“Whatever It Takes:” How Anthony Richardson’s mindset led the Colts to victory over the Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Ma. – Whatever it takes.

That’s what was going through Anthony Richardson’s mind – one of the few things going through the 22-year-old quarterback’s mind – as he led the Colts down the field on their final possession of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.

They were down 24-17, and with 24 seconds left at the two-yard line, it was now or never.

The Colts had slowly marched down the field and made their way to the end zone; The drive alternated between incompletions, short passes and shorter runs. It was slow progress, but it worked. And that’s all that mattered.

After reaching the two-yard line, Richardson and the offense stalled on second down and lost a yard on third down. Fourth and three, 17 seconds left.

The Colts ran a play they had repeated over and over again in practice, a cross route that gave wide receivers Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. a chance to take the lead; Richardson just had to wait. When he saw Pierce running to his left with a defender far enough behind him, Richardson let it pass.

Pierce made the jumper, and the Colts sideline celebrated as they watched their young quarterback score another game-winning score late in the game. But they weren’t done yet – they were still behind. When head coach Shane Steichen was faced with the decision of tying the game with a field goal or scoring the win with a two-point conversion, he chose the latter.

The play call gave Richardson the option of handing the ball off to Jonathan Taylor or letting him run it into the end zone himself; it was up to him and no one else.

After surveying the field in front of him, Richardson saw a gap, tucked the ball and ran with it. He collided with the scrum at the goal line but simply put his head down and raced over the line.

The Colts took a 25-24 lead, and after forcing the Patriots into a last-second 68-yard field goal, they left Gillette Stadium victorious. Richardson left the field quietly, and while he didn’t have a smile on his face like many of his other teammates, he did radiate contentment and a little sparkle in his eye.

And the first thing he said when he walked to the podium?

“Whatever it takes, man. Whatever it takes.”

Richardson knew on that final drive that it was time for him to make plays and give his team the win. He had done it once before, in the Colts’ Week 11 win over the New York Jets, and he had the confidence of his coaches and teammates that he could do it again.

But perhaps more importantly, Richardson knew exactly how to go about it.

“Just playing football, one game at a time,” Richardson explained. “Some of those plays didn’t go the way we planned, that’s all good. You have to stick with it, every game, because we have a lot to do, every single moment, so just stick with it.”

Richardson emphasized this approach to his teammates, making sure they knew the fight wasn’t over because of one play. And it was that attitude that allowed Richardson (and the rest of the team) to remain so calm throughout the 19-play, 80-yard drive.

To put it simply, the quarterback has learned to concentrate on what is important when he is on the field: the current play.

In those final seconds of the game, the two interceptions Richardson threw earlier in the game didn’t matter. The incompletions a few minutes earlier didn’t matter. Even Richardson’s rushing touchdown in the second quarter and the celebratory 360-degree jump that followed no longer mattered.

Nothing mattered except that the next piece worked.

“I think I was able to relax a little more and stay calm,” he explained. “Try not to focus too much on the future and try not to focus too much on the past. Take it day by day and try to get better every day.”

And to get better every day, you have to get better with every game.

So Richardson waited until he saw Pierce appear in the end zone before firing off a perfect pass. And on the two-point conversion, he took the time to go over his metrics before making a decision.

“I read the outsiders, but when I looked in the middle, I just decided I was going to take it in hand and try to make a decision right there and try to make it work,” Richardson said.