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“JUST CROSS THE GOAL LINE BEFORE YOU CELEBRATE! It’s a simple message, one that every football coach has addressed at some point in their career.” 

Why is that opening paragraph in quotes? BECAUSE I ALREADY WROTE THE SAME WORDS EARLIER ON SUNDAY! 

Unbelievably, two NFL players failed to score touchdowns because they dropped the football before the goal line in Week 15. 

During the early-afternoon window, that player was Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Jordan Battle. 

But he wasn’t the only one! Just a few hours later, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor did the exact same thing. Seriously. Two NFL players in one day. 

Man, how does this happen? TAKE THE BALL ACROSS THE GOAL LINE AND THEN CELEBRATE! It’s so simple! 

But Taylor’s excitement got the best of him, and he dropped the ball early. While Battle’s gaffe wasn’t overly impactful, because the Bengals led by multiple scores at the time, Taylor’s fumble was quite costly. 

Instead of taking a 12-point lead, the Colts only maintained their six-point lead. Plus, the Colts trail the Broncos by two games in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the AFC. 

Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor started his celebration against the Denver Broncos a little too early and fumbled instead of crossing the goal line.

Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor started his celebration against the Denver Broncos a little too early and fumbled instead of crossing the goal line. 

(Isaiah J. Downing/Imagn Images)

Thus, Sunday’s matchup pretty much determines if Indianapolis has any real shot of making the playoffs, or not. 

With all of that in mind, it’s unconscionable that Taylor wouldn’t have the awareness to not drop the football just before scoring a touchdown. 

It’s pretty surprising to see it happen to Taylor, too, since he is incredibly protective of the football. Taylor hadn’t lost a fumble since 2022. 

He entered the game with just under 1,250 career touches in the NFL and had just six fumbles lost. The math works out to 208 touches per fumble lost. 

Absolutely brutal way to break a streak of 23 games without losing a fumble. And Taylor has no one to blame but himself.