Richardson, Colts use physics to truck Jets, 28-27

Jets cornerback D.J. Reed is 5-9 and 188 pounds. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is 6-4, 244. With the game up for grabs at the MetLife Stadium goal line on Sunday, physics won.

So did Richardson and the Colts (5-6), who posted a last-second, 28-27 victory over the Jets (3-8) in the first game since head coach Shane Steichen reinserted his young quarterback into the starting lineup. In addition to trucking Reed for the game-winning touchdown with 46 seconds left, Richardson also plowed through the Jets on a second-quarter run to give Indianapolis an early 10-0 advantage.

“Yeah, when you have a quarterback that can run, obviously that balances out the run game when you have two guys back there,” said Steichen, who won a game with four lead changes. “Obviously, he did a hell of a job doing it. That touchdown at the end on the QB keep around the edge was key, too.”

It was key but it didn’t end the game. That honor belonged to the Colts’ defense, which overwhelmed a demoralized Jets line in the final 46 seconds. Aaron Rodgers got off three snaps and Indianapolis edge-rusher Kwity Paye sacked the future Hall of Famer on two of them, including the final play.

And while that defense also forced New York to settle for a field goal with 2:44 remaining, this day was about Richardson and the first game-winning drive of his career. Benched for two weeks, he rebooted his career and lit a flame under the Colts.

“One-hundred percent,” said Steichen, whose club hosts the Lions (9-1) next week. “I think sometimes you go through stretches like we did and lost three in a row, and you get a big one like we did today and that can spark things. Sometimes it just takes one to get it going. We know we have a huge one coming up against Detroit at our place, so we have to put in the preparation like we did this week, be ready to go for that.”

Preparation for the Jets helped Richardson feel in a rhythm all day. In fact, he said Sunday was the most relaxed he’d ever felt.

“I just focused on my assignment,” said Richardson, who finished 20 of 30 for 272 yards and a touchdown pass with no interceptions. “I wasn’t trying to press or do anything too much. Even when we did go up 13-0, I didn’t get too excited. Even when they came back and we were down, 16-13, or whatever the score was, I was keeping myself in it. Just believing in us and believing that we had a chance to get the victory.”

Rodgers and the Jets stormed back from that 13-0 deficit, outscoring the Colts 24-3 from late in the first half until Richardson found Josh Downs on a 10-yard touchdown pass with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

In a losing cause, Jets running back Breece Hall registered 121 scrimmage yards, scoring consecutive touchdowns before and after halftime to give New York its first lead early.

 While the Colts host Detroit on Sunday, New York gets its bye week having lost seven of its last eight.

For more information on the Colts and Jets, visit the Indianapolis and N.Y. Jets team pages at ProFootballPost.com.