Riley Leonard started his first NFL started in the best way possible. The former Notre Dame quarterback has now thrown not just one, but two touchdown passes in his first start of his NFL career.
Leonard's rookie season was one that probably was expected with other quarterbacks ahead of him in Indianapolis, but he is getting to end it with a bang. On the first offensive play for the Colts, Leonard delivered for both Indianapolis and Notre Dame fans by heaving a 66-yard touchdown pass to receiver Alec Pierce.
That didn’t take long. First career NFL touchdown pass for former Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard on the first series of his first start.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) January 4, 2026
Boom. pic.twitter.com/igHGn136gE
This marked Leonard's first touchdown pass of his young NFL career. Leonard also added another before halftime in Houston. The Colts currently are trailing the Texans 23-17 at the half in a game where Indy can simply play spoiler to a division rival.
After a hot start to the season behind quarterback Daniel Jones, the Colts have fallen out of the playoffs since his injury. It looked like Leonard was all but set to take over the starting position, but a knee injury put his status in jeopardy and had the Colts making a different move.
The Colts brought former Colts quarterback Philip Rivers out of retirement to play with the absence of many Indy quarterbacks, including Leonard. However, in the final game of the season, the Colts chose to go with Leonard, and it seems to be paying off so far.
Other than a fumble that resulted in Houston scoring on the next drive. Leonard has looked pretty good today and will now have another half to show what he has for next season.