The Colts picked up a crucial 25-24 win thanks to a clutch game-winning touchdown drive in the dying seconds to stun the Gillette Stadium crowd.
Trailing by seven points with five minutes left on the clock, Anthony Richardson and the Colts offense orchestrated a 19-play drive, which included three different fourth-down conversions, and was finished off with a 3-yard TD pass to Alec Pierce on 4th-and-goal. Head coach Shane Steichen would elect to go for two, and the win.
With the game on the line, the decision for Steichen on the two-point conversion was easy.
“Put it in No. 5 [Richardson]’s hands and let him go make a play,” Steichen said.
Richardson would do just that, pushing his way into the end zone to give the Colts a 25-24 lead with 12 seconds left on the clock.
“When [Steichen] told us we were going for two, I was like, okay we’re going to fight to get these points,” Richardson said after the game.
Richardson’s heroics would be enough to help Indianapolis pick up a much-needed win to keep pace in the AFC Wild Card race.
The 22-year-old didn’t play a perfect game, by his own admission, but he did save his best for last. However, a lackluster defensive showing forced him into that end-of-game scenario, which could’ve — and should’ve — been avoided.
Gus Bradley’s unit allowed the league’s worst offense to score 24 points, their second-most in a game this season, and a season-high with 422 total yards, 200 of which came on the ground.
Steichen said postgame that the run defense has to improve, adding they’ll look back at the tape to determine what went wrong.
“Our defense always battles, but we’ll go back and get some things cleaned up,” he said.
With the offense hitting its stride late in the season, it’s hard to ignore how much the Colts’ defense has restricted them throughout the season, particularly against a bottom tier unit like New England. Bradley likely has just four games left to prove himself, otherwise his time in Indy could be up.
Where the defense did have success was in the red zone. The Patriots made six trips inside the Colts’ 20-yard line, and Indy held them to a field goal attempt four times.
Still, the Colts will be happy with the bravery and confidence Richardson put on display to keep their season alive. It’s his second game-winning drive of the campaign, both coming after his benching. Days like this one will do wonders for his confidence, both down the stretch and into the future.
“It’s huge growth for him,” Steichen said. “It’s huge confidence for our team that he can get those things done.”
That’s the confidence Indianapolis will need going into its bye week, right before the most important game of their season. The road trip to Denver has substantial playoff implications, and could very well end up deciding who clinches the final wild card spots in the AFC.
For now, they hold onto the eighth position in the AFC, a place outside of a playoff berth. Indy still needs some results to go in their favor, but a win over the Broncos gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker, a huge step towards making their first postseason appearance since 2020.
HN’s NFL Power Rankings: Week 12
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