As Shane Steichen said, the Colts’ starters would play about a quarter and a half. For quarterback Anthony Richardson, that timeframe allotted for five possessions.
The first possession couldn’t have started out any better. Leading a scoring drive, Richardson went 7-for-8 for 65 yards with a touchdown pass–and the one drop was a pass that Drew Ogletree probably should have caught.
As I noted here, beyond the numbers, on a play-action heavy drive from Steichen, one of the more encouraging aspects of that possession was the process component of it–specifically how Richardson handled blitzes and his overall decision-making with the ball.
However, the following series did not go smoothly. Richardson would throw a pick six on a pass where him and Kylen Granson were not on the same page. Richardson thought Granson was sitting on the route while Granson broke outside.
On possession No. 3, the Colts would go three-and-out with the drive ending on a missed third-down throw from Richardson.
The fourth possession ended similarly, a three-and-out with Richardson not connecting with Mitchell on third down. We may never know, but the two may not have been on the same page.
Lastly, on Richardson’s final possession, the offense did pick up a first down on what was a beautifully placed ball on a pass to Granson. On first down, Richardson had nowhere to go with the ball and was stripped as he was trying to scramble. The Colts would recover, but punted two plays later.
Over those five series, Richardson was 8-of-14 for 86 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per attempt, with a touchdown and an interception.
The rollercoaster ride that we saw from Richardson and the starting offense shouldn’t be all that surprising. Richardson is still an inexperienced quarterback, playing in only four NFL games as a rookie with just 98 total dropbacks.
What he needs is continued reps and along the way, these highs and lows, to a degree, may just be a part of that learning curve.