Anthony Richardson leads Colts' upset win with career game in return as starter

The Indianapolis Colts wanted to see how Anthony Richardson responded after being benched for two games.

The second-year quarterback turned in the best performance of his young career in a 28-27 upset victory on the road against the New York Jets.

After being benched by head coach Shane Steichen due to a lack of attention to detail in his game-planning throughout the week, Richardson showed just what he can bring as the future of the franchise.

The 22-year-old quarterback completed 20-of-30 passes (66.7%) for 272 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 106.5 passer rating. He also added 10 rushing attempts for 32 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.

Richardson was hot to begin the game, showing much more poise in the pocket and avoiding the temptation of playing hero ball.

Richardson led the offense to scoring drives on three of their first four drives to begin the game. While the offense stalled out during the third quarter, he led two impressive touchdown drives during the fourth quarter.

Richardson led those two fourth-quarter drives consisting of eight and six plays, respectively, of 70 yards each.

Despite dealing with a battered offensive line that included two rookie starters along with an injured and inefficient Jonathan Taylor, Richardson put the team on his back in an impressive win.

This was exactly the type of performance the Colts needed to see from their young quarterback, and it makes the outlook of his career trajectory much more promising.

It won't all be perfect for Richardson moving forward, but if he can play under control like he did Sunday, the Colts certainly have a chance to sneak into the playoffs as a wild-card team.