The Colts continued their 2024 season in the road on Sunday against an AFC foe in the New York Jets. The Jets were 3-6 on the year, coming off a week 10 loss To the Arizona Cardinals. The Colts went into week 11 without left tackle Bernhard Raimann but saw the return of wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr from injury and quarterback Anthony Richardson back to his starting role.
The Colts now sit at 5-6, currently second in the AFC South and 2 wins back from the leaders the Houston Texans. The Colts move one game closer to being .500 for the year. The national media have moved the Colts up in the power rankings board after their win against the Jets. Here is how the Colts stack up in the week 12 power rankings.
ESPN has the Colts ranked at 19.
“Cross is a third-year player who had lost his job as a rookie and performed poorly in limited action last season. But he has rewarded the Colts’ faith in leaning on him as a key starter in the secondary this season, recording 2 interceptions, 102 tackles (second most on the team), 3 pass deflections and a forced fumble. He has been all over the field, making plays in run support and against the pass.”
NFL.com has the Colts ranked at 20.
“this win over the Jets was Anthony Richardson’s gateway to redemption, it’ll make for a heck of a story. Richardson came through in the clutch with two fourth-quarter TD drives, capping the second one with his second TD run of the game to pull off his first career fourth-quarter comeback and second career game-winning drive in one fell swoop. By no means was Richardson close to perfect in the game, fumbling twice and losing one of them, but it was a strong step in the right direction after his benching. Shane Steichen also seemed to guide Richardson well with a game plan that suited his skills, allowing the Colts to remain squarely in the playoff hunt, so it was a productive day all around. They’re on the outside looking in, and no Colts fans will view narrowly missing the playoffs again as a successful development, but they have a chance to rewrite the ending with at least four more winnable games on the schedule.”
CBS Sports has the Colts ranked at 17.
“Anthony Richardson looked like a different guy against the Jets. Maybe the time off was good for him, but now this team faces the Lions.”
Bleacher Report has the Colts ranked at 21.
“Now this is the Anthony Richardson that the Colts hoped for when they drafted the former Florida star with the No. 4 overall pick in 2023. After being benched for Joe Flacco and then re-inserted into the starting lineup two weeks later, Richardson had easily his best game of the season. He went 20-of-30 for 272 yards, one touchdown and a passer rating north of 100. Richardson also ran for a pair of scores, including the game-winner.
While speaking to the media afterward, Richardson said his performance was simply a matter of relaxing and doing his job. “I won’t say I was the most prepared or most confident,” Richardson said. “It was the most relaxed I’ve been. There really wasn’t any pressure on me. I was just out there taking it one play at a time. I just focused on my assignment. I wasn’t trying to press or do anything too much.”
The question is whether Richardson can string a few performances like this together. Because if he can, the Colts could be on to something.
Richardson responded with the best game of his career against the Jets. seems to have gotten the message sent by head coach Shane Steichen. A few weeks ago, Steichen claimed that Flacco gave the Colts their best chance to win. Maybe that was a way to make Richardson realize the demands of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. Richardson responded with the best game of his career against the Jets.”
Pro Football Network has the Colts ranked at 19.
It was great to see Anthony Richardsonshow up in a big moment this week against the Jets. That hint of his talent is what the Indianapolis Colts need to bank on over the coming weeks. To this point, Indianapolis has been unconvincing on both sides of the ball, but the schedule has been really tough. Yet, things are set to get harder before they get easier.
The Colts’ remaining schedule ranks as the fifth-easiest, but they square off against the Lions in Week 12 and will have a crunch game with the Broncos in Week 15 coming off their bye. Indianapolis has four very winnable games against the Patriots, Titans, Giants, and Jaguars, but to be assured of a playoff spot, likely need to beat either Detroit or Denver. Chasing down the Texans for the division is not out of the question, but the Colts would likely need to go 5-1 or 6-0 to achieve it.
