Anthony Richardson didn’t even check the stats after the game on Sunday. All he cared about was getting the win.
After missing nearly three full games due to a right hip injury, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback returned and helped the team secure a victory over the Miami Dolphins, 16-10. He took advantage of Tyler Goodson’s first NFL touchdown and led the Colts to two fourth-quarter field goals.
“We expected to come into this game and get the win; that was our whole mindset,” Richardson said. “It makes me feel good that we got the ‘W’ even though the offense was struggling a little to find consistency.”
It was more than just a struggle. Whether it was rustiness, the Dolphins’ tough defense, or a mix of both, Richardson completed only 10 of 24 passes for 129 yards and rushed 14 times for 56 yards.
The Colts (4-3) managed just 284 total yards and only one touchdown, which was Goodson’s 7-yard run that tied the game at 10 early in the third quarter.
Still, Indianapolis took the lead with Matt Gay’s 22-yard field goal with 8:41 left in the game and extended the lead with another field goal from Gay, this time a 38-yarder, with 1:51 remaining.
They sealed the victory with a fourth down stop at their own 33-yard line. The Colts have now won four out of their last five games and three straight at home, closing the gap on AFC South-leading Houston (5-2).
“Obviously, we want to finish with touchdowns down there,” said Colts coach Shane Steichen. “We’ve got to be better; I’ve got to be better (on play calls), but we found a way to win the game and that’s what matters.”
Miami (2-4) struggled again with mistakes and lost another quarterback, Tyler Huntley, to an injury in the third quarter. Huntley did not return, and Tim Boyle finished the game.
Huntley completed 7 of 13 passes for 87 yards, had one touchdown, and ran five times for 20 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter due to a shoulder injury.
Boyle finished the game 8 of 13 for 74 yards. Devon Achane carried the ball 15 times for 77 yards, and Jonnu Smith caught seven passes for 96 yards, scoring the Dolphins’ only touchdown. Tyreek Hill had just one catch for 8 yards, and Jaylen Waddle caught only one pass for 11 yards.
The Dolphins, the NFL’s lowest-scoring team, know they need to get Hill and Waddle more involved.
“They were phenomenal all game. They’ve looked at their role in an expansive way,” coach Mike McDaniel said after the team lost for the fourth time in five weeks. “When you run the ball 40 times, it does minimize your opportunities.”
Despite this, Miami still had a chance to tie the game with a 54-yard field goal with 5:14 remaining. However, Jason Sanders’ kick hit the upright, keeping the Dolphins down 13-10.
Miami and Indianapolis only scored once in the first 29 minutes, with Huntley throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Smith on third-and-goal midway through the first quarter.
Sanders kicked a 33-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the first half, and Gay matched it with a 52-yarder as time expired in the second quarter, making the score 10-3. Not much changed in the second half.
Indianapolis turned Raheem Mostert’s fumble into Goodson’s touchdown run with 9:08 left in the third quarter, and the score remained the same until Indianapolis capitalized on Alec Ingold’s fumble, leading to Gay’s second field goal with 8:41 left in the game.
“My team has to trust in me to just go out there and make plays and just do what I do,” said Richardson, who had a new haircut for his return. “It’s just about keep doing me, keep doing what I’m doing. Despite struggling a little bit in the first half and a little in the second, they still trusted me to call plays and make some plays.”
