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The Colts and Patriots opened the 2026 preseason with a 13-13 tie on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, a result only possible because the NFL scrapped preseason overtime back in 2021. It was just the second tie in Patriots preseason history, joining a 17-17 deadlock with Oakland from August 5, 1973, according to Pats Pulpit. Both teams kept their real starters on the sideline for most of the night, but the backups and rookies who did play left behind real, gradeable film.
Anthony Richardson started and played the entire first half for Indianapolis, completing 11 of 14 passes for 145 yards and adding 53 yards and a touchdown on six carries, including a 1-yard sneak. It was his most extensive game action since Week 16 of the 2024 season. He also turned the ball over twice, an interception on the Colts' opening possession and a lost fumble later in the half, and was blunt about it afterward. "I don't even think I played that well, honestly. Fumble, interception early," Richardson said, per the Colts' own recap.
Richardson is not chasing the starting job. Daniel Jones has taken every first-team rep this camp and is Indianapolis's clear QB1. Richardson is instead fighting for the No. 2 spot behind Jones, and rookie Riley Leonard is the one standing in his way. Leonard played the second half and went 10 of 21 for 89 yards with an interception of his own, and Indianapolis has already announced Leonard will start and play the entire first half against Atlanta in Week 2. That is a real signal the competition is still open, not settled by one half of preseason football.
Behind Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito went 13 of 22 for 138 yards and a touchdown, a clean, mistake-free outing that does nothing to loosen his grip on the backup job. Kyle Williams caught that touchdown, a 12-yard score that capped a two-catch, 37-yard night and stood as the only offensive touchdown of the game for New England.
Williams is entering year two on a third-round investment from 2025, a Washington State product whose touchdown was exactly the kind of separation-heavy play he was drafted to make.
Jonathan Taylor was held out entirely, standard treatment for an established starter in a preseason opener. The bigger story is who replaced him: DJ Giddens, the presumptive backup after the Colts' first unofficial depth chart listed him at RB2, was sidelined by a hamstring injury and did not play. That opened the door for rookie Seth McGowan, who got the start and carried five times for 17 yards, though he also lost a fumble. Giddens' health over the next two weeks, not this one box score, will decide whether he or McGowan locks down the No. 3 role behind Taylor.
New England had penciled Terrell Jennings in as its RB3 behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, but Jennings was placed on season-ending injured reserve just before this game and will head to waivers on an injury settlement, per Boston.com. That vacancy is now up for grabs, and seventh-round rookie Jam Miller, a 245th overall pick out of Alabama, made a real case for it. Miller carried 14 times for 55 yards, with 27 of those yards coming after contact, including a 15-yard zone-lead run and a 6-yard cutback on outside zone. Lan Larison worked the passing-down role opposite him, catching six passes for 38 yards.
Third-round rookie tight end Eli Raridon made his own debut too, the first player New England drafted this year without trading up.
At 6-foot-7 out of Notre Dame, his stat line was modest, one catch on four targets for 8 yards, but a 24-yard grab was wiped out by a penalty and he sprang Miller's longest run with a strong block, per the team's own snap-by-snap review.
The tie came down to kicking. Spencer Shrader drilled a 61-yard field goal with 1:16 left to knot the score at 13, a huge sign for a kicker who made 13 of 14 field goals in 2025 before a torn ACL and MCL ended that season early, according to the Colts. New England had the last word chance and blew it. Andy Borregales missed three field goals on the night, including a would-be game winner in the final seconds, locking in the tie for good.
Nothing here changes the top of either depth chart. Jones, Taylor, Maye, Stevenson, and Henderson are all unaffected. But if you draft best ball or play in a league that rosters deep, log four things: Leonard starting Week 2 signals Indianapolis still has not settled on a backup quarterback, Giddens' hamstring needs to clear before Week 2, Miller already has real volume in a legitimately open RB3 job, and Raridon flashed enough blocking and route feel to be a name worth knowing at tight end. None of it moves this week's best ball rankings, but it is exactly the kind of camp signal that should shape how you draft rookies and stash pieces on your dynasty cheat sheet over the next two weeks of preseason.
