(Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Oct. 28, 2024.)
5. Anthony Richardson completed 2 of 15 passes in the first half for Indianapolis in a key divisional matchup at Houston. That was only the beginning.
The Colts knew there would be a learning curve when they used the fourth pick of the 2023 draft on Anthony Richardson, a quarterback with 13 college starts. Could they have anticipated the learning curve would be this … adventuresome?
Every play feels like a roll of the dice. His performance in a 23-20 defeat at Houston included:
• Completing 2 of 15 passes in the first half
• Scoring a 69-yard touchdown on one of those completions
• Throwing an interception (-4.8 EPA) deep in Colts territory less than 30 seconds before halftime, setting up a Texans touchdown
• Taking himself out of the game for a play because he was tired
• Fumbling a handoff exchange on third down, taking the team out of field goal range
• Failing to get out of bounds to stop the clock with less than a minute remaining and Indy out of timeouts
When was the last time a quarterback tapped out because he was tired?
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson on leaving the game for one play in the 3Q:
“Tired, I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told (HC Shane Steichen) I needed a break right there.” pic.twitter.com/EMUtiSLIvm
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 27, 2024
Richardson completed 10 of 32 passes for 174 yards. He had a second potential touchdown pass dropped.
That the Colts almost won the game is remarkable. At 4-4, they appear committed to riding out the turbulence instead of turning to backup Joe Flacco for the stretch run. That is understandable when considering how many Flacco types they’ve cycled through in recent years.
| Season | Week 8 QB | Cmp-Att | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2024
|
2-15
|
13%
|
|
|
2023
|
13-21
|
62%
|
|
|
2022
|
7-11
|
64%
|
|
|
2021
|
18-27
|
67%
|
|
|
2020
|
17-21
|
81%
|
|
|
2019
|
7-11
|
64%
|
|
|
2018
|
14-20
|
70%
|
As the Richardson incompletions piled up Sunday, I dove into the archives to see how the 2-for-15 passing half compared with Colts quarterbacks from the team’s recent past. The bigger revelation: Richardson is the seventh Indy quarterback to start a Week 8 game in the past seven seasons (see table above).
This is a franchise desperate for stability at the position.
“We gotta just keep working through it,” coach Shane Steichen said. “He has a good work ethic. He grinds through these things. It’s a process. We do it together. It’s not about one guy.”
(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
