Colts can't improve until Shane Steichen, Anthony Richardson accept reality

HOUSTON — It was an unprecedented leap of faith.

When the Indianapolis Colts drafted Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, they did so believing in what he could be. Words like “potential” and “ceiling” became synonymous with Richardson’s selection. Don’t crown him yet, GM Chris Ballard warned. Despite being blessed with physical gifts that captivated the NFL world during the scouting combine, it was still going to take some patience and, quite honestly, downright dreaming for a QB with just 13 college starts to morph into a franchise player.

Indianapolis shouldn’t be blamed for sticking its head in the clouds and betting its future on Richardson. It was time to take a swing after a series of retread quarterbacks following Andrew Luck’s retirement. And the truth remains, despite all the turbulence of his first 10 NFL games, the best version of Richardson can still be a special player.

But the problem is that while the Colts have done all of this imagining about who Richardson can be, they’ve failed to accept who he is right now. Sunday’s game, in which the Texans held on for a 23-20 victory to seize a commanding two-game lead in the AFC South over the Colts, is the latest example.

Instead of trying to protect Richardson with his play calls, there was Colts coach Shane Steichen dialing up plays that are asking too much, too soon of Richardson — as if he is ready to pick apart defenses as a dropback quarterback.

Instead of owning up to a troubling day, there was Richardson himself claiming to be a “great passer,” as if he hadn’t only completed 10-of-32 passes, including just two in the first half.

And instead of a team staking its claim in the division title hunt, there was a team losing a game that would’ve lifted it to the top of the AFC South standings because its coach and quarterback refused to accept their reality.

“We were stalling there a lot. I think we had three three-and-outs in a row (in the first half),” Steichen said of the offense.” I’ve gotta be better.”

He said the same thing last week.

Richardson finished his 31.3 completion percentage day with 175 yards and one touchdown against one interception. He should’ve gotten one more incompletion off, a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the game, but the fact that he didn’t was a fitting conclusion considering how poorly the day began.

Despite looking more poised in the pocket early, Richardson started the game 1-of-7 passing for 12 yards, with a check down to Jonathan Taylor being his only completion. In fairness to Richardson, he wasn’t inaccurate. Houston’s defensive backs made a few plays on the ball, and the Colts’ receivers simply didn’t win enough on their routes. Michael Pittman Jr. admitted so himself.

“If I make the plays that I should’ve made, then maybe this game turns out different,” said Pittman, who was targeted six times but hauled in only one pass 16 yards.

However, that theme of Richardson’s struggles being attributed to his receivers wouldn’t remain throughout the game. The misses that have plagued him through the early part of his career, those where the receivers don’t have a chance, quickly returned. Save for a 69-yard touchdown pass to Josh Downs in the first quarter, in which Alec Pierce ran into two Houston defensive backs to create a busted coverage, Richardson could hardly do anything right through the air. His 13.3 completion percentage (2-of-15) through the first 30 minutes is the lowest completion percentage for an NFL QB (minimum 15 pass attempts) in the last 30 years, according to CBS.

ANTHONY RICHARDSON TO A WIDE OPEN JOSH DOWNS.

69-YARD TD.

📺: #INDvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/02H5eeGnvB

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024

Yet, when questioned about his inaccuracy, Richardson spoke as if he hadn’t just put himself on the wrong side of history.

“I feel like I’m a great passer,” Richardson said after the game. “I’ve been playing quarterback pretty much my whole life. I’m just a different quarterback from everybody else, so people are going to try to point out that I’m not as efficient as everybody else.”

Richardson’s confidence comes across as someone trying to convince himself of something. Perhaps that’s admirable to some, but it may sound delusional to many others. He is, by definition, not a great passer in the NFL, evidenced by his 44.4 completion percentage that ranks dead last in the NFL among QBs with at least 100 attempts this season.

One of his incompletions Sunday didn’t even hit the ground as Houston safety Jalen Pitre intercepted Richardson with 34 seconds left in the first half. Despite being backed up at their own 12-yard line, Steichen dialed up a pass play and opted for his QB, who looked rattled after throwing six straight incompletions, to take another chance.

WHAT WE NEEDEDDD 😤

📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/wI1g0WmxZE

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 27, 2024

It burned them both, as Houston’s C.J. Stroud connected with Tank Dell on a 7-yard, go-ahead touchdown one play after Richardson’s was picked off.

“Man, we were looking for a certain look right there, and they didn’t really give us that look,” Richardson said. “So, I killed the play, and I checked it, and they just played good zone right there. … I thought I (could) fit it in there, but the nickel did a great job of jumping under it.”

Steichen said his mentality at that moment was to “go score,” and that decision would makes sense if Richardson was a proven star and finished product, but he isn’t. In fact, he’s far from it, and it remains baffling that Steichen hasn’t been better at hiding Richardson’s flaws while leaning into his strengths. Or in this case, in a tie game, simply knowing when to head into the intermission and regroup.

Another big question that accompanies Steichen’s controversial game management: Why not run the ball more?

Star running back Jonathan Taylor, returning from a right high ankle sprain, totaled 20 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown, but only eight of his attempts came in the first half.

Richardson also claimed Sunday afternoon to be the best running QB in the NFL not named Lamar Jackson, and while that may be up for debate, what isn’t debatable is that Richardson is a better, more confident player when he runs, yet Steichen won’t run him. Indianapolis didn’t call a single designed run for its QB in the first half and finished with just two in the game. That was a mistake by the coach who, during training camp, claimed that no one would “limit Steph Curry from shooting 3-pointers,” so he wouldn’t limit Richardson as a runner.

“When we got the run game going, it kind of settled everyone down in the offense, and we started moving the ball and different things like that,” tight end Mo Alie-Cox said of the second half. “I think (Richardson) plays real well when we have the run game involved because the offense is complementary football, as we like to say.

“He still made some big-time plays.”

And perhaps that’s the most frustrating part. His flashes are still so tantalizing.

For as bad it looked Sunday, the Colts still had a chance with Richardson at the helm. His 12-yard run helped set up a field goal in the third quarter, and his 24-yard dime to Downs in the fourth quarter eventually led to a 1-yard TD run by Taylor that made it a 3-point game with 8:32 left in the game.

1 of a kind.

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/NtCVeVFg7l

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 27, 2024

But that was as close as Indy would get, and it’s more than fair to question if this team can come any further if its coach and quarterback don’t start taking hard looks in the mirror.