Anthony Richardson shines in his first start back since his benching and leads the Colts to a big win over the Jets
Week 11 was a must-win for the Indianapolis Colts after losing three straight. While it wasn't easy, they were able to get the job done with a 28 to 27 win over the New York Jets. The story of the day, though, is the strong outing from Anthony Richardson after two weeks on the bench, along […]
Week 11 was a must-win for the Indianapolis Colts after losing three straight. While it wasn't easy, they were able to get the job done with a 28 to 27 win over the New York Jets.
The story of the day, though, is the strong outing from Anthony Richardson after two weeks on the bench, along with multiple other takeaways you can read all about below.
Anthony Richardson puts together his best game as a pro
It's been a wild ride for Anthony Richardson and the Colts over the past few weeks. But he returned to the starting lineup in Week 11 after two weeks on the bench to take on the Jets and came back with a vengeance. He finished the day completing 20 of his 30 pass attempts with one passing touchdown for 272 yards and adding 32 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
In my opinion, it was the most complete game of his young NFL career. He capped it off with a game-winning touchdown drive late in the game, which he made next-level plays with both his arm and his legs. With how loud the fan base got with their anger about Ricahrdson's benching, this type of performance is exactly what the doctor ordered for this franchise. And the fact that he fought through some adversity with the team's injury-filled offensive line, which struggled throughout the day, makes it even more impressive. He showed exactly why he gives the team the best chance to win games at the QB position. Let's see if he can build on this performance for the rest of the year.
Colts' defense struggled after a hot start
The Colts' defense picked up right where they left off with a strong start to Week 11 after multiple great showings over the past few weeks. The Jets' fan base began booing the home team after they weren't able to pick up their first first down until the second quarter. After that, the defense was plagued by multiple mental errors on the field as well as a fair share of conservative play calls that bit them in the butt. Gus Bradley caught a lot of flack early in the year but has adapted well over the past five weeks. I don't think there is reason to panic about the defense back sliding a bit down the stretch quite yet. However, Bradley needs to be consistent in the new identity of this defense. He needs to show the ability to put his players in the best position to make plays and not take the game out of their hands by rushing three against Aaron Rodgers, of all people, for example. The struggles weren't all on Bradley though, multiple missed tackles and miscommunications led to big plays for the Jets' offense in Week 11.
Colts rookie offensive linemen had their fair share of rookie struggles
Today, the Colts had to start three rookies against a very talented Jets defensive line, which didn't go well for Indianapolis. The best rookie lineman on the day was, for sure, Matt Goncalves, who held his own well off the edge. For much of the game, I thought he even outplayed veteran Braden Smith. It wasn't as good of an outing for center Tanor Borotlini and right guard Dalton Tucker. Both looked like they were wearing targets on their back today as the Jets attacked them throughout the day. Of the two, Tucker struggled the most and gave up multiple big plays. I personally wouldn't be shocked if the Colts tried to shake up the starting lineup a bit if starting left tackle Bernhard Raimann is ready to return to the field. I would like to see the team keep Matt Goncalves in the starting lineup by giving him the starting RG job. Multiple team scouts I spoke to throughout the draft process had Goncalves as a guard on their draft boards, and I think it could be an overall better fit for his skill set at the pro level.
A Colts defensive player had a solid excuse for hitting Bills QB Josh Allen but the NFL punished him anyway
The Indianapolis Colts suffered their largest loss of the season to the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 by a score of 30 to 20. And the NFL is making the loss even worse for one player with the news of them fining a key Cotls defender who might have punched Bills QB Josh Allen. Colts […]
Colts and Jets inactive lists both have massive effects on QBs Anthony Richardson and Aaron Rodgers
The Indianapolis Colts have taken their locker room and fan base on quite the roller coaster over the past couple of weeks. After two weeks on the bench, head coach Shane Steichen announced that they were going back to Anthony Richardson as the team's starting quarterback. We know Richardson will be out there for the Colts Week […]
