EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – With not just the game, but realistically, the Colts' season on the line, Anthony Richardson played some of the best football we've ever seen the 22-year-old quarterback play.
With the Colts first down eight, and then down five, on a pair of fourth quarter drives against the New York Jets, Richardson completed eight of 10 passes for 129 yards with both a passing and rushing touchdown, the latter of which wound up being the game-winner in the Colts' 28-27 win on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
"He showed up today and showed out for his team today," head coach Shane Steichen said.
Here's how those two drives unfolded against a Jets defense that had allowed and NFL-low three fourth quarter touchdowns all season before Richardson generated two on Sunday:
Play No. 1, 13:03 left: Not all incompletions are equal
With the Colts down, 24-16, Richardson dropped back to pass and was quickly pressured by Jets cornerback Isaiah Oliver, who was running free on a blitz. Oliver hit Richardson, but the 6-foot-4, 244 pound quarterback held off the 6-foot, 202 pound slot cornerback, hand-fighting with him until he was able to force his way outside the pocket and throw the ball away.
Instead of a loss of 15 to open the drive, Richardson avoided the sack and kept the Colts at second-and-10.
That throwaway kept the playbook open for Steichen. There are plenty of good calls for second-and-10; there are far fewer answers on second-and-25.
And on that second and 10, Richardson hit the back of his drop and zipped a throw to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who found a soft spot in the Jets' zone over the middle for a 20-yard gain, pushing the ball to midfield.
Richardson on Sunday was pressured on 15 of 32 dropbacks but was sacked just twice by a Jets defense that entered Week 11 second in the NFL in sack rate.
"I think that's something people don't give him credit (for)," wide receiver Alec Pierce said. "People might be like oh, his completion percentage is this or this, a lot of times he's throwing the ball away that other quarterbacks are getting sacked. Those are good incompletions when he breaks out of two tackles and has to launch it out of bounds, that's pretty impressive. It's a zero-yard (play) rather than, like, a minus-15."
Play No. 5, 11:58 left: Richardson's remarkable arm talent shines
Richardson's 60-yard touchdown to Pierce in Week 1 might be one of the best throws we've ever seen, but the 22-year-old's strong arm doesn't only benefit him when he unloads an arcing deep ball. Facing a critical third-and-two on the Jets' 42-yard line, Richardson went under center and rolled to his right after a play fake to running back Jonathan Taylor.
He was immediately put under pressure from Quinnen Williams, the Jets' star defensive tackle, and did not have time to set his feet as he rolled toward the near sideline. The thing was, though, the play-action worked: It sucked in linebacker Jamien Sherwood to the line of scrimmage, allowing tight end Mo Alie-Cox to run free toward the numbers.
With Williams crashing toward him, Richardson uncorked a throw from about the Colts' 41-yard line. The ball traveled nearly 30 yards in the air before landing in the hands of Alie-Cox for a gain of 12, giving the Colts a fresh set of downs on the Jets' 30-yard line.
Richardson ripped a 19-yard completion to Pierce on the next play, getting the Colts to the 11-yard line.
Play No. 7, 10:16 left: On the money
After Taylor was stuffed for a one-yard gain on first and 10, the Colts went to a play they'd been waiting to use for a few weeks. Richardson lined up in the shotgun with Taylor to his right and wide receiver Josh Downs to his right. At the snap, Downs ran an angle route out of the backfield, leaving him one-on-one with Oliver, the slot cornerback.
Downs flashed open, Richardson threw accurately and Downs crossed the goal line as he was tackled for his fourth touchdown on the season.
"It was one on one with the nickel, I just had to get open," Downs said. "He put a good ball on me, squeezed it in there right before the linebacker could close."
The Colts went for a game-tying two-point conversion, with Richardson's throw floating just beyond Alie-Cox for an incompletion. It didn't count to his official stat line, but it was also the last incompletion Richardson threw in the game.
Play No. 9, 2:14 left: "Oh yeah, we got the game"
The Colts' defense bent but didn't break in holding the Jets to a field goal on a seven-and-a-half-minute drive, giving the ball back to Richardson and the offense down by five with 2:41 left. On the sideline, before the offense took the field, Pierce went up to his quarterback with a tip: Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, the Jets' cornerbacks, had been getting "nosy" on Downs' out-breaking option routes all afternoon.
Those option routes to Downs are reliable plays to get completions, but Pierce told Richardson: Get ready to check into a go ball to me if and when we call that play.
On second and six, Richardson checked into that go ball to Pierce. He pump faked, looking toward Downs and catching Gardner trying to jump the route while Pierce ran free behind his old Cincinnati teammate. The play was there, and Richardson didn't get over-excited and spray the throw – he calmly and quickly re-set, lofting a pass to Pierce down the sideline. Pierce caught it and was tackled – "I wish I could've scored but I guess it worked out running some time off the clock," he said – for a 39-yard gain.
While Pierce didn't score, the completion moved the ball to the Jets' 27-yard line at the two-minute warning. And as Pierce reeled in Richardson's pass, the Colts knew.
"When he hit that one," Alie-Cox said, "I was like, oh yeah, we got the game."
Play No. 10, 2:00 left: Impeccable timing
Confidence was high coming out of the two-minute warning, but the Colts still had 27 yards to gain to win the game. On first and 10, Richardson had a play-fake with Taylor out of the shotgun. Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw quickly generated pressure in Richardson's face, while Williams and defensive end Michael Clemons collapsed the pocket. Richardson, though, stood tall and ripped a seam ball in rhythm to Downs, who was working into space behind Oliver as his quarterback released the throw.
"They were in Cover-2 and he put a really good ball on me," Downs said. "It was out before I even looked. But he put a really good ball on me."
Downs turned his head and caught the throw for a gain of 17 to the Jets' 10-yard line, setting up a goal-to-go set of downs to either take the lead or lose the game.
Play No. 13, 46 seconds left: The freight train
Facing a third-and-goal from the six-yard line, the Colts dipped back into one of Richardson's strengths: Running the ball in go-to-go situations. It paid off in the first quarter, when Richardson flattened safety Jalen Mills for a four-yard touchdown, and Steichen needed it to work a gain with two downs left to gain six yards.
Richardson took the snap and dashed to his left, following right tackle Matt Goncalves and wide receiver Ashton Dulin. He cut upfield at the four-yard line and was not going to be denied.
"I just told myself I'm getting into this end zone regardless of what happens," Richardson said.
Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones spared a thought for Reed and Oliver, the Jets cornerbacks who wound up on the ground as Richardson plowed his way across the goal line for the game-winning touchdown.
"Look, you stepping in front of a freight train, for real," Jones said. "I would hate to be on the other side of that."
Zooming out
The Colts saw a certain poise and command from Richardson all afternoon in his first start back since being benched for the last two weeks. But that poise shined bright when the Colts needed two touchdowns to, realistically, keep their playoff hopes afloat.
"Definitely for a guy so young, you never really see him get rattled," Alie-Cox said. "With him back there, even all the other games we lost, we just felt like we have a chance to win with him back there, just with his demeanor and the way he carries himself. He has that will — he doesn't want to lose. And when it does happen, we know we're riding with him, win, lose or draw. So everyone got his back and he knows we have his back. And today he just went out there with the utmost confidence."
The Colts will need to build on these two fourth-quarter drives going forward, of course. But Steichen said sometimes wins like the one the Colts had over the Jets can be a catalyst to go on a run; the Colts will turn their attention to the final six games of 2024 with plenty of confidence their quarterback, like he was against the Jets, can be the reason why this team can win games down the stretch.
"He's my quarterback," Downs said. "We got dudes on this team that got ice in their veins ready to make plays when it comes down to it. But those are the situations you really ask for."
