INDIANAPOLIS – Michael Pittman Jr.’s support never waned. Not one iota.
Not even when that rollercoaster ride everyone signed up for hit a numbing low after a week 8 loss at Houston and Anthony Richardson was told to hop off and watch for two games.
Pittman and so many of Richardson’s teammates knew it would be a short interruption in a young quarterback’s career arc.
“We all see it in him,’’ Pittman said Monday afternoon. “We all see the flashes of what he is becoming and we know that he is going to get there.
“We just have to help him get there.’’
The re-start to Year 2 of the Richardson era occurred Sunday at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets.
“I think that he is off to a great start with what he did yesterday,’’ Pittman said. “It has to start somewhere, so he’s off to a good start coming back his first week back.
“He put a lot of work in and it showed.’’
The raw evidence: the Indianapolis Colts’ 28-27 win Jets that required Richardson to be at his absolute best. He passed for a career-high 272 yards and one touchdown, and ran for two TDs, including the game-winning 4-yarder with 46 seconds remaining.
“He put himself in the position to come back yesterday and really played well,’’ Pittman said.
The win snapped the Colts’ three-game losing streak and, on a personal level, represented Richardson’s first fourth-quarter comeback in his 11th start.
“I was thinking about that,’’ he said after the game. “It’s pretty cool, especially to do it against the Jets and Aaron Rodgers. I’ve been watching him since I was a kid, so it’s a blessing just to go against a legend.’’
Pittman admitted the past few weeks have been “confusing.’’ The benching of the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft in favor of veteran Joe Flacco. Then, coach Shane Steichen deciding Richardson had addressed what his weekly deficiencies had been and returning him to the starter’s role.
“Even though it was kind of confusing the whole time… we didn’t really talk about it,’’ Pittman said. “It just kind of happened.
“Then bringing him back, that made him more hungry than he already was and he’s more locked in. I felt like he just really responded well to everything.’’
Monday, Steichen mentioned Richardson’s composure and decision-making. Richardson completed 20-of-30 passes – a career-best 66.7% after a league-worst 44.4% in his first six starts this year – and rarely put the football at risk in the pass game.
“I thought he did a really good job just managing everything, being smart with the football in certain situations, taking the completions where they were there,’’ Steichen said.
Steichen and Richardson sat down Monday morning for a video review.
“Some of those crossing routes he threw . . . very calm target line in the pocket,’’ Steichen said. “It wasn’t sped up, just played very comfortable in the pocket all game and obviously he had to make some plays when he had to make some plays.’’
Richardson was at his best when it mattered. With the Colts trailing 24-16 early in the fourth quarter, he directed back-to-back scoring drives. He accounted for 137 of Indy’s 140 yards over the final 13 minutes. Richardson completed 8-of-10 passes for 129 yards and a 10-yard TD to Josh Downs, and ran twice for 8 yards, including the game-winning 4-yard TD.
“One of the hardest things in this business is to go on the road and win football games,’’ Steichen said, “but to win it on a two-minute drive on the road with the noise and everything that’s going on and keeping your composure in those situations and understanding the situation . . .
“For a young player to go do that builds confidence in him, builds confidence in our whole football team moving forward for sure.’’
The next objective: Do it again.
The 9-1 Detroit Lions visit Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday, and Richardson and the Colts en masse must use the Jets experience as a stepping stone. Consistency is the key to whatever the future holds for Richardson.
“Yeah, 100%,’’ Steichen said. “I think consistency is a huge part of anyone’s growth, a team’s growth. When you win games like that, obviously, I think momentum is real and we’ve got to carry it into this week.’’
Pittman: Mindset is to play
Pittman has been dealing with an unspecified back injury since mid-October. It has limited his practice time and actually kept him out of the week 10 loss to Buffalo.
“It’s kind of a predetermined mindset that I have going into the week that we’re going to do this no matter what,’’ Pittman said. “And that’s kind of the motto of the season right now.
“We’re going to do it no matter what.’’
The decision not to play against the Bills apparently was the result of some indecision.
“We just decided too late two weeks ago,’’ Pittman said. “We were back and forth about it. I did want to play. I actually tried to, but we just decided a little bit too late… just couldn’t make that game.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.