FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After a week of facing off with their teammates at training camp in Westfield, the Indianapolis Colts ventured out of Grand Park and competed against players wearing different uniforms, first in a joint practice and then in Thursday’s preseason opener, against the New England Patriots.
There are questions aplenty surrounding the Colts this fall as they try to put last season’s disappointing collapse behind them and rarely are they all answered with one preseason game where very few projected starters see playing time.
But there were a number of preseason storylines – including one with local ties – that may have become somewhat more clear after Thursday’s 13-13 tie with the Patriots, besides the fact that doing away with preseason overtime was a good move by the NFL.
Here are five takeaways from the first game of the 2026 preseason for the Colts.
Eli Pancol
Madison County’s favorite Duke graduate is in a battle for a roster spot at one of the team’s deepest positions, wide receiver. The Pendleton Heights graduate has flashed at times in camp and had several good moments on the field Thursday evening in Foxborough.
Pancol was impressive on multiple fronts against the Patriots. On Indy’s final possession of the first half, he caught two passes for 18 yards to help the Colts get in position for a field goal attempt, which missed, just before intermission. Both passes – one of 11 yards and the second for seven yards – came from Anthony Richardson Sr., in a battle of his own for the backup quarterback position.
Perhaps just as impressive – and a part of Pancol’s game that coaches will notice in the film room – was how active he was blocking in the run game. Several times his blocks helped spring fellow Duke graduate Anderson Castle for extra yardage in the second half.
Kicking situation
The battle for the kicker position between Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader has been one of the tightest and most closely watched this fall. While Grupe connected on an extra point in the first half, Shrader did all of the second half scoring for the Colts with a 46-yard field goal and a booming 61-yarder in the closing moments that looked to be good from about 70 yards out.
“I was trying to think that it wasn’t a huge kick,” Shrader said. “I was trying to treat it like it was another extra point. Just follow my process, keep my head down, and have a good day today. So, I was really just trying to stay in rhythm and a tempo. Went out there and hit it, and obviously felt pretty good.”
Grupe, meanwhile, missed a 61-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half.
Battle for backup QB spot
Perhaps the one position battle more closely watched than the kicker position is the one between Anthony Richardson Sr. and Riley Leonard for the right to back up starter Daniel Jones.
In the opener, Richardson played the first half while Leonard played in the second half, with those roles being reversed in game two.
Make no mistake, neither looked like a Pro-Bowler. But, there were positives for both.
In six first-half possessions, Richardson engineered the lone touchdown drive – scoring himself on a one-yard run – while three drives resulted in turnovers. There was also one punt and the aforementioned missed field goal before the half.
Colts Head Coach Shane Steichen liked most of what he saw from Richardson, particularly the way he bounced back from adversity.
“Yeah, it was huge,” he said. “I think even the two-minute drive at the end of the half was big to get us down there. So, he did a lot of good things. He threw it well. I think he had a good completion percentage. He was going to the right spots with the ball.”
Leonard’s first possession of the second half resulted in an interception, the fourth turnover of the night by the Colts. A punt, a turnover on downs, and another punt followed before Leonard led Indianapolis to a pair of field goals to salvage the tie.
Playmakers
In addition to Pancol, a number of receivers – including Coleman Owen – had good moments, but the tight ends had some of the biggest moments.
Particularly Will Mallory was able to consistently find open spots in the New England secondary and make plays.
“He’s a friendly target,” Leonard said. “He’s a big guy. He understands space, extremely fast. Right place at the right time. He’s always just coming through, making big catches for us. They see that in practice all the time, any ball, any high-ball, he’s usually the guy to come down with it. So, he’s built a lot of trust with us the past few weeks.”
Colts STC Brian Mason Injury
A scary moment came when Colts Special Teams Coordinator Brian Mason was toppled in a collision along the sideline on the game’s final play.
“He got rolled up right on the sideline on that last play,” Steichen said after the game. “So, we’ll see. He’s getting evaluated for his knee right now.”
According to reports, he sustained multiple ligament injuries and returned with the team after the game Thursday evening.