When the Indianapolis Colts scored a touchdown with 12 seconds to go at the end of regulation against the New England Patriots, head coach Shane Steichen was left with a very tough decision: tie things up at 24-24 with a Matt Gay extra point or go for the win by handing the ball to starting quarterback Anthony Richardson.
A tough call? For a then-5-7 team in second place in the AFC South, you bet, but fortune favors the bold, and with a rushing quarterback with athletic gifts unseen in the NFL since Cam Newton was slingin’ it for the Carolina Panthers, Steichian pulled the trigger on a designed run for the win.
How did it feel for Richardson to go from benched earlier in the season to being handed a quite literally win or lose situation with the game on the line a few weeks later? Well, after the game, the Florida product was asked that very question and broke down the team’s mindset heading into the game.
“It was a two-way option on that. I know Shane called that play for a certain reason,” Richardson told reporters. “I was reading the outside guys on it, but once I looked in the middle, I just decided I was going to take it and put it in my hands and try to make a decision right there and try to make it work. We made it happen.”
Made it work, they did; the Patriots were handed the ball with just 12 seconds to play and kicker Joey Slye missing a 68-yard field goal that would have given the team the lead. If it went wrong, Steichen would have looked silly, but because it worked, on a second effort by Richardson no less, he rightfully deserves his flowers.
Shane Steichen’s philosophy behind running Anthony Richardson
Discussing his decision to lay the entire game on the line with a two-yard run with two points on the line, Steichen explained his philosophy to reporters after the game, noting that he liked the call based on the situation.
“No doubt, it depends upon the situation in the season. Maybe some playoff implications. I’m just talking hypothetically,” Steichen told reporters. “But that situation right there felt good, going for it, a two-point play, down there, you’re right down there with 16 seconds left. We already made down here, let’s go win it.”
It also doesn’t hurt that Steichen believes he had an ideal play lined up for the situation, as he told reporters he had his top two rushers involved in the play and All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson pulling for them on the way to the endzone.
“Put it in 5 [Anthony Richardson]’s hands to go get it. It was a zone read to where it might went to J.T. [Jonathan Taylor] around the edge,” Steicnen told reporters. “But he was reading the guy and, boom, he kept it up in the middle. Had Quenton [Nelson] pulling around there for him so it was good.”
In a game where the Colts had to pull fourth down conversion after fourth down conversion out of their hat to keep their chances alive, having the playbook depth to still pull an interesting call for the two-point conversion is a testament to Steichen as a play-caller, as a lesser coach would have simply played for the tie and hoped for a favorable coin toss.
