overturn what would've been a 41-yard TD 😭 pic.twitter.com/BCtyESfzcl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 15, 2024
The huge blunder also turned the tide on the Broncos-Colts game entirely. Indy would have likely gone up 20-7 had the play stood. Instead, Denver scored the last 24 points en route to a dominant 31-13 win.
Taylor isn’t the first player this season to pull off what fans refer to as “the DeSean Jackson.”
But given that it’s fantasy playoff season, Taylor’s gaffe could have very well eliminated or saved some managers, depending on which side of the matchup they’re on.
