It wasn’t Peyton Manning–Tom Brady, but it had plenty of drama. The new-look rivalry between Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots came down to a gutsy Shane Steichen decision and a Colts quarterback with plenty of guts.
Anthony Richardson engineered a 19-play, 80-yard drive, connecting with Alec Pierce on a 3-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass. Then, with the Colts trailing by one and 12 seconds on the clock, Steichen kept his offense on the field and called a run-pass option. Richardson faked a handoff to Jonathan Taylor then blasted into 330-pound Davon Godchaux at the 1 and plowed through a pair of Patriots to give Indianapolis a 25-24 win.
“I know Shane called that play for a certain reason,” said Richardson, who orchestrated his second game-winning drive in three weeks. “I was reading the outside guys on it but once I looked in the middle, I just decided I was going to put it in my hands. And we made it happen.”
Joey Slye’s 68-yard field goal attempt was down the middle but fell short as time expired for New England (3-10). Officially eliminated, the Patriots will miss the playoffs for a third straight season, the franchise’s longest streak since 1987-93.
Indianapolis (6-7) is very much alive in the AFC playoff hunt. The Colts head into their bye knowing that three of their final opponents have below-.500 records
Richardson finished 12 of 24 for 109 yards with two interceptions and touchdowns to Pierce and Taylor, but his legs also inflicted pain on the Patriots. The quarterback, who registered 48 yards on nine carries, had a 13-yard burst to set up his own second-quarter touchdown run. In the end, Steichen thought Sunday’s two-point conversion might’ve been a turning point in Ricardson’s second NFL season.
“It comes down to a lot of those in this league, and that’s huge growth,” said Steichen, whose team improved to 6-5 in one-score games. “That’s huge confidence for him. Huge confidence for our team that he can get those things done.”
Richardson’s counterpart, rookie Drake Maye, proved the future of their rivalry will be much more mobile than Manning and Brady. Maye ran for 59 yards, 41 of which came on a first-quarter scramble on a field-goal drive. Maye also threw a touchdown to Austin Hooper and finished 24 of 30 for 238 yards and an interception.
Both teams now enter their bye week. Indianapolis returns at Denver on Dec. 15. The Patriots are in Arizona on the same day.
For more information on the Colts and Patriots, visit the Indianapolis and New England team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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