Ups and downs of Anthony Richardson: “I could have played better.”

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is experiencing the typical ups and downs of a young player still finding his footing.

In Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans, the second-year QB had a rough outing, completing just 10 of 32 passes for 175 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, and taking five sacks. He struggled to find his rhythm, and a poorly-timed interception before halftime helped the Texans take the lead, which they held onto for the rest of the game.

Richardson is aware that some criticism will be aimed at him after losing a close divisional matchup. “You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt because people are going to say it’s my fault,” he said, via Mike Chappell of FOX 59. “I definitely could have played better today.”

It wasn’t the cleanest performance for Richardson, who missed on a lot of his throws, both short and deep. His stats from Week 8 weren’t ideal: he completed less than 50% of his passes under 15 yards (8-of-18) and just 15.4% of passes over 15 yards (2-of-13), according to Next Gen Stats. But Richardson is taking responsibility for his struggles. “I could have delivered the ball better and made better checks. I know I could’ve played better. Even when we win, people say I’m the reason we won. So, you’ve just got to take both the good and the bad. I’m just trying to grow and keep improving.”

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Despite the rough patches, Richardson remains confident in his ability. He’s had a tough year, currently holding the NFL’s lowest completion percentage at 44.4% in 2024. However, he believes in his long-term potential. “I know I can play football. I’ve been doing this my whole life. They said (Michael) Vick didn’t have a great completion percentage early on, and he became one of the best to ever do it. I just focus on each play as it comes, control what I can, and keep pushing to get better.”

At one point during the third quarter, after a scramble and a sack, Richardson tapped his helmet and asked to come out of the game for a breather. Joe Flacco stepped in for one play, which led to a 37-yard field goal by Matt Gay. Head coach Shane Steichen didn’t see it as a big issue. “He needed a quick break. It was third-and-long, so we decided to hand the ball off,” Steichen explained. Richardson added, “I was just tired. I ran a lot on that play, and I didn’t think I had it in me for the next one.”

While the Colts’ offense hasn’t been firing on all cylinders, there doesn’t seem to be any serious consideration of benching Richardson in favor of Flacco. Steichen emphasized that it’s all part of the learning process. “It’s a process, and we’re working through it together. It’s a team effort, and we’ll figure it out.”

With Sunday’s loss, the Colts dropped to 4-4, including two losses to the division-leading Texans. They’re currently just outside the playoff picture, sitting in the No. 8 spot, so there’s still plenty of time for them to make a run. But for that to happen, they’ll need more consistency from their young quarterback moving forward.

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