After rewatching the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the Jets, here are some key notes and observations from their performance.
Led by Anthony Richardson in his return to the starting lineup, the Indianapolis Colts snapped their three-game losing skid with a win in Week 11 over the Jets.
I’ve now had the chance to go back and rewatch the Colts’ performance and made note of my key observations as I watched the second time through.
– Terrific command and just control of the offense overall in this game from Anthony Richardson, but that fourth-quarter performance was particularly special. Trailing by eight and then by five, Richardson orchestrated two touchdown drives, completing 8-of-10 passes for 129 yards and two total touchdowns.
– I’ve discussed this already, but the gameplan we saw from Shane Steichen in this one was what I imagined we would see from the Colts all season with Richardson. It was a run-first approach with Jonathan Taylor heavily involved, as was Richardson, who had 10 carries of his own. Meanwhile, in the passing game, Steichen got Richardson on the move and in an early rhythm, dialing up a good mixture of downfield throws, along with underneath and crossing routes, which Richardson took advantage of.
– Jaylon Jones seemed to be everywhere. He had multiple pass breakups, was in on several tackles, including a few around the line of scrimmage, and even when he surrendered a completion, he was close by to limit the YAC.
– That was a rough sequence before half and coming out of it. With the defense dominating the first half, a Jets’ touchdown put them right back in it. Then to make matters worse, the Colts’ fumbled on their opening possession of the second half and the Jets scored two plays later. Just like that, New York had the lead.
– On the next Colts’ possession following that Jets’ touchdown, Richardson and Josh Downs connected on a huge 3rd-and-13 that ended up sparking a field goal drive instead of a quick punt and further compounding the miscues. Richardson and Downs also connected on a 3rd-and-9 on that drive as well, which included somehow completing the pass with a defensive lineman draped all over him.
– I wrote about this before the game in my key matchups, but Tanor Bortolini and Dalton Tucker faced a very difficult matchup against Javon Kinlaw, Quinnen Williams and the Jets interior defensive line, and it showed at times. Of the 11 pressures given up by the Colts, PFF credited Bortolini and Williams with eight of them.
– I’m going to keep saying this, but AD Mitchell needs more than 12 snaps. No one is expecting him to out-snap Michael Pittman, Josh Downs or Alec Pierce, and with the Colts heavy usage of just two or three receiver sets, finding those snaps can be challenging at times, but that’s up to Steichen to do. Mitchell brings added juice to the offense, and by bringing him along slowly, it’s only lengthening his learning curve. Ashton Dulin again out-snapped him.
– Something to watch moving forward is Taylor’s workload. He was out there for 63 of the 70 offensive snaps while Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson combined for just seven snaps. It’s a good thing that your best players are on the field, but at running back, I do wonder how sustainable that amount of snaps is if this is going to be a weekly occurrence. The Colts chose not to address their running back depth in the offseason.
– A really nice day for Downs and Dulin as returners. Downs averaged 12.3 yards per attempt on three punt attempts and Dulin had a 43-yard kick return. Also, while we are on the topic of special teams, shoutout to Matt Gay, who was 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 56 yarder.
– To a degree, Breece Hall is going to find success no matter what, but where he took advantage of the Colts’ defense in the second half was on rushes outside the tackle box. Once he got in space with a few blockers, there were a few chunk runs that ensued. Hall averaged almost 5.0 yards per rush on 16 carries.
– There was a stretch in the second half where the offense went quiet, and a lot of that started with struggles on first down. The Colts remained committed to the run game–which was a good thing–but it was tough sledding. As a team, Indianapolis averaged only 2.6 yards per rush. That, plus penalties, put the offense behind the sticks and in some obvious–and disadvantageous–passing situations.
Former Indianapolis Colts tight end Ben Utecht describes his experience playing with Peyton Manning w/ @EdEastonJr
This week, Touchdown Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to former Indianapolis Colts tight end Ben Utecht.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Utecht discussed his collaboration with his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, on developing the Shower Sockᵀᴹ and his experience playing with pro football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
“We assembled a team of student engineers (University of Minnesota) to start the prototyping process,” Utecht said of the development of the Shower Sockᵀᴹ. “We also built out some teaching opportunities, where I had a chance to come in and provide some teaching and coaching around organizational culture. This is my passion outside this business, as I work with companies and help them build championship cultures using the Tony Dungy model.
“They wanted to bring that into their ecosystem. So, I had a chance to pour into the students and faculty as well. In return, they partnered with me to help me build this prototype to launch in the marketplace. So I hope that partnership will remain as we begin a hard launch and build a larger product line over time.”
Utecht played four seasons for the Colts after going undrafted in 2004 out of Minnesota. He credits the culture during his tenure with the franchise, especially with Manning as quarterback, pushing him to be a better player.
“Peyton Manning’s skill level actually removed or balanced the pressure,” Utecht explained. “When you have somebody like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees, you have an example of a true professional who stewards every moment. The day is different than the rest, elevating every player’s performance on the field, naturally and subconsciously. It just everybody’s confidence goes up. Everybody’s attention to detail goes up. Everybody’s energy, you know, and what they’re giving on every play increases, and you don’t even really realize it’s happening.”
Utecht started in the Colts Super Bowl XLI victory over the Chicago Bears. He finished with one catch for eight yards.
“So when you have a quarterback, that is a master of the football chess game. You trust that he will put you in the best position to win every time,” said Utecht. “So when the ball is coming to you, it’s because of what he’s seen, and you’re the person that’s open. If he places the ball on your back hip, it’s because he’s telling you that the corner is coming from the outside, so you need to adjust and come back inside, or else you’ll get hit. I mean, that’s how specific Peyton was on his ability to put the ball in the right place to give you the best chance to win. And that actually removes pressure because, because of the ability, the amount of trust you have in that player has increased dramatically.”
Following the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the Jets, here are five standout performers from this game.
The Indianapolis Colts snapped their three-game losing streak with a Week 11 win over the New York Jets, led by Anthony Richardson in his return to the starting lineup.
In the short term, the win helps keep the Colts’ playoff hopes alive in the AFC. But bigger picture, Richardson’s impressive performance, which included two late touchdown drives, gives long-term hope, showcasing the high-impact player he can be.
However, Richardson wasn’t the only standout performer from Sunday’s win. Let’s take a look at few others who played key roles as well.
QB Anthony Richardson
As we just mentioned, and as you all saw, Richardson orchestrated two late touchdown drives to help the Colts secure the win. Overall, he was much more efficient passing on the short to intermediate routes, was in command, and often throwing within the rhythm of the play. Richardson completed 20-of-30 passes for 272 yards and added 32 more rushing yards on the ground to go with three total touchdowns.
DE Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu
It was a disruptive day for this Colts’ defensive end duo. Latu and Paye would total eight pressures and three sacks, according to PFF, while in the run game, they combined for four tackles for loss.
CB Jaylon Jones
It felt like Jones was all over the field in this one. He totaled five tackles, a few of which came around the line of scrimmage, while in coverage, PFF credited Jones with allowing only four completions on eight targets and holding the pass catchers to just 36 total yards. He also had two pass breakups.
WR Josh Downs
Another week, another game where Downs led the Colts in receiving. He caught all five of his targets in this game, totaling 84 yards, which included a downfield 31 yard completion and one touchdown. Downs currently ranks eighth among all receivers in Week 11 in PFF’s yards per route run metric, which measures a receivers efficiency.
K Matt Gay
Lastly, in a game that the Colts won by only a point, every kick from Matt Gay was critical. He finished the game making all three field goal attempts, including a deep one from 56 yards, which has given him fits over the last year, and Gay also made his one extra point attempt as well.
Let’s take a look back at the Indianapolis Colts’ performance against the New York Jets with the good, bad, and ugly from it all.
Led by Anthony Richardson, the Indianapolis Colts snapped their three-game losing streak with a road win over the New York Jets in Week 11.
Now, at 5-6 on the season, the Colts still find their playoff hopes very much alive heading into next week.
However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look back at the Colts’ performance on Sunday with the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all.
The Good
Anthony Richardson: What a performance from Richardson. He was as efficient as he’s been on the short to intermediate routes and still was able to generate some explosive downfield plays as well. He was often playing within the rhythm of the play and, overall, was decisive in his decision-making. Richardson finished the game 20-of-30 passing for 272 yards, along with 32 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
Shane Steichen: This Colts’ offense that we saw on Sunday was the one that many expected to see this season. It was a run-centric approach, with Jonathan Taylor carrying the ball 24 times and Steichen also got Richardson involved as well, with him having 10 carries of his own. The passing game was obviously still a key part of the equation with Richardson throwing 30 times, but there was balance, and Steichen helped Richardson get into rhythm early with some easy completions along with getting him on the move.
Red zone offense: The Colts offense was efficient in the red zone, taking advantage of those opportunities. Along with making their way to the red area four times, they found the end zone on three of those visits. For some context, a success rate of 75 percent over the course of the season would be the second-highest mark in the NFL in 2024.
Matt Gay: In a game decided by just one point, Gay’s performance was pivotal. He would make all three of his field goal attempts, including one from 56 yards, and he made his one extra point attempt as well.
Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu: It was a productive day for the Colts two defensive ends. Combined, the duo totaled eight pressures on Aaron Rodgers and three sacks, while in the run game, Paye and Latu had four total tackles for loss.
The Bad
Run defense: It was a very strong start for the Colts’ defense but as the game went on, they began to leak some oil. And a lot of that success the Jets had started with Breece Hall in the run game. Hall would finish the game rushing for 78 yards on only 16 carries, picking up the bulk of his yards on the edges. His success in the second half then had a trickle-down effect to the passing game, with Hall helping to keep the Jets’ offense ahead of the sticks.
The interior pass protection:As I highlighted before the game, rookies Tanor Bortolini and Dalton Tucker faced a very difficult matchup against Jets’ defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Of the 11 pressures that the Colts surrendered, eight were from these two. Overall, Richardson was pressured on 43.8 percent of his dropbacks, which currently ranks among the highest rates in Week 11, according to PFF.
The Ugly
The middle eight: After the Colts controlled the game for just about the entire first half, things changed very quickly in those final minutes of the second quarter and then in those first few minutes of the third quarter. On that final first half possession, the Jets picked up their first first-down of the game and then quickly turned that into a touchdown. The Colts would begin with the ball in the third quarter, but fumbled and the Jets would recover. Two plays later, they scored a touchdown, and just like that, held a 14-13 lead–changing the dynamic of the game.
Here are the Indianapolis Colts’ snap count figures from their Week 11 win against the Jets along with some key takeaways.
Following the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the New York Jets, we have Sunday’s snap count figures. So what stood out.
At this stage of the season, now over the halfway mark, there isn’t going to be a lot that stands out from a playing time stand point, given that we have a good idea of where things stand playing time-wise and rotation-wise for most of the position groups.
But even so, each week, there are still a few noteworthy takeaways to make from these figures.
With help from Pro Football Focus, here are the Colts’ snap count figures from Week 11, along with a few quick thoughts:
Colts snap count figures on offense
Quenton Nelson
G
70
Braden Smith
T
70
Dalton Tucker
G
70
Matt Goncalves
T
70
Anthony Richardson
QB
70
Tanor Bortolini
C
70
Jonathan Taylor
HB
63
Michael Pittman Jr.
WR
61
Alec Pierce
WR
56
Josh Downs
WR
48
Kylen Granson
TE
32
Mo Alie-Cox
TE
28
Andrew Ogletree
TE
25
Ashton Dulin
WR
16
Adonai Mitchell
WR
12
Trey Sermon
HB
5
Tyler Goodson
HB
2
DeForest Buckner
DI
1
Grover Stewart
DI
1
Quick takeaways
– The Colts chose not to bolster their running back depth during the offseason. Last week, we saw the impact of that as the Colts wanted to utilize their backs in the passing game, but it wasn’t all that effective. This week we are seeing the ramifications of that decision in Jonathan Taylor’s workload, with him playing 63 snaps, while Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson combined for seven. Even over the course of the rest of the season, that’s a lot of snaps on Taylor’s plate if this is maintained.
– Yes, you read that correctly–Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner each had an offensive snap. At the Jets’ one-yard line, Buckner and Stewart lined up in the backfield on a play where the ball was handed off to Taylor. Unfortunately, Taylor didn’t find the end zone, but Anthony Richardson ran it in on the next play.
– I wrote about this prior to the game, but Mitchell needs more than 12 snaps. I get it, Ashton Dulin provides more stability, but as we saw on Mitchell’s catch and run, he provides added juice to the offense. Like any young player, Mitchell needs reps to improve, and right now, the Colts are elongating that learning curve.
Colts snap count figures on defense
Julian Blackmon
S
52
Zaire Franklin
LB
52
Nick Cross
S
52
Jaylon Jones
CB
52
Kenny Moore II
CB
50
E.J. Speed
LB
50
DeForest Buckner
DI
42
Dayo Odeyingbo
ED
41
Samuel Womack III
CB
41
Kwity Paye
ED
37
Laiatu Latu
ED
36
Grover Stewart
DI
25
Raekwon Davis
DI
11
Grant Stuard
LB
11
Taven Bryan
DI
10
Isaiah Land
ED
5
Rodney Thomas II
S
3
Chris Lammons
CB
2
Quick takeaways
– The Colts played a heavy dose of nickel in this game. We know this because Grant Stuard–the defense’s third linebacker–played only 11 snaps while Samuel Womack played 41.
– The defense has been much better at generating pressure since DeForest Buckner returned from IR. Gus Bradley has also had Buckner out there for a large number of the defensive snaps. He played 81 percent of the snaps on Sunday, which is a higher amount for a more heavily rotated position.
– Laiatu Latu saw a larger workload as well. Typically, he has been the third defensive end in terms of snap counts–and he still was against the Jets–but that difference was negligible.
Plus, Aaron Rodgers gets outplayed by the NFL’s worst QB, the 49ers window tightens and Bo Nix broke the Falcons.
The Buffalo Bills did what the Buffalo Bills do. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season.
2024 marks the fourth straight year in which the Bills have beaten the Chiefs before the playoffs. As encouraging as these wins have been, none have led to a Super Bowl breakthrough; two of them simply served as window dressing for a Kansas City win in the postseason. Will this January serve more of the same? Or was it the precursor to Buffalo’s inevitable glory?
Chiefs-Bills wasn’t the only gave with major playoff implications played Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens ceded control of the AFC North to the Pittsburgh Steelers, for now. The San Francisco 49ers continued what’s become a troubling slump. And the New York Jets continued to spelunk in a reverse-Sisyphus quest to find rock bottom.
What stood out most from a busy slate? Let’s talk about it.
[Please bear with me for any Twitter embed issues. Our editing software has become a whole problem on that front the past couple weeks. Rest assured, if there’s a play alluded to in the text it’s worth clicking through to see if it didn’t make it into the article itself.]
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
1. The New York Jets, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, are cooked
Let’s start with the good news. The Jets scored more than 24 points for the first time this season. They scored more points against the Indianapolis Colts than they had the last two weeks combined. Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes without an interception and led his team back from a 13-0 deficit.
This did not matter. The Jets still lost to the Colts at home, despite their opponent starting the player who’d been the NFL’s least efficient quarterback by a long shot. Rodgers’s offense remained stuck in neutral far too long:
Games with no first down on first four opening drives:
New York Jets: 3 Rest of NFL: 3
Games with no first down on first FIVE opening drives:
A defense that’s been mostly aimless since firing head coach Robert Saleh after Week 5 continued to flounder. Anthony Richardson came into Week 11 having completed just 44.4 percent of his passes. He’d been benched in favor of a nearly 40-year-old Joe Flacco. He’d never before played an NFL game in which he threw at least five passes, completed more than half of them and had a passer rating better than 99.0.
Richardson was a menace through the air and on the ground, where he scored the majority of Indianapolis’s touchdowns. Sunday marked the first time in his career where he’d thrown at least 30 passes and completed two-thirds of them. It was the second time in his career where he’d thrown for at least one touchdown without an interception. This could have been a statement game for interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich’s defense; instead it was further evidence Saleh was the haggard thread keeping everything from unraveling.
The Jets have given up at least 23 points in five of the six games they’ve played without Saleh on the sideline. The 26.2 points per game they’ve allowed in that stretch would rank 26th in the league this winter, right next to the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars. In terms of expected points added (EPA) allowed per snap, no one in the NFL has been worse than Ulbrich’s guys.
via rbsdm.com and the author.
This was not what Rodgers signed up for. His legacy was supposed to be secured by a defense that had finished in the top five in yards allowed the last two seasons. Instead, that group has crumbled despite the presence of stars like Quincy Williams, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. They were the balm that could soothe his aches on the rough days certain to chase down a soon-to-be 41-year-old man coming off major injury.
Instead, it’s placed the onus of victory right on Rodgers’s shoulders, creating the kind of environment that helped fuel his dissatisfaction in Green Bay. Rodgers played a perfectly fine game. Statistically, his 114.1 passer rating makes this one of the three best performances of his 2024.
On the field, however, it was a much more generic game than we’ve grown accustomed to from a special player:
via nextgenstats.nfl.com
Rodgers had a single completion that went more than 11 yards downfield. He ran the ball just once for seven yards. He robbed us all of the opportunity to watch one of his glorious Hail Marys by taking a sack at the worst possible time.
This is, effectively, who Aaron Rodgers is now. He’s only had two games with more than two passing touchdowns since 2022. His yards per scramble have dropped from 7.8 in his last pre-injury season (2022) to 4.8 this fall. His 3.2 deep balls per game are his lowest since an injury-marred 2017.
Father Time has come for Rodgers’s game. While he’s been able to mitigate that with his vision and a still lively arm, there’s no denying he’s not the consistent terrifying presence he once was. He’s nearing the game manager stage of his career, albeit with more zip on his passes than Ben Roethlisberger or Drew Brees before him.
Roethlisberger and Brees still made it to the playoffs because they had stout defenses and playmakers around them. Rodgers has Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams, each of whom can create short-term magic on their own. What they cannot do, apparently, is overcome the curse of what’s somehow become the NFL’s worst defense in recent weeks.
That leaves Rodgers in search of a six-game winning streak just to snap New York’s eight-year span of losing seasons. The Jets are a mess right now in a way that extends beyond the issues of a veteran quarterback for whom they paid dearly.
New York piled up expectations this offseason just to smash them back into dust. All their efforts to rebuild on the fly this fall have failed mightily. But hey, at least they got a head start on their 2025 coaching search.
Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
2. Firing Shane Waldron didn’t fix the Bears, but it reminded us how great Caleb Williams could be
The Chicago Bears didn’t defend their home turf Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. This was not Caleb Williams’s fault.
Williams, playing under interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown after former play-caller Shane Waldron’s firing, thrived in an offense that prioritized getting the ball out early and turning upfield at the first sign of pressure. The offensive line that had gotten him run over in a 19-3 Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots held up well enough to limit Williams to only one sack in the game’s first 57 minutes.
After one half, Williams had 145 yards of total offense. Chicago as a team had gained just 142 total yards through the entirety of Week 10’s 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots. 60 of those yards came on the ground — a career high after just 30 minutes of play. When his pockets shrank, he made a concerted effort to drive forward rather than dance where a loss was almost guaranteed.
Sometimes that led to big gains on the ground. Others, clean strikes to open targets downfield.
this one didn't count because DJ Moore's motion moved toward the line, but nice to see Caleb Williams step up and deliver an on-target strike here, even if it looks ugly pic.twitter.com/WchdSSnMdr
His impressive play wasn’t limited to quick hits and drive-extending scrambles. He showcased the vision and touch that made him a Heisman Trophy winner in situations where his legs limited the Packers’ willingness to blitz. When given a clean pocket, Williams looked great.
One week after being sacked 10 times by a bottom-five pass rush, Williams was sacked thrice against a Green Bay team whose 6.7 percent sack rate is right in the middle of the pack among NFL defenses this year. The lone sack before Chicago’s scuttled game-winning drive was the result of a very Bears miscommunication where they seemed to forget Brenton Cox Jr. existed.
The Packers blitzed on obvious passing downs and failed to crack a quarterback who looked broken just seven days earlier. Williams completed 10 of 12 passes on third or fourth down for 112 yards. He ran four times for 40 more yards to pick up four more vital first downs. He did stuff like this:
to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, there are special traits to his game that give him a higher upside than Fields or Trubisky before him.
Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
3. Justin Tucker is aging all at once
Some NFL kickers age gracefully. Morten Andersen and Adam Vinatieri were both reliable contributors well into their 40s. Others age all at once. Mike Vanderjagt was the most accurate kicker in league history in 2005. By 2007, he was unemployed.
Tucker is trending toward the second category. The soon-to-be 35-year-old had never missed a kick in the often swirling winds of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium. In Week 11, he started his day 0-for-2, prompting earnest concern from the CBS broadcast booth.
This isn’t a one-off; a bad game that can be brushed aside. 2024 has been the backdrop of a great kicker regressing to merely good. Tucker hasn’t missed more than two kicks from 40 to 49 yards away in a season since he was a rookie in 2012. His first miss Sunday from 47 yards means he’s already at two with six games left in the season.
Tucker built his reputation as one of the league’s deadliest kickers from long range — someone who handled long bombs like extra points. Between 2012 and 2021 he converted 73 percent of his kicks from 50-plus yards. Cracks began to show in 2022 when he made nine such field goals but on 14 attempts (64 percent). In the season-plus since, he’s connected on only four of 12 kicks from long range (33 percent).
Justin Tucker field goal percentage over expected per @NextGenStats:
The thing is, Tucker’s been so great it’s mind-boggling when he isn’t. His struggles are real, but they don’t obscure the fact he hasn’t missed a field goal from under 40 yards out since 2020. He’s been a model of consistency on the kicks you’d expect an NFL kicker to make, but getting left behind in an era where makes from 55-plus yards are commonplace.
That’s a bummer for Tucker, arguably the first kicker to earn the universal benefit of the doubt whenever he lined up from his opponent’s 50-yard line or deeper. But sometimes the wheels come off. That doesn’t mean Tucker’s 2024 will define what happens next — just that it might be time to rethink his approach now that he’s staring down his mid-30s.
Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union
4. Farewell, Doug Pederson
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport broke the news Friday that Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson needed a win in Week 11 to avoid a mid-season firing. That was a big ask; not only was he on the road against the NFC’s best team, he’d also been reduced to starting Mac Jones at quarterback thanks to an injury to Trevor Lawrence.
As grim as that seemed, things somehow got worse from there. The Lions scored touchdowns on each of their first seven drives. Pederson’s fate was seemingly sealed in a 52-6 loss.
The Jaguars tried, but not really. This was a team hung out to dry. They were challenged by their ownership to rise up and save their head coach’s job if they truly wanted Pederson in the fold. They responded by taking a beating the likes of which hasn’t been seen in the NFL in more than four decades.
The Lions out-gained the Jaguars by 475 yards today. That's the biggest yardage differential in an NFL game since 1979.
This was a silent vote of no confidence with a deafening effect. It wasn’t the mere outcome of a talent disparity or Jones’s presence behind center. This is a team that leaned into the skid knowing the only way out of the ice cave of defeat in which it’s been trapped is to go deeper into the crevasse and start over.
Thus, the Doug Pederson era likely ends not with a bang but with the volumeless screech of a black hole set down upon a bustling town. Pederson, should he be fired Monday, finishes his Jaguars career on a 3-14 slide owed partially to injuries to Trevor Lawrence, partially to the drafting and talent acquisition around him and partially to Pederson’s own inability to create something more valuable than the sum of its parts.
USA Today Sports
5. David Montgomery properly respected a legend
Montgomery scored a touchdown to open the Detroit Lions’ scoring Sunday. This itself is not newsworthy. The last time the Lions failed to find the end zone on the ground was back in 2022 (24 games ago). The veteran back is thriving once again alongside Jahmyr Gibbs and running behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.
Week 11’s touchdown celebration, however, deserves further scrutiny.
While other dance trends have been a staple in the league — most notably Justin Jefferson’s griddy — Montgomery threw it back to a true legend of the game. He channeled fellow stars like Brandon Graham, Steve Smith and, uh, Jared Odrick by putting on his big shoes, humming the riff to The Champs’ hit Tequila and paying homage to the one and only Pee-Wee Herman.
Hell yeah.
Montgomery’s Pee-Wee dance was one of seven Lions touchdown celebrations Sunday afternoon. Was it better than Jameson Williams copying Marshawn Lynch (and almost certainly drawing a league fine for grabbing his nethers)? You be the judge.
6. Sam Darnold is dancing on a razor’s edge at the circle of trust
The Minnesota Vikings had a wonderful offseason. Week 11 was proof.
Pass rushing veterans Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard bullied Will Levis into two sacks, three quarterback hits and four tackles for loss. In-season acquisition Cam Akers had a receiving touchdown. Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore continued to provide valuable coverage along the boundary.
None of these additions, however, has had the lasting impact of the journeyman quarterback whose $10 million contract has quickly flipped from a minor overpay to a significant bargain.
Sam Darnold continued his streak of big games for the Vikings, tossing a pair of touchdown passes and running for a third to keep Minnesota in the hunt for the NFC’s top seed. He continued to showcase why he isn’t quite trustable at the same time.
Darnold is a chaos engine thanks to his penchant for big throws downfield. He also sows doubt about his abilities thanks to occasional brain farts that lob balls into double coverage or whip toss sweeps hard and behind his tailback for a drive-killing turnover.
Darnold has exactly one game this season in which he hasn’t fumbled or been intercepted. He holds onto the ball longer in the pocket than any starter but Jalen Hurts or Lamar Jackson. That’s led to a bottom five sack rate despite a merely below average pressure rate. Darnold has been given the freedom to be the quarterback he believes himself to be. Sometimes, that’s wonderful!
Often times, the border between those two nations is razor thin. Anyone who saw him fall off despite flashes of… well, not greatness, but pretty-goodness as a Jet or Carolina Panther knows he’s always a few missed coverages away from spelunking into the caverns of his own mind and overthinking his way back to the bench. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has been quick to cut off those notions, however.
That’s part of Darnold’s long leash — understanding his past makes him vulnerable to spiraling if asked to adjust his game too harshly.
This is the trust that’s turned Darnold into the league’s most accurate deep ball thrower through 11 weeks. O’Connell can deal with that because he’s got Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (and, eventually, a fully healthy T.J. Hockenson) to bail him out of tough situations. That doesn’t mean Darnold could be the answer for another quarterback-needy team, but he’s been one hell of a pickup for O’Connell and the 8-2 Vikings.
Minnesota’s going to keep giving Darnold the green light to dance in the pocket and take risks because he’s proven he can return a worthy reward. Also, because we’ve seen what tweaking his game in-season can do to his overall level of play. The Vikings keep gambling and winning; they have no choice but to ride it until that hot streak comes to an end.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
7. The Atlanta Falcons are making us feel stupid for believing in them (as is tradition)
Oh dang, another “stop if you’ve heard this before” headline. Ah well, cliche though it may be, this is exactly where we’ve landed.
The Falcons began their season 6-3. With two close wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they appeared to have sewed up the NFC South title halfway through the 2024 season. After starting slowly while recovering from a torn Achilles, Kirk Cousins emerged as a top 10 quarterback occasionally eye to eye with this season’s MVP candidates.
via rbsdm.com and the author.
Then, things got familiarly frustrating for Falcons fans. First, a loss to arch rival New Orleans days after the Saints had fired head coach Dennis Allen. But that’s fine; losing a tight rivalry game against a fired-up team getting a post-coach bounce is understandable.
Getting shredded into breakfast hash by Bo Nix? That’s… something else.
The defense that held three of its first five opponents to fewer than 180 passing yards collapsed against the sixth quarterback selected in last spring’s draft. Nix had:
the first 300-plus passing yard performance of his career
the first four-touchdown performance of his career
his first single game passer rating above 125.0
all in a 38-6 destruction of a once competent Falcons defense. Primaries like Jessie Bates, Justin Simmons and A.J. Terrell were all in the lineup and it did not matter because Atlanta had no answer for the most composed version of Nix we’ve ever seen on Sundays.
Credit where it’s due; Nix’s growth this season has been impressive if not linear. When he’s given time to set his feet and drive the ball downfield he’s proven he can be the difference between a win and a loss. On Sunday, that manifested in eight completions on nine attempts that traveled at least nine yards downfield — racking up 184 yards, one touchdown and a 155.8 passer rating in the process.
via habitatring.com
The Falcons may have been able to counter this if Cousins could even approached Bo Nix at Mile High Stadium. Instead, top wideouts Drake London and Darnell Mooney had just five catches on 11 targets. Kyle Pitts had one catch for nine yards. Cousins was sacked in one in 10 dropbacks and turned in his second-straight zero-touchdown, one-interception performance.
The good news is there’s plenty of room to work through growing pains. Atlanta is still 1.5 games ahead of the second-place Buccaneers in the NFC South. But it’s easy to see the cracks and assume they’ll spread when you’re dealing with a veteran quarterback with a lack of lasting postseason success and a franchise that, well, same.
This is the sword dangling over the Falcons’ throne. Atlanta has spent 2024 proving it can hang with great teams but also implode spectacularly at the smallest sign of resistance. Which version will show up in the playoffs? That’ll be the fun part for non-Falcons fans to figure out and torture within the state limits of Georgia.
David Gonzales-Imagn Images
8. Geno Smith might have closed the 49ers championship window
Geno Smith had never beaten the San Francisco 49ers as a starting quarterback. This year’s 49ers team, however, is very different from the perennial NFC title game invitees that preceded it.
On Sunday, Smith overcame some early struggles to shred the Niners defense when it counted most. After opening the second half with an interception, he completed 14 of his final 16 passes for 130 yards, erasing a pair of late deficits to earn his first win in San Francisco and keep Seattle alive in a turbulent race for the NFC West crown.
Smith was, as is his hallmark, accurate as hell to maximize his offense on a day where his running backs averaged only 3.2 yards per carry. His 16.4 completion percentage over expected (CPOE) was his highest of the season — impressive stuff for a player who has ranked in the top 10 in that category each of the last two years.
That’s all great for the Seahawks, but it could be closing the blinds on a championship window San Francisco would stay open at least a few months longer. The 49ers have slumped before, but those losing streaks either quickly dissipated or were the result of devastating quarterback injuries (and sometimes even that didn’t make a difference). 2024, so far, feels different.
Over the last two years, San Francisco was undefeated against division foes with the exception of a meaningless 2023 Week 18 game that pit Sam Darnold against Carson Wentz. This year Brock Purdy is 1-3 against those rivals. The young quarterback was 2023’s most efficient quarterback but has backslid from “great” to merely “above average” in the Niners’ 5-5 start.
What’s the culprit there? Kyle Shanahan’s offense has always been able to glean the most from an underwhelming quarterback thanks to a cache of dynamic playmakers who could turn short targets into long gains. The 49ers have led the league in yards after catch (YAC) five of the last six years and never finished lower than third place in that stretch.
This season, they rank 17th, dropping from 6.6 YAC to 5.2. Not having Christian McCaffrey in the lineup most of the season and losing a rusty Brandon Aiyuk to injury played a role there. Even so, Shanahan’s offense isn’t hitting the way it once did.
San Francisco averaged 3.5 yards of separation between intended target and nearest defender in Purdy’s first two seasons in the league — a figure that was slightly above average compared to other offenses. His 2024 targets average 3.0 yards of separation per throw — the lowest number in the NFL this fall.
As a result, Purdy’s had to look downfield for bigger gains rather than rely on higher-percentage dump-offs to now-covered players. His average throw distance has gone up (from 8.2 yards to 8.9) and his accuracy has gone down (from 69 percent to 64 percent). Those are all modest drops, but it’s been enough to blow gaskets in the Niners’ high-octane offense.
Further complicating things is a defense that’s gone from elite to average. San Francisco ranked first in scoring defense in 2022 and third in 2023. It sat at 17th coming into Sunday’s game with the Seahawks. The team’s once relentless pass rush has dropped from 10th to 15th in pressure rate this fall. Dre Greenlaw and Tanaloa Hufanga have been hurt and De’Vondre Campbell is looking like a 31-year-old off-ball defender.
The final product are two pieces that aren’t quite good enough. The 49ers are 5-5, and while they’ve come back from worse spots to create headaches for the NFC — they were 3-5 before rallying to the NFC title game in 2022 — this year’s problems feel different. Returns from Greenlaw and Hufanga (playing in a cast) will help, as will getting McCaffrey and Ricky Pearsall in tune with the offense.
Even so, 2024 has been a clear step backward for San Francisco. With a bunch of tough contract decisions looming, this may be the end of their title hopes as currently constructed.
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
9. Josh Allen continued the Buffalo Bills’ regular season mastery of the Kansas City Chiefs
For the fourth straight season, the Bills beat the Chiefs in the regular season. Now Buffalo has to hope it can break the streak on the other side of that mirror — the one that’s seen Kansas City end its season in the playoffs three of the last four years.
The Bills did exactly what needed to be done to beat the Chiefs. They learned from mistakes of the Denver Broncos (settled for a field goal) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (chose not to go for two in a one-point game and opted for overtime). Rather than await the inevitable and give Patrick Mahomes the ball with a five-point deficit and more than two minutes to play, head coach Sean McDermott trusted Josh Allen on fourth-and-two.
You should always trust Josh Allen on fourth-and-two.
Allen did what he did best, embracing a running style best described as “marauding” and dusting the Chiefs’ defense for a game-sealing touchdown in a moment that could have been a precursor to Kansas City’s 10-0 start. Instead, Mahomes took the loss, Taylor Swift haters quietly fist bumped (weird) and someone dropped off a bottle of champagne at Mercury Morris’s grave in accordance to his last will and testament.
Importantly, Sunday’s win felt like a moment where the Bills stole Mahomes’s magic. They took away his comeback opportunity. They held him to 181 total yards on 35 dropbacks (5.2 yards per pass play). They pressured him just enough to make him rely on a group of playmakers that isn’t the hydra it once was.
here's the Mahomes deep miss to Xavier Worthy that had the QB saying "i have to be better" postgame pic.twitter.com/n9alAyD5Vb
Mahomes threw three touchdown passes but countered that with a pair of interceptions. He continued a good season that doesn’t quite live up to his level of greatness — a designation that didn’t matter when he was 9-0 and barely does now that he’s 9-1. This may not make a difference in the long run for Kansas City.
For Buffalo, however, it’s huge. It’s yet more hope the nail can at some point defeat the hammer. More importantly, it’s validation after an 8-2 record came devoid of impressive wins. Before Sunday, the Bills had one victory over an opponent with a winning record and that was against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. After an offseason of roster turnover, it was fair to wonder if this hot start was merely the product of an easy schedule.
Being the first blemish on the Chiefs’ resume changes that. A defense that unloaded several key veterans rose to the occasion.
The Indianapolis Colts are leaving New York with a Week 11 win over the Jets. Let’s take a look back at the performance and break it down.
In his return to the starting lineup, Anthony Richardson put together a career day and capped the performance off by leading the Indianapolis Colts offense on a game-winning drive in the final minutes.
The victory improves the Colts to 5-6 on the season and keeps them alive in the AFC playoff hunt. However, while that’s important, the bigger picture from Sunday’s game is that Richardson’s performance provided more than just a boost to the Colts’ playoff odds; he’s given additional long-term hope, showcasing the player that he can be.
While Richardson’s performance will be at the center of the conversation, there was a lot more that happened in Sunday’s game. So let’s break it down here.
Final Score
It was over when…
…we could say when Richardson ran it in to give the Colts the lead with less than a minute to play. However, while the Jets offense is struggling, I don’t think anyone is going to underestimate what Aaron Rodgers can do, even when time isn’t on his side. So we will say the game was over when the clock actually hit 0:00 following Kwity Paye’s sack.
Keys to the game
Steichen adjusts the gameplan: As I wrote about here, the gameplan we saw on Sunday was the one that I imagine many Colts fans were expecting this season. It was a run-centric approach with Jonathan Taylor carrying the ball 24 times, along with Anthony Richardson getting involved as well with 10 carries. And while that sounds simple, that often hasn’t been the case this season, for whatever reason. A commitment to the run game and designing plays off of that run action can open up opportunities in the passing game, which Richardson took advantage of as he had his most efficient performance on short to intermediate routes. Overall, it was a very good mix between the run and passing games that Steichen established.
Red zone success: The Colts offense made the most of their red zone opportunities. On the four visits that they had to that part of the field, they scored a touchdown on three of those possessions. For some context, a success rate of 75 percent over the course of the season would be the second-highest mark in the NFL in 2024.
Breece Hall gave the Jets a chance: After the Colts’ defense shut down the New York offense for just about the entire first half, it was Breece Hall who provided that unit with a spark. He was responsible for a 29 yard touchdown catch and run before halftime and then an 18 yard touchdown run on the Jets’ first third quarter possession. Hall finished the game with 78 rushing yards on only 16 carries and had another 43 yards in the passing game.
It’s the offense’s turn to come through for the defense: Over the last month, the Colts’ defense has done a lot to help keep Indianapolis in several of those games. However, the offense didn’t have enough juice to come through. On Sunday, with defense leaking oil late in the game–something we’ve seen happen before–the offense was able to respond. Trailing 24-16 following a Jets’ touchdown Richardson responded with a touchdown drive of his own, completing 5-of-7 passes for 69 yards. Then after the Colts’ defense holds New York to a field goal, Richardson again responds with a second consecutive touchdown drive, this time giving the Colts the lead late.
Stars of the game
Anthony Richardson: As we’ve already discussed, Richardson helped the Colts overcome an eight point deficit with back to back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Richardson finished the game 20-of-30 passing for 272 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 32 yards and two scores as well.
Josh Downs: Another big game for Downs. He caught all five of his receptions and totaled 84 yards, with a long of 31 yards and a touchdown.
Matt Gay: In this game, Gay was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, which included making a 56 yarder and he made his extra point attempt as well. In a one point victory, every kick mattered.
Kwity Paye: He finished the game with six solo tackles, two of which were for a loss, and had two sacks as well, including the one to end the game on the Jets’ final drive.
Jaylon Jones: It’s not going to be perfect against the Jets’ talented duo at receiver, but Jones was all over the place, in on five tackles, a few of which came around the line of scrimmage, and he had multiple pass breakups as well.
Injury updates
At least during the game, no injuries were reported for the Colts. That is always terrific news.
What’s next?
The Colts are back at home in Week 12 and face the 9-1 Detroit Lions, who on both sides of the ball have been dominant this season. This will be a huge test for Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Colts offensive gameplan against the Jets is what we expected to see from this unit in 2024.
Anthony Richardson put up a career day in his return against the New York Jets that included his biggest moment, when he led a late game-winning touchdown drive.
It was a run-centric approach, but it’s not as if the passing game was forgotten about either. The Colts would carry the ball 35 times in this game and throw the ball 30 times.
In previous games where we’ve seen this team get away from Taylor and the ground game in the second half, it continued to be a part of the equation versus the Jets, even when trailing.
Richardson was also heavily involved in the run game as well, carrying the ball 10 times. While all teams want to limit the number of hits their quarterback takes, as Steichen said during training camp, Richardson’s ability with the ball is one of his superpowers, and not utilizing that component takes away from what this offense can be.
All of that sounds relatively simple, as in, yes, the Colts should do this every week. But they weren’t–even prior to Richardson being benched. There were games where Taylor’s touches in the second half were minimal and Richardson was hardly utilized on designed runs.
Against a good Jets’ defensive front, the run game wasn’t overly effective–averaging just 2.6 yards per rush as team–but the commitment to it and designing plays off of it can still open up opportunities in the passing game, which Richardson took advantage of. He was the most efficient that he’s been on the short to intermediate throws.
This was a gameplan that, I’m assuming, many who follow the Colts thought they were going to see from this team all season.
In his return, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson led a late game-winning drive against the New York Jets.
In his return to the starting lineup, quarterback Anthony Richardson brought the Indianapolis Colts back from an eight-point deficit, which included a late game-winning scoring drive.
Overall, Richardson put together his best performance of the season. He was much more efficient, completing 20-of-30 passes and did a better job of taking advantage of the short to intermediate throws while still being able to push the ball downfield.
Richardson would go on to throw for 272 yards at an impressive 9.1 yards per attempt with a touchdown.
On the Colts’ final two drives of the game, both of which ended in touchdowns, Richardson was a combined 8-for-10 passing for 129 yards with a throwing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.
After Shane Steichen announced that Richardson would be back starting at quarterback this week, he revealed that the real reason Richardson was benched was for him to take a step back and focus on the day-to-day details that are required in all aspects when it comes to being a successful NFL quarterback.
During the previous two weeks, Steichen had seen major strides from Richardson in that regard, and that preparation carried over to the field on Sunday.
In addition to Richardson’s play, it was also encouraging to see the added emphasis on the run game from the Colts’ offense. Jonathan Taylor would carry the ball 24 times and Shane Steichen also made sure to get Richardson involved in that capacity as well.
From a gameplan standpoint, the blueprint we saw from Indianapolis against the Jets is what I’m going to guess many expected through the first half of the season when Richardson was at quarterback, but that wasn’t always the case.
Now at 5-6 on the season, the Colts keep their playoff hopes alive, but in the grand scheme of it all, Richardson’s performance provided more than just that, he’s given additional long-term hope, showcasing the player that he can be.
Watch as Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson scores on a physical touchdown run in the first half against the Jets.
The Indianapolis Colts will enter halftime against the New York Jets with a 13-7, with their lone touchdown coming on a physical run by quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Facing a 2nd-and-goal from the two-yard line, from under center, Richardson faked the handoff to Ashton Dulin who was in motion and then rolled to his left.
Richardson would then stiff arm the defensive end to get away from him, and then with Jonathan Taylor as the lead blocker taking away one of the Jets’ defensive backs, Richardson would run through the other for the score.
It’s been an efficient first half for Richardson, who has completed 8-of-12 passes for 103 yards, with the offense generating three explosive plays through the air.
It’s been tough sledding on the ground, however, with Indianapolis averaging just 2.9 yards per carry as a team.
A major positive has been the emphasis from Shane Steichen on the run game, with the Colts carrying the ball 22 times in the first half, but more specifically, he is getting Richardson involved in that aspect as well.
This is the type of gameplan I’m assuming many thought they would see from the Colts this season with Richardson under center, but that hasn’t always been the case through the first half of the year.
