Thoughts on Anthony Richardson's comeback win

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Seven thoughts on the Colts’ 25-24 win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium:

1. Hoping to get back into the playoffs with Anthony Richardson, the Colts learned after a two-week bench drill with Jonathan Taylor healthy and the end of the schedule looking relatively weak on paper.

Most of Sunday in New England featured a team that doesn’t look playoff-caliber – and yet they still found a way. And for the second time in three weeks, the crowning finale was a game-winning jump from Richardson.

It overcame the worst defensive performance since Week 2 and an otherwise spotty day in the passing game. It shows how imperfect this team is, but they’re fun late in games, they’re 6-7 now and they have a chance.

Richardson is better as a runner than a passer on Sunday

2. Richardson again showed smooth running as a runner, converting nine carries into 48 yards, including a nifty play in which he took a high and unusual snap and accelerated to gain a solid lead on the left edge.

But as a passer, it was a decent step down from the last two weeks – 12 of 24, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions. Richardson held the ball too long and didn’t make the best decisions, most notably throwing an interception to Christian Gonzalez as he was running a route for Alec Pierce in the fourth quarter.

3. He lost some of his rhythm in the middle periods of the last two games. On the one hand, this is largely due to his lack of reception options and the lack of chemistry between him and the alternatives. The absence of Josh Downs is always significant for Richardson as it frees up the midfield of reliable targets.

It’s also an example of how this young quarterback will have ups and downs as a passer no matter how far he gets, and out in the cold, that was the final low point.

But he was at his best on the last drive, which shows the confidence he is playing with now and how well he can develop over the course of a game. This is what you expect from a young passerby.

Drops another problem for Colts

4. Can this team be more committed to its young quarterback if he makes good throws?

For the second week in a row, the support was problematic at times, as Mitchell and Kylen Granson dropped beautiful fade balls close to the goal line as the Colts trailed by just a touchdown. Both passes were spot on, but neither player looked like they had experienced many moments like this before.

5. For the third straight week since the Colts brought Richardson back as the starter, quarterback runs were included in the game script.

This week it felt like they relied most heavily on the pairing of Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, especially because they held on in the third quarter despite facing a deficit that was only two points. The Colts came out on the first possession after halftime and ran it on nine of their first 11 plays, culminating in a 3^approx–and-goal shot and an easy field goal.

The pair combined for 34 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown. The problem is that it’s all the Colts really had in this game.

The Colts’ new offensive line is an improvement

5. Part of what got the game going was a new offensive line combination.

The Colts brought back Bernhard Raimann at left tackle and moved Matt Goncalves to right tackle to fill in for Braden Smith, who was out for personal reasons. Goncalves is currently more natural on the left side, but Raimann is easily this team’s best tackle, so the pairing helped make Indianapolis more proficient around the edges in the running and passing games.

Danny Pinter filled in for the injured Tanor Bortolini in the middle and Dalton Tucker came on for Matt Glowinski at right-back. This pairing at least brought some movement to the ground game, which the Colts desperately needed when building their roster.

6. Indianapolis, out of necessity, made an effort to get the tight ends more involved. Downs was unavailable and Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce aren’t the healthiest right now.

But aside from a nice 22-yard catch by Drew Ogletree early in the game, those connections continued to fail. They saw eight targets and turned over just 44 yards. But that was 44 more than last week.

7. Tackling has been a constant problem for this team and today was the worst moment since Week 2 against the Packers.

Part of that was Ashton Dulin not being used as a shooter, which led to two really nice punt returns for the Patriots.

But a lot of it was the linebackers and safeties taking advantage of poor pursuit angles and trying to rush into tackles. It felt like a game where too many players tried to have one hero play instead of competing as a unit. It’s also something that can elude a team in the week leading up to the bye week, as plays in 13 straight games take their toll.

But the defense played in the red zone when it had to, highlighted by Julian Blackmon’s interception. They bend but don’t break, and that’s how you sometimes stay in playoff contention.

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Thoughts on Anthony Richardson’s comeback win

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