On a chilly Sunday in Houston, the Indianapolis Colts wrapped up their season with a wild, high-scoring 38-30 loss to the Houston Texans, but the real headline belonged to rookie quarterback Riley Leonard. Making his first career NFL start in Week 18, Leonard didn’t just get his feet wet—he dove headfirst into the deep end and made quite a splash against the league’s top-ranked scoring defense.
The anticipation around Leonard’s first start was palpable. The 6-foot-4, 213-pound signal-caller, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, had spent most of his rookie campaign watching from the sidelines. But with the Colts’ playoff hopes dashed and veteran stopgap Philip Rivers announcing (yet again) that he was done with football, Indianapolis finally turned the keys over to their young prospect. And boy, did he deliver some fireworks right out of the gate.
Leonard’s very first pass of the afternoon set the tone. On just the third play from scrimmage, he found a streaking Alec Pierce wide open down the sideline. The result? A 66-yard touchdown strike that gave the Colts an early 7-3 lead and sent the Indianapolis sideline into a frenzy. As the ball sailed into Pierce’s hands, Leonard’s family could be seen celebrating in the stands—after all, this was the moment they’d been waiting for all season.
“He just put it right on me,” Pierce later said, beaming after the game. “That’s the kind of throw we’ve seen him make in practice, and it’s awesome to see it happen in a real game.”
The connection between Leonard and Pierce didn’t stop there. As the first half wore on, Leonard continued to show poise against a Texans defense that had stifled opponents all year. Just before halftime, Leonard again found Pierce—this time in the corner of the end zone—for their second scoring hookup. That touchdown trimmed Houston’s lead to just three points, giving the Colts plenty of momentum heading into the break.
Leonard’s halftime stat line already looked impressive: 8-of-13 passing for 133 yards and two touchdowns, both to Pierce. But he wasn’t finished yet. Coming out of the locker room, the rookie showed off his legs, keeping the ball on a read-option and scampering into the end zone for a rushing touchdown that briefly put Indianapolis back in front. The Colts’ bench erupted, and suddenly, there was a sense that maybe—just maybe—Leonard could engineer a storybook finish to a turbulent season.
But the Texans, now 12-5 and playoff-bound as the AFC’s No. 5 seed, had answers of their own. Ka'imi Fairbairn nailed a clutch 43-yard field goal in the final seconds to break a late tie, and on the ensuing desperation drive, Houston’s Tommy Togiai scooped up a Colts fumble and dashed into the end zone, sealing the eight-point win for the home team.
Despite the loss, Leonard’s final stat line was nothing short of eye-catching: 21 completions on 34 attempts for 270 yards, two passing touchdowns, one interception, and another 21 yards and a score on the ground. He was sacked just once for an eight-yard loss and showed remarkable composure, especially considering the Texans’ defense entered the day ranked first in points allowed per game.
“He played with a lot of heart,” said Colts interim coach in the post-game presser. “Riley kept us in it. He made some mistakes, sure, but he also gave us a spark. That’s what you want to see from a young quarterback.”
Leonard’s favorite target, Alec Pierce, had a career day as well. The second-year wideout hauled in four catches for a whopping 132 yards and two touchdowns. He even added a rushing score later in the game, but his afternoon ended early after he was ejected for making contact with an official. Pierce’s absence was felt in the closing minutes, as the Colts struggled to keep pace with Houston’s late surge.
The Colts’ ground game never quite got rolling, with DJ Giddens leading the way with 30 yards on eight carries and Jonathan Taylor managing just 26 yards on 14 attempts. Still, Leonard spread the ball around effectively, connecting with Josh Downs (four catches, 61 yards), Tyler Warren (five for 26), and several others. The rookie’s ability to distribute the ball kept the Texans’ defense guessing, and his mobility added a new dimension to the Colts’ attack.
Not everything went smoothly, of course. Leonard was intercepted early in the fourth quarter on a pass he’d surely like back, and he lost a fumble on a first-half strip-sack that set up a short-field score for Houston. But for a player making his first NFL start, the positives far outweighed the negatives.
Leonard’s journey to this moment has been anything but ordinary. After three seasons at Duke—where he posted a career-best 2,967 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and just six picks in 2022—he transferred to Notre Dame for his final collegiate campaign. There, he led the Fighting Irish to the 2025 College Football National Championship game, coming up short against Ohio State but throwing for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only eight interceptions along the way. That leadership and production, combined with his size and athleticism, made him an intriguing late-round NFL prospect.
For much of the season, though, Leonard watched as the Colts cycled through quarterbacks. After Daniel Jones suffered a brutal Achilles injury in December, the front office turned to the retired Philip Rivers, who gamely started three games but couldn’t notch a win. Rivers’ stat line—544 yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 63% completion rate—was respectable, but the team lost all three contests, tumbling out of playoff contention after a promising 8-2 start.
“Why didn’t the Colts do this earlier?” wondered more than one fan on social media, as Leonard’s performance unfolded. The decision to wait until the season finale to give their rookie a shot has already sparked debate in Indianapolis.
Looking ahead, the Colts find themselves at a crossroads. Daniel Jones will soon hit free agency, and while there’s talk of a reunion, his health remains a question mark. Anthony Richardson, the team’s 2023 first-round pick, is recovering from a bizarre and concerning eye injury and has struggled to stay healthy throughout his young career. With all this uncertainty, Leonard’s strong showing against Houston has surely earned him a seat at the table in next season’s quarterback competition.
“He’s got a lot to prove, but today was a great start,” said a Colts staffer. “He’s earned another look, no question.”
As the Colts head into the offseason, one thing is clear: Riley Leonard’s first NFL start has given the franchise—and its fans—something to think about. With a new quarterback battle looming and plenty of questions left to answer, Indianapolis will spend the coming months deciding if their rookie’s breakout day was a glimpse of the future or just a tantalizing one-off. Either way, Leonard’s memorable debut has injected fresh hope into a team eager to turn the page.