The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense reaches its first real pressure point Thursday night because Shane Steichen will hand Anthony Richardson Sr. and Riley Leonard an entire half apiece. Richardson starts against the New England Patriots. Leonard takes over after halftime. Daniel Jones will watch from the sideline, protected as Indianapolis’ established QB1 while he prepares for the regular season.
That setup turns a routine preseason opener into something more useful. There is no hiding behind vanilla playbooks once the hurry-up starts. Receivers must get lined up. Protection calls have to arrive quickly. A completion over the middle means little if twenty seconds disappear before the next snap.
For Richardson and Leonard, those details matter more than a highlight throw. Steichen already knows both quarterbacks can make NFL plays. Now he needs to know which one can run his offense when the clock removes every comfortable pause. The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense gives him perhaps the cleanest test available: command under pressure.
The QB2 Battle Has a Much Longer Backstory
Calling Richardson a backup without explaining how Indianapolis reached this point misses the story. The Colts signed Daniel Jones as a free agent in March 2025 and staged a genuine competition between him and Richardson that summer. Steichen eventually chose Jones, pointing to consistency, protection checks, ball placement and operation at the line of scrimmage. Richardson opened the season as QB2.
Jones then justified the decision. Across 13 starts in 2025, he completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,101 yards, with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 100.2 passer rating marked a career high. Indianapolis averaged 27.4 points per game, eighth in the NFL.
However, Jones tore his Achilles in December. Indianapolis still brought him back on a new contract in March, and he entered 2026 camp as the unquestioned starter once doctors cleared him for full practice. Steichen sees no reason to expose that investment during the first two preseason games.
Richardson’s path changed even more sharply. He served as Jones’ backup for the first five games last season before a freak pregame accident caused a fractured orbital bone and lingering vision problems. The injury sent him to injured reserve and effectively wiped out the rest of his year.
Meanwhile, Leonard kept developing. The 2025 sixth-round pick appeared in five games as a rookie and eventually made a Week 18 start against Houston. Colts records credit him with 415 passing yards and two touchdowns during that first NFL season.
Suddenly, the QB2 competition makes sense. Richardson is not battling Leonard because Indianapolis forgot where it drafted him. He is fighting because Jones took QB1, injuries cost Richardson developmental time, and Leonard turned his own limited opportunities into legitimate competition.
Richardson Has Already Closed a Game in Foxborough
Thursday also returns Richardson to the site of one of his best NFL moments. On Dec. 1, 2024, Indianapolis trailed New England by seven late in the fourth quarter. Richardson then engineered a grueling 19-play, 80-yard drive.
The Colts reached fourth-and-goal with the season wobbling. Richardson fired a three-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with 12 seconds remaining. Steichen skipped the extra point and called for two. Richardson kept the ball, powered across the goal line and delivered a 25-24 victory. At the time, the sequence looked like another glimpse of why Indianapolis had drafted Richardson fourth overall.
He did not dominate that final possession with deep bombs. Instead, he kept the offense alive through fourth downs, short gains and repeated situational decisions. The drive required patience before it required power.
That memory now creates an uncomfortable contrast. Richardson returns to Gillette Stadium as a player competing for the backup job. Yet still, his task looks remarkably similar. He must prove he can operate cleanly when Steichen takes away the luxury of time.
Richardson’s 6-foot-4 frame, explosive rushing ability and high-end arm strength can rescue a busted play. Indianapolis already knows that part. Thursday should reveal whether he can consistently win the less glamorous snaps.
Hit the tight end underneath. Get the offense lined up. Recognize pressure before the snap. Throw the ball away when the defense wins. The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense does not need Richardson to manufacture a superhero moment every series. It needs him to prevent manageable situations from becoming emergencies.
Hurry-Up Football Strips Away the Comfortable Parts
Two-minute offense changes the value of ordinary plays. A seven-yard completion near the sideline can become perfect. The same throw between the hashes can become expensive if the receiver gets tackled inbounds and teammates need fifteen seconds to reset.
Because of this, quarterback play becomes as much about time as yardage. Steichen cannot communicate forever from the sideline. Personnel changes become harder. Defenses can disguise coverages without giving the quarterback another huddle to sort through the picture.
The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense, therefore, tests what happens before the throw as much as what happens after it.
Protection provides the first clue. New England shows pressure. Does Richardson slide the line correctly? If a linebacker drops out and a safety replaces him, can Leonard locate the new throwing lane without holding the ball?
A half-second matters. The quarterback who waits for a receiver to look completely open may watch a seven-yard gain turn into a sack or an incompletion.
However, aggression creates its own trap. Even with the clock bleeding, a quarterback cannot start hunting hero balls downfield. A running back uncovered in the flat can be the right answer if he has room to reach the boundary. Good two-minute offense rarely looks frantic. That is precisely why coaches value it.
Leonard Now Gets a Chance to Answer a Bad Practice Finish
Leonard entered New England with some encouraging camp tape. During an Aug. 8 Colts practice, he completed three of five throws during a late two-minute period. Blake Grupe finished the possession with a 54-yard field goal, according to Colts.com’s camp report. Three days later, the ending looked very different.
New England’s second-unit defense allowed roughly 20 yards before the drive unraveled. Patriots reporting noted that two procedural penalties pushed Indianapolis backward. Near the goal line, Leonard tried to hit Drew Ogletree over the middle. Peter Manuma got a hand on the pass, and safety John Saunders Jr. collected the deflection for an interception.
The available reports identify two procedural flags but do not specify their exact types. Their effect matters more than guessing at the calls.
Indianapolis lost rhythm. One penalty can force a quarterback to abandon the easy sideline throw. Two can turn a realistic scoring drive into obvious passing downs, allowing the defense to rush without worrying much about the run. Now Leonard gets an immediate chance to show what he learned.
His second half should be judged on more than completions. Watch the time between plays. Notice whether he gets receivers reset after a first down. Track what happens when New England shows pressure and then bails into coverage. The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense will tell Steichen whether Leonard can recover when one mistake threatens to become three.
Tyler Warren Shows What the Offense Should Look Like
Indianapolis already produced a useful model during Tuesday’s joint practice. Jones led the first offense through a sharp two-minute sequence. Patriots.com reported that he found Tyler Warren on three straight completions, including a roughly 30-yard connection when the tight end broke open downfield. Josh Downs later shook free on an out route for a touchdown from the five.
That is the sort of sequence Richardson and Leonard need to reproduce with their own personnel. Warren’s numbers deserve context because they already look unusually large for a young tight end. Those 76 catches for 817 yards and four receiving touchdowns came during his rookie NFL season with Indianapolis in 2025, not at Penn State. He set franchise rookie tight end records for receptions and receiving yards and earned a Pro Bowl selection.
His value in hurry-up situations extends beyond raw production. A tight end who can line up attached, in the slot or split wide gives the quarterback answers without forcing a substitution. Defenses reveal information when they decide whether to cover him with a safety, linebacker or corner.
Just beyond the numbers, the mechanics remain simple. Hit Warren on the seam if the middle opens. Take the sideline route when a defender gives outside leverage. Get the ball to the official and reset. Young receivers also carry responsibility.
One player lining up on the wrong side can burn ten seconds. A wideout fighting for an extra yard instead of stepping out can cost another snap. Reserve linemen must identify pressure while hearing unfamiliar voices around them. The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense will expose those mistakes immediately.
New England Provides the Right Kind of Test
The Patriots do not need to play all their starters to make Thursday useful. Mike Vrabel transformed New England during his first season as head coach. The Patriots finished 14-3 in 2025 and allowed only 18.8 points per game, fourth best in the league. Their defense ranked eighth in total yards allowed. The coaching context matters, too.
Terrell Williams opened 2025 as defensive coordinator but stepped away on medical leave after the opener. Zak Kuhr took over the responsibilities for most of the season and called the defense through New England’s run to Super Bowl LX. The Patriots promoted Kuhr to defensive coordinator in March 2026, while Williams moved into an assistant head coach role. So Richardson and Leonard will see more than random preseason coverages.
Vrabel’s program emphasizes assignment football, communication and situational discipline. Kuhr’s defense already showed during the joint practice that it can punish a backup offense once penalties create predictable passing situations. On the other hand, Indianapolis does not need either quarterback to carve up New England for 300 yards.
The useful snaps will come after something goes wrong. Can Richardson get the offense ready after a sack? Does Leonard recognize when field-goal range matters more than chasing the end zone? Will either quarterback waste a timeout because the formation arrives late?
Those plays rarely make preseason highlight reels. Coaches remember them.
Indianapolis Needs Command More Than Fireworks
By the time the Colts leave Foxborough, the final score may reveal very little about their season. The Indianapolis Colts two-minute offense can reveal much more. Richardson gets the first crack. His history in this stadium gives him a useful reference point, but the 2024 comeback cannot win him the backup job in 2026. He has to show that the calm decisions from that 19-play march now belong to his normal operating rhythm.
Leonard gets the second half. After Tuesday’s messy finish against New England’s reserves, he has an immediate opportunity to prove one poor sequence does not linger. Finally, Steichen needs the quarterback room to look organized without Jones holding everything together.
That means getting the protection set before the play clock becomes a problem. It means hitting an outlet instead of forcing a deep throw. It means understanding when the sideline matters more than another three yards after contact. A spectacular scramble can rescue one snap. Arm strength can erase another mistake. Neither substitutes for command.
Indianapolis already has a starter who won his job because Steichen trusted his consistency, checks and control at the line of scrimmage. That standard now hangs over the players fighting to stand one spot behind him. When the clock drops under two minutes Thursday night, the playbook will shrink and the decisions will speed up. There will be no mystery about what Indianapolis wants to see. Which quarterback can make the chaos look routine?
READ MORE: Green Bay Packers Must Prove Clock Management vs Pittsburgh Steelers
FAQ’s
Why is Daniel Jones sitting out the preseason opener against New England?
Head coach Shane Steichen protected Daniel Jones from preseason injury because Jones secured the starting role following a strong 2025 campaign.
How are the Colts splitting quarterback snaps in Foxborough?
Anthony Richardson Sr. starts and plays the entire first half. Riley Leonard takes over after halftime to play the second half.
Why are Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard competing for QB2?
Daniel Jones won QB1 last summer. Injury sidelined Richardson in 2025 while Leonard developed, creating an open competition for the backup role.
What stats did tight end Tyler Warren put up in 2025?
Tyler Warren caught 76 passes for 817 yards and four touchdowns. He earned a Pro Bowl selection during his 2025 rookie season with Indianapolis.
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