Anthony Richardson Finally Puts It All Together in Win Over Jets: Film

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was dealing on Sunday against the New York Jets.

Nov 17, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Anthony Richardson has had a bumpy sophomore season, to say the least. Amid the early season struggles and the recent benching, Richardson was able to put together his strongest performance as a pro in Sunday's win over the New York Jets.

Richardson was absolutely dealing on Sunday, hitting new career-highs in completion percentage and passing yards against a formidable Jets' secondary. He was quick and decisive with his throws all game long and his accuracy was a major plus in this one (despite being his biggest weakness of his career up to this point).

To top it all off, the advanced stats loved Richardson's performance this week as well. He ranked top ten in key metrics such as EPA/play, completion percentage over expected, and success rate among all starting quarterbacks in week 11. His game against the Jets was exactly what the Colts, and Colts, have been waiting to see from the young signal caller all season.

Setting the Stage Early

Richardson's first pass back following his two-game benching was one of his best of the season up to this point. Facing a third and medium, the Jets muddied the water a bit pre-snap with stacking the box. The Jets eventually bail into a cover one look out of it, but Richardson has the coverage pegged all the way.

Richardson does a fantastic job of holding the safety to the middle of the field with his eyes and then delivers a beautiful 31-yard pass outside the numbers to Josh Downs for a massive conversion. This throw is made even more impressive due to the fact that he wasn't able to step into it with the early pressure in his face up the middle.

Anthony Richardson's first throw in weeks:

Jets muddy the pre-snap picture then bail into single-high post-snap. Richardson looks off the deep safety, hangs in the pocket under pressure, and flicks a 31 yard pass to Josh Downs on the corner route pic.twitter.com/EzM0iMxjpV

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) November 18, 2024

Shredding the Middle of the Field

Richardson was simply shredding the intermediate game all day long against the Jets. The Jets' defensive system is very similar to what the Colts' run, so he has basically been practicing against this type of scheme for the entirety of his career up to this point (and it absolutely looked like it on Sunday).

He finished the day completing 9 of 11 passes between 10-30 air yards on the day and looked really good doing so. The most promising aspect of these throws is the placement and the poise on each one. He is looking off defenders with his eyes over the middle, creating throwing windows, and confidently stepping into passes that he needs to hit.

Richardson looked calm, cool, and collected for the first time in his career this past Sunday, especially when throwing over the middle of the field.

Anthony Richardson is at his best when he can just hit his back foot and rip a fastball over the middle. Some really nice work over the middle in this past game.

Like what I'm seeing with his eyes/shoulder movements too to create some of these windows pic.twitter.com/t6hpKLP0ac

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) November 18, 2024

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The Splash was Still There

Richardson was much better in the procedural aspect of his job on Sunday, but he continued to make those splash plays that make him special as well. Arguably his biggest non-comeback play of the game came with the Colts down one point in the third quarter. He delivered a few big third down conversions on this drive to steal three points away, but this particular throw was truly unique.

With a defender draped all over him, Richardson still somehow managed to get the ball out to Downs on the out route for a pivotal third down conversion. There are few players in the league that can muscle this pass out to the flat with a defender all over them, and Richardson showcased his truly special ability with this one throw.

The Colts would go on to get a field goal on this drive, which proved to be massive in the team's one point victory on Sunday.

One of the more impactful plays for the Colts this past Sunday. The Colts were able to steal three points on this drive due to this superhuman play by Richardson (and Downs) on third down pic.twitter.com/p1eeSy2B91

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) November 18, 2024

Trusting Big Play Alec Pierce

The highlight of the day for Richardson came on a deep hole shot to Alec Pierce with the game on the line late. Pierce made Richardson aware of the Jets' trap coverage to his side prior to the drive, and Richardson trusted his top vertical threat when the game mattered most.

The Jets ran palms coverage on this play in order to jump the potential out route to Downs in the slot. Richardson gets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to commit early with a quick pump fake and then he rips a hole shot to Pierce on a rope 39 yards down the field for a massive gain.

This throw is truly special and is a big reason why the Colts won on Sunday. Stacking highlight reel plays like this with efficiency in the intermediate game is ultimately what led to Richardson's career day as a passer.

I guess one way to beat palms trap coverage on the outside is to rip a pump and go hole shot 39 yards down the field lmao pic.twitter.com/zFlWjVjW09

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) November 18, 2024

The Bottom Line

Richardson delivered the type of performance that the Colts have been waiting for this past Sunday. He was clean and efficient as a passer and he added a dangerous rushing element in the red zone that put the offense over the top. He was legitimately fantastic on Sunday.

The next step for the young player is stacking good performances. Every quarterback can have a breakthrough performance, the key is what comes after it. If he can continue to stack games even close to this to conclude this season, Colts fans can feel optimistic heading into 2025.

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