With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the Indianapolis Colts escaped New England with a win on Sunday, thanks to a really impressive final drive from Anthony Richardson.
Now at 6-7 on the season, the Colts head into their bye week on a high note and still in the AFC playoff hunt.
However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look back at their performance against the Patriots with the good, bad, and ugly of it all.
The Good
The final drive: 80 yards and 19 plays later, Anthony Richardson found Alec Pierce for a touchdown. Richardson then pushed his way into the end zone to convert the two-point attempt, giving the Colts the lead. Richardson did a bit of everything on that drive for Indianapolis: he overcame dropped passes, converted fourth downs, carried the ball when needed, and, most importantly, played his best when the game and season were on the line. It wasn’t a great day for the passing game or the defense, but Richardson wiped all that away by taking control in the final minutes.
Run game: For over a month now, it had been tough sledding in the run game for Jonathan Taylor. However, a change at right guard, along with some nifty play-calling and motions from Shane Steichen from condensed formations–among other things–led to a turnaround on Sunday. Taylor carried the ball 25 times for 96 yards and Richardson was again a factor on the ground as well. While the passing game struggled, the run game gave the Colts’ offense something to lean on.
Red zone: This was the difference in the game. While the Patriots offense moved the ball with ease, visiting the Indianapolis red zone six times, they only left with touchdowns on two occasions, oftentimes due to their own self-inflicted mistakes rather than the Colts making plays. But nonetheless, the defense held New England to just 2-of-6 in the red zone, while the Indianapolis offense was an efficient 3-of-4.
Steichen going for two: I love the play call and aggressiveness. Even if the Colts had failed, I was a fan of the approach. Going to overtime was a huge risk, given how poorly the Colts defense was playing, and in short yardage situations, Indianapolis has the ultimate chess piece in Richardson.
The Bad
Defending the Patriots tight ends: Leading up to the game, I wrote about how the New England tight ends could be an issue for the Colts. For one, Indianapolis has struggled to defend tight ends in the passing game this season. In addition to that, the duo of Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper are featured heavily in the Patriots offense. This just wasn’t a good matchup for the Colts. The two tight ends would finish the game with 11 receptions for 117 yards and a score.
Colts’ passing game: The stat sheet last week didn’t do Richardson’s play justice at all. But this week, it was a more accurate representation of the struggles the passing offense had. Richardson’s decision-making took a step back and the timing and rhythm within the play that he had been playing with often wasn’t present.
Drops: Once again, drops were a major issue for the Colts, particularly when they occurred, taking place on that final possession. As was just described, Richardson wasn’t his best, but he again wasn’t getting a ton of help from those around him in the passing game.
The Ugly
The run defense: Basically the entire defensive performance was rough, but in my opinion, the troubles all started here, in a performance that looked quite similar to what we saw from this unit in Weeks 1 and 2 of this season. New England would rush for 200 yards as a team, averaging a whopping 6.5 yards per attempt with contributions from Drake Maye. Success on the ground for the offense creates a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of that unit, setting up manageable down-and-distances and opening up opportunities in the passing game. With a run game to lean on, the Patriots were extremely efficient on third downs as was Maye as a passer. Through four quarters, the Colts defense really had no answers.
