INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Since the day he arrived in Indianapolis, Colts head coach Shane Steichen has been all about splash plays.

With injuries to quarterback Anthony Richardson and running back Jonathan Taylor last season, there weren’t too many players making a splash during the nine-win season. That’s changed as the Colts kicked off the 2024 season against the Houston Texans Sunday.

Richardson set the bar for explosiveness early with a 60-yard bomb to receiver Alec Pierce in the first quarter. Richardson made the throw into double coverage after slipping and launching off his back foot.

It’s the play of the year — so far — and was a major chunk of Pierce’s career-high 125 yards.

Forget the loss just for a minute. This is what the Colts want to see from their receivers every week.

“That’s what we were talking about, carrying that stuff over from training camp into the season,” Steichen said. “Obviously he made some big-time plays down the field for us today.”

“It feels good for sure,” Pierce said. “That’s what I pride myself in doing. I think it’s the best part of my game, so I’m glad to be able to do it for the team.”

“It’s awesome,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “It’s all his hard work he put in during the offseason. He had a great camp, and to see it all come to fruition, him taking the top off of the defense and creating those big plays, those 50-50 balls turn into 100 percenters, right? So it’s good and pretty cool to see.”

Pierce’s production shouldn’t overshadow the rest of the receiving corps, specifically Ashton Dulin. The six-year veteran lost his entire season last year after tearing his ACL during training camp.

His first game back, he almost one-upped Pierce with a 54-yard touchdown. Richardson said that wasn’t even the play call.

“That wasn’t even the route that we wanted to hit right there,” Richardson said. “I just saw the covers and I saw him running full-speed, and I was like I’ve got to give him the ball, and he did the rest. So, shoutout to him.”

“Just finally seeing Ashton back out there healthy,” running back Jonathan Taylor said. “It’s something special to see, because you just know the struggle it is to work yourself back, so to see it come to fruition on the field, I was super happy for him.”

This was just the first taste of how explosive this Colts offense can be.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Colts head into halftime with a five point deficit to the Houston Texans.

Anthony Richardson showed flashes of excellence but also showed the inconsistencies that come with his lack of experience in the NFL.

He threw a spectacular deep bomb to Alec Pierce for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Richardson slipped during his drop back, regained his footing and unleashed an absolute bomb that Pierce caught right as he was running into the end zone.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the pass travelled 65.3 yards in the air, the third longest completion in the Next Gen Stats era.

But, his inexperience showed late in the second quarter, with Richardson throwing an interception in the red zone. He was trying to hit Kylen Granson across the middle of the field, but the ball sailed high and wide of Granson and into the arms of Texans safety Calen Bullock.

Richardson ended the half with 93 yards passing, a touchdown, and an interception. He completed six of his 12 passes.

He also added 43 yards on the ground on four carries. Richardson’s running ability was on display on a smooth 19-yard run up the middle during the second quarter.

Pierce led the Colts in receiving in the half with two catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Jonathan Taylor was the only Colts running back to get a carry, with 10 rushes for 30 yards.

The Colts defense hit home on three sacks, but other than that, they struggled to contain the Texans explosive offense.

C.J. Stroud found Nico Collins on another deep bomb in Lucas Oil Stadium, this one for 55 yards. That play set up a touchdown pass from Stroud to wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

The Texans also ran the ball well in the first half, picking up 78 yards on 6.5 yards per carry.

The Colts did get stops when they needed to though, forcing the Texans to kick two long field goals.

Switch to WISH-TV right after the game for the postgame show with News 8 sports director Anthony Calhoun and former Colts Marlin Jackson.

Here’s the Colts player that Cots former head coach Chuck Pagano is the most excited for.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police say a man died early Sunday morning after he was shot and killed on Indianapolis’ near northeast side.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told News 8 on the scene that officers were called to the 2900 block of North Sherman Drive around 3:20 a.m. to investigate a person shot.

That’s in a residential and business area near the intersection of East 30th Street and North Sherman Drive.

They arrived and located the man suffering a gunshot wound. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

IMPD didn’t provide any information on the victim or possible suspects.