Anthony Richardson returned as the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts and played like he was determined to stay there for good.
The No. 4 overall pick from last year’s NFL draft ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 46 seconds remaining, his second rushing touchdown of the game, to give the Colts a 28-27 win over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Sunday. It was Richardson’s first game back after being benched for two weeks.
“I won’t say I was the most prepared or most confident,” Richardson said. “It was the most relaxed I’ve been. There really wasn’t any pressure on me. I was just out there taking it one play at a time. I just focused on my assignment. I wasn’t trying to press or do anything too much.”
The Colts (5-6) needed Richardson’s playmaking when the game was on the line. With the Jets (3-8) leading 27-22 after Anders Carlson’s 35-yard field goal with 2:41 left, Richardson — who had been replaced by Joe Flacco for the last two games — led the Colts down the field.
He connected with Alec Pierce for a 39-yard gain, then found Josh Downs for a 17-yard pass to bring the ball to the 10-yard line. A few plays later, Richardson ran to the right and into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
“You know what he’s capable of,” said running back Jonathan Taylor. “He’s our QB1. You like to see it, but you know he’s built for it. Just to see him go out there and make plays, take over the game, to make plays in the big moments was awesome to see. I’m proud of him.”
Taylor was stopped on the 2-point conversion attempt, leaving the Jets with one last chance. But Rodgers and the Jets had no timeouts left.
On the first play of their final drive, Rodgers was sacked by Kwity Paye and fumbled, but the Jets recovered. After Breece Hall made an 11-yard catch, the Colts were called for a delay-of-game penalty on linebacker E.J. Speed. Rodgers was sacked again by Paye, and that sealed the win for the Colts, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Richardson, who is the second-youngest starting quarterback in the league, had one of his best games so far in the NFL, and it came against the league’s oldest quarterback, 40-year-old Rodgers.
“Great drive at the end by Anthony and the rest of our guys to go down and score,” said coach Shane Steichen. “The way he played, the way he battled today was phenomenal. We’ve got to keep it rolling.”
Richardson finished 20 of 30 for 272 yards and a touchdown to Downs. He also ran for 32 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. This performance came just a few weeks after Richardson made headlines for asking to sit out a play due to fatigue, which led to him being benched for two games. But he saw the time off as an opportunity to improve.
“It allowed me to take a step back,” Richardson said, “and clean up some things I had to clean up.”
Rodgers threw two touchdown passes, and Hall had both a touchdown catch and a rushing touchdown, but the Jets lost their seventh game in their last eight and fell to 1-5 under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich.
“It’s been tough,” said wide receiver Garrett Wilson. “I ain’t going to fake it.”
Rodgers finished 22 of 29 for 184 yards, but he started slow, going 9 of 13 for just 76 yards. The Jets didn’t get their first first down until their sixth offensive possession, when they managed two and scored a touchdown.
“I mean, it’s disappointing,” Rodgers said. “I know I’ve said that three times now, but we’ve been working really hard trying to figure out what the issues are. It’s not just one person. Sometimes it’s me, sometimes it’s somebody else.”
The Jets took their first lead at 14-13 early in the third quarter when Hall ran for an 18-yard touchdown, which was set up by a strip-sack of Richardson by Javon Kinlaw and a fumble recovery at the Colts’ 25-yard line.
Matt Gay kicked a 56-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to give the Colts a 16-14 lead. Carlson, the Jets’ fourth kicker in as many games, made a career-best 58-yard field goal to put New York back on top with 2:54 left in the third quarter.
Kenny Yeboah caught an 11-yard touchdown pass — his first career touchdown — to give the Jets a 24-16 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Richardson, who has struggled with his accuracy at times in his young career, completed five straight passes for 69 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown to Downs to cut the deficit to 24-22. However, his two-point conversion attempt to Mo Alie-Cox was incomplete, and the Colts trailed by two points with 10:11 remaining.
Carlson’s 35-yard field goal with 2:41 left gave the Jets a 27-22 lead, setting up Richardson’s late-game heroics.
