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Stephen Holder, ESPN
HOUSTON — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was not on the field for the final games of the third quarter in a tournament in which his team trailed by two standings and then lost.
Richardson was apparently on the sidelines not because he was injured but because he was exhausted.
The second-year quarterback left the game in the next round fighting furiously on the previous two plays against the Houston Texans defense. On a second-and-goal play on Houston’s 23-yard drive, Richardson escaped a potential sack on a defensive grab by Folorunso Fatukasi before going up the field and going for a score. Richardson ended up keeping the ball and was eventually tackled by linebacker Jake Hansen for denying tackle.
Richardson slowly gave up and headed to the Colts sideline that was in sight, touching the date with his helmet on course. On the bench, he immediately knelt down.
“I was tired,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. It was a lot of running right there. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go to the next play, so I just told him [Colts coach] shane [Steichen] “I just needed a break right there.”
For starters, Richardson’s departure from the sport raised questions about whether or not he had suffered trauma. Earlier in the competition, he received a blow that impacted his left hand and was exposed by flexing it on the sideline. But the sneakers that reviewed it didn’t seem to deal with trauma and seemed happy that it was high quality.
“I needed a break,” Steichen said. “He ran three times in a row and went third and long, so we were going to turn the ball over.”
Extra quarterback Joe Flacco entered the game and actually handed off to running back Jonathan Taylor on third-and-goal from the 23. Taylor received five yards and the Colts settled for a 37-yard grassland goal, cutting into Houston’s . achieve 20-13. The Texans ultimately won 23-20.
The extraordinary thread of events better accentuates the discourse around Richardson, whose season-long struggles were a weekly challenge for the Colts. Richardson, the fourth pick in the 2023 draft, has completed 44.4% of his attempts this season next Sunday, 10 of 32 and 175 yards.
Sunday’s crucial showdown in the AFC South (a win would have given the Colts a share of control of the bracket with Houston) rather than becoming another referendum on Richardson’s time with Indianapolis.
Richardson’s talented players let him down again and again in the contest, with running back Tyler Goodson missing a super landing pass and a Michael Pittman Jr. penalty negating any other possible Richardson landing throws. Richardson was harassed on 17 of his 32 dropbacks in the contest, implying some coverage issues.
But the conversation tends to be sentimental about Richardson’s performance, despite his 69-yard touchdown pass to receiver Josh Downs.
The closest glimpses of his critical ability came in the four games he played in 2023 before suffering season-ending shoulder trauma, Richardson may have regressed in 2024. For his section, Richardson doesn’t welcome that narrative.
“I feel like I’m a great passer,” he said. “I’ve played quarterback pretty much my entire life. I’m just a different quarterback than everyone else, so people are going to try to point out that I’m not as efficient as everyone else. But it’s great for me. I run the ball much better than any other quarterback. Probably not Lamar. [Jackson]but [better] than most quarterbacks. “So I take advantage of my opportunities.”
Richardson had a quick 45 yards on six carries on Sunday, but most of his two carries were designed runs. That paled in comparison to the seven he scored in a win over the Miami Dolphins last month.
So what’s in store for Richardson? The Colts have resisted the Flacco creation theory since Richardson returned from a two-game absence as a result of vicarious trauma. But the questions about Richardson are not slowing down.
“We are still working on the process,” Steichen said. “It’s a process. We keep working on it. We do it together. It’s a team game. We work on those things and we figure it out.”
