By James Boyd, Zack Rosenblatt and Cale Clinton
After a two-week benching behind Joe Flacco, Anthony Richardson led the way in the Indianapolis Colts’ comeback 28-27 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. The Colts (5-6) snap a three-game losing streak as the Jets (3-8) continue to look for answers in what is quickly beginning to feel like a lost season.
Richardson’s first game back as the starter was a milestone afternoon for the second-year quarterback. He threw for a career-high 272 passing yards and a passing touchdown on his best completion percentage (66.7 percent) in a game where he attempted at least 20 passes. Richardson added 32 yards and two scores on 10 rushing attempts, his first game with multiple rushing touchdowns since Week 2 of the 2023 season. Sunday’s game against the Jets is Richardson’s first game with three combined touchdowns.
The Colts began to run away with the game in the first half, with the defense holding the Jets offense to five straight three-and-outs in the first half. New York finally woke up just outside the two-minute warning of the first half, with Aaron Rodgers leading a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive off big gains from Davante Adams and Breece Hall. The Jets offense looked to find its rhythm, scoring on four of their first five drives of the second half. Hall led the Jets with 78 rushing yards and an additional 43 receiving yards, scoring a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown.
It was the Jets’ defense, however, that ended up ultimately letting the Colts back in the game. Down 24-16, Indianapolis closed the afternoon with back-to-back 70-yard touchdown drives. The Colts’ final drive of the game was highlighted by a 39-yard connection to Alec Pierce that flipped the field for the Colts’ offense and set up Richardson’s eventual game-winning touchdown run. The play helped Richardson secure his second career game-winning drive.
AR5 for the lead! 🫡
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/HYDLe6rDy9
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 17, 2024
Anthony Richardson is back
The 2023 No. 4 pick returned from his two-week benching Sunday against the Jets with a clutch showing. Trailing 27-22 with 2:41 left in the game and all three timeouts in his pocket, Richardson connected with Pierce for a 39-yard TD reception to bring Indianapolis to New York’s 27-yard line just before the two-minute warning. On the very next play, Richardson delivered a pass to Josh Downs for a 17-yard gain.
Richardson capped off the drive with a 4-yard TD run that proved to be the game-winner. The second-year pro finished 20-of-30 passing for 272 yards and one TD, and he notched two rushing TDs in his seventh start of the year. He’s now 4-3 as QB1 this season and 6-5 in his career. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer
Colts D bounces back late
Indianapolis dominated the Jets’ offense early, limiting New York to just 27 yards and zero first downs on its first five drives. When the Jets finally broke through and picked up a first down with just under two minutes left in the first half, the fans at MetLife Stadium responded with sarcastic cheers. But a few moments later, Jets fans were cheering for real after Hall’s 29-yard TD reception that cut Indianapolis’ lead to 13-7 just before the break.
That jolt of life carried over into the second half as Hall scored again following Richardson’s fumble. However, the Colts got the last laugh as defensive end Kwity Paye sacked Rodgers to seal the victory and snap Indianapolis’ three-game losing streak. — Boyd
A full-on collapse by Sauce Gardner, Jets D
The Jets took a five-point lead with 2:41 left. All they needed was their defense — supposed to be one of the NFL’s best — to stop an offense led by a young quarterback who was recently benched. Instead, Sauce Gardner and Jalen Mills left Pierce wide open for the 39-yard gain, which set up Richardson’s touchdown run.
The Jets got the ball back on the next drive, and disaster ensued, as it often does for the Jets. Rodgers fumbled the ball away and the Jets recovered, killing most of the clock — they had no timeouts, either. The Jets then completed a pass to the middle of the field, the Colts were called for delay of game and then Rodgers was sacked to end things. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer
Are Jets bold enough to bench Rodgers?
Rodgers finished the afternoon 22-of-29 for 184 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns. He continues a 33-game streak without a 300-yard passing game, the longest active streak in the NFL. His 6.4 yards per attempt this year is the lowest mark of his career, while his 4.3 percent touchdown rate and 44.4 success rate are second-worst and third-worst marks as a full-time starter. Despite his 33 career game-winning drives, his fumble-dump-off-sack sequence in the final drive killed any chance of giving the Jets a shot at a field goal.
Now the Jets are 3-8, and it’s fair to wonder at what point they will be willing to turn to Tyrod Taylor to replace a 41-year-old quarterback who is both unwilling to throw the ball downfield and incapable of pumping any sort of energy into a lifeless offense. This season has been a disaster on all levels, but the bright side is that at least the Jets can’t lose next week. — Rosenblatt
Required reading
(Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
