Week 11 featured two struggling football teams looking for a spark to salvage their season. The Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets had their sights on a win to get back on track. The Colts, coming off a three-game losing streak, ended up getting the win due to the resiliency of their young franchise quarterback. Colts fans have been waiting for a breakout game from Anthony Richardson, and on Sunday, they got it.
The Colts are not out of playoff contention or contention for the division, as they captured their fifth win of the season. This football team has all the pieces to be great, but their quarterback woes have held them back. Shane Steichen announced that Richardson would be their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. (This was announced after having benched Richardson for the last two weeks). Hopefully, the team will have some continuity going forward this year, and the spark that this offense needed came at the perfect time. Anthony Richardson still has a lot to learn, but this breakout game could be the spark this team needs to get back to winning football.
How Anthony Richardson’s Breakout Game Could Impact the Colts Moving Forward
New Life in the Offense
Without question, the Colts offense had some new life on Sunday. Over the past two weeks with Joe Flacco, the Colts offense struggled with efficiency. They went 7-22 on third-down conversions and had six total turnovers. On Sunday, they went 6-15 on third down, only suffered one turnover, and all-around out-performed the Jets in every major way. They controlled the clock, had more first downs, and were 3-4 in the red zone.
All of this could not have been accomplished without Anthony Richardson. The offense that Steichen called during this game gives the Colts the best chance to win moving forward. This style utilizes a lot of play-action and read-options. Both of these are schemes that Richardson excels at as they allow him to use his legs and his arm for big plays.
Proof that Growth is Happening
One of the big criticisms of Anthony Richardson this season is that he did not seem to be improving. In his rookie season, he struggled but also displayed potential. Early on in year two, it seemed as though Richardson took a step back. He was worst in the league in completion percentage as well as amongst the league leaders in turnovers.
Sunday was a completely different story. For the first time this season, Richardson completed over 60% of his passes on 10 or more attempts. He also threw for 272 yards, which is a season-high, and had two rushing touchdowns, which is a season-high in a single game. His only blemish on Sunday was the one fumble that came on careless ball-handling. The Richardson that fans saw on Sunday is the Richardson that the Colts were hoping for when they drafted him number four overall. Sunday was a breakout game of the season and hopefully a sign of more things to come.
Hope for the Future
The Colts have been going through a quarterback carousel the past few seasons, and the hope is that Anthony Richardson will stop the ride. Early on this season, things were very frustrating for not just fans, but for the organization, and for Richardson, himself. He was, after all, benched for two games, which was a shocking but necessary move. Now that this team has been given back to him, it is time for Richardson to make the most of it and be the franchise quarterback.
The Colts do not need Richardson to have another breakout win against the Detroit Lions this week. They just need him to continue to show that he is improving and molding into a solid starter. The Colts are not a perfect team by any stretch, but they do have the pieces needed to vie for a playoff spot. In order for that to happen, though, Anthony Richardson has to rise up and build off of Sunday’s stellar performance.
Main Image: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports
