Stampede Blue
“Inside 30 seconds, felt good about the call,” Steichen told reporters after stealing Sunday’s must-win affair. “Obviously, you have got to feel good about the call to go for the win. If there was over two minutes left, maybe we take the field goal, but (I) felt good about the call.”
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson delivered his second career game-winning touchdown drive, plus the two-point conversion, in the final seconds to lift the Colts to Sunday’s 25-24 road win over the New England Patriots. The Colts second-year passer had 5:34 left to essentially keep any playoff aspirations alive and put the veritable Superman cape on his back to complete the comeback.
Richardson engineered a 19-play, 80-yard scoring drive, which featured three fourth down conversions. Faced with fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Richardson found receiver Alec Pierce on a crosser in the end zone to bring the Colts within one point and just 12 seconds left to play.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen never took his offense off the field, nor had any doubts about putting the game in the hands of his 22-year-old franchise signal caller. With the season hanging in the balance of the next snap, Steichen orchestrated a read option for his dual-threat bulldozer. Richardson faked the handoff and kept it up the middle to pound his way across the goal line and score his second game-winning score in the last three weeks.
“Inside 30 seconds, felt good about the call,” Steichen told reporters after stealing Sunday’s must-win affair. “Obviously, you have got to feel good about the call to go for the win. If there was over two minutes left, maybe we take the field goal, but (I) felt good about the call.”
Despite entering Week 13 as one the NFL’s worst offensive units, it was the Patriots best offensive performance of the season. New England (3-10) scored on its first four drives as rookie quarterback Drake Maye, New England’s third overall draft pick, delivered dimes against the most predictable zone coverage and wrecked the Colts defense. Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner sacked Maye on third-and-goal to reject the Patriots from reaching the end zone on their opening drive. The Colts were spared twice inside their own 10-yard-line as Maye threw a pick at the goal line and Slye missed a chip-shot field goal at the end of the first half. New England produced eight of the nine longest plays from scrimmage, but its final five drives included two missed field goals at the end of both halves as Slye’s 58-yard FG attempt fell just short of the crossbar as time expired.
It took the Colts just three plays to enter Patriots territory once Richardson kept the read option and burst right for his first designed run of 10 yards. Richardson followed with a play action dime to tight end Drew Ogletree for 23 yards. After three consecutive runs for running back Jonathan Taylor set up the offense with first-and-goal, Richardson ran play action and found...
