Colts’ Win Big With Anthony Richardson Back as Starting QB

The Indianapolis Colts earned a 28-27 victory over the New York Jets Sunday with quarterback Anthony Richardson back under center. Richardson shined in his return from a two-game absence.

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Starting in Week 9, Richardson was benched for a non-injury reason for the first time in his NFL career. Despite losing his starting role, he remained a supportive teammate.

“That meant everything,” wide receiver Josh Downs said via the team transcript. “The fact he’s still locked in with the team and still supporting everyone, talking to us during the week, still practicing hard — it shows his character.”

Against the Jets, Richardson completed 20 of 30 passes for 272 yards, recorded three total touchdowns, and added 27 rushing yards. His second rushing touchdown of the day was the game-winning score to put the Colts up by one with less than a minute remaining.

Richardson’s passing yards were a career-high as he surpassed his previous mark of 223 passing yards. Richardson and company scored on three of their first four possessions.

The second-year quarterback shared what it meant to have a solid performance in his return to the field.

“Just showed that my hard work and my preparation is still there,” Richardson said. “I’m still here for my guys. They did a great job today. Shoutout to the defense for getting the ball back to us. We just want to thank God for this opportunity just for allowing us to come out here on the field today and get a victory. We’re forever grateful and forever thankful for that.

“It was just great having complementary football out there. Defense went out there and did what they had to do for us. The O-line and the receivers just did the rest for us. I’m just glad we got the victory.”

The Jets had an atrocious performance as both offense and defense looked lost. New York didn’t pick up a first down until after the two-minute warning of the first half.

The win for the Colts also handed Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers a lower winning percentage than Zach Wilson and Sam Darnold as the starter.

The Colts will face the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos in their next three games. After snapping a three-game losing streak, Indianapolis has a 5-6 record.

Facing Detroit will be the Colts’ biggest challenge of the season.

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