Stampede Blue
Sometimes all it takes is a second chance
After two games on the Joe Flacco experiment, the coaching staff (and with the information we have at our disposal we can only assume the decision to bench AR was entirely on the coaching staff in the first place) reversed the decision and went back to the young quarterback. The offense had their best game, with Richardson leading the charge as the running game got stifled probably due to the fact that the offensive line was missing 3 of their starters. AR5 finished with over 300 total yards, and three touchdowns, including two on the ground. Steichen really leaned into the running aspect of Richardson, finally, and while the running game was not there at all during the day, the Jets being forced to stack the box opened up the door for the passing game to finally flourish.
Now there were some struggle instances, on the final two drives of the first half and the first four of the second, the Colts had just 33 total net yards, three first downs, and it seemed like it was all going to come crushing down, but thankfully the Colts managed to find their rythm again, resulting in the final two touchdown drives of the game, commanded by a brilliant Anthony Richardson making some huge throws.
We will see how the offense develops with AR back in the starting lineup for good now, and hopefully having left tackle Bernhard Raimann back in the mix will help the running game find some holes and hopefully for once have a balanced offense to complement the defense.
For the first five drives of the game, the Colts’ defense had the Jets’ offense on clamps, and there were boos being throwed out at Aaron Rodgers and his unit. On the final drive of the first half the Jets drove the length of the field and scored a touchdown, giving them some hope. To kick off the second half the Colts fumbled away the ball in their own red-zone and the Jets scored taking advantage of a short field. Without the starting momentum, the defense started showing some cracks, but much like the offense they delivered when it mattered the most, securing the game clinching sack on the final drive.
The resurgence of this unit under Gus Bradley has been impressive, and this time they were facing an offense that match ups really well against what the Colts’ defense likes to do, but they still held up. With a matchup against the best offense in the NFL coming up in the Lions, this unit will be definitely put up to the test.
Amazing returns, both by Ashton Dulin and Tyler Goodson on kickoffs, and Josh Downs on punts. Clean day kicking the ball through the uprights, and solid punts. There were a couple of flags, but overall it was a great day for the special teams unit...
