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Stephen Holder, ESPN
INDIANAPOLIS — On the Indianapolis Colts’ first play from scrimmage Sunday, coach Shane Steichen scored a quarterback sweep to Anthony Richardson to the left side.
The work, without a doubt, failed. A botched block on New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams allowed the defender to weave through traffic and tackle Richardson for no gain. Williams jumped to his feet after the inning and celebrated with a demonstrative fist pump.
But while the Colts failed to gain any real yardage on the play, they benefited in a much less obvious way.
Richardson, making his first start since returning to the lineup after two weeks on the bench, has said running the ball helps him get into the flow of the game. And given the play on the first offensive snap of the day, it looked like Steichen made that a priority.
In the process, he might have found a viable offensive formula for the Colts as they turn their attention to Sunday’s game against the red-hot Detroit Lions (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
“I just appreciate them for getting me involved in the offense,” Richardson said afterward.
The 6-foot-4, 244-pound Richardson had 10 carries, totaling just 32 yards. But among those runs were two touchdowns, not to mention plenty of other runs that helped keep the defense honest and forced it to dedicate resources to stopping the Colts’ massive dual-threat quarterback. The Jets, at times, dedicated a defender to spy on the 22-year-old QB.
But most of all, the quarterback’s runs allowed Richardson to play his style, which is how he fits the game. Contact is an important component.
“Sometimes it’s good to get out there and move around a little bit and get into the action a little bit,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said.
Catcher Michael Pittman Jr., known for his own physical style of play, put it this way: “When the game first starts, especially being that young, you probably have those butterflies and everything. And then you get the first couple of touches and runs and they go, and then it’s time to play football… It definitely used to be. [that way] when I was younger.”
If there was one criticism of Steichen’s use of Richardson before he was benched, it was the apparent reluctance to lean into Richardson’s physical style. A season-ending shoulder injury last season and a two-week absence earlier this season after an open-field collision likely factored into the coach’s calculus.
But Steichen appeared to remove some of those restrictions on Sunday and it was effective. Nine of Richardson’s 10 runs were designed runs by the quarterback, the most of his career (11 games). While they didn’t produce significant yards, they made the defensive count for Richardson, who reaped benefits in the passing game.
“[If] You talked to a bunch of opposing defensive coordinators…they’ll tell you when the quarterback is a running back or a running threat, that changes the math a little bit,” Cooter said. “If that math is changing, then they’re going to have to make adjustments. based on that math. And like most things in this game, when you make an adjustment in one direction, it should open up something elsewhere.”
Perhaps that’s why Richardson had such an efficient day throwing the ball, completing 20 of 30 attempts for a career-high 272 yards and a touchdown. Richardson’s QBR of 75.4 was his second-highest of the season. And Richardson managed to remain aggressive as a passer while still being efficient; He had three completions of 30 yards or more.
Richardson was particularly sharp in the fourth quarter, when he engineered two touchdown drives, including the first game-winning touchdown drive of his career. Richardson completed 8 of 10 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run in the fourth quarter, as the Colts rallied from an 8-point deficit.
But the defining images of Sunday’s game will be Richardson barreling past defenders and into the end zone not once, but twice. On his first touchdown run, a 2-yard run in the second quarter, he lowered his shoulder and beat a tackle attempt by safety Jalen Mills. Tight end Mo Alie-Cox joked that “it looked like the Holy Spirit hit the guy the way he backed away.”
Later, on Richardson’s game-winning score with 46 seconds left, Richardson had blockers in front of him, but still took a hit on cornerback DJ Reed when Richardson crossed the goal line and the defender attempted to tackle him.
There could also be a possible psychological effect at play here.
“When the quarterback punishes as much as the running back, I mean it’s a tough task,” Pittman said.
Add that to the growing list of reasons why the Colts could continue to use Richardson at running back as their offense (and quarterback) tries to find their way.
