It was reported on Tuesday that the Indianapolis Colts will be benching Anthony Richardson in favor of veteran backup Joe Flacco.
Flacco will now make this third start of the season on Sunday night and against a very aggressive Minnesota Vikings defense.
Minnesota, who will have had additional time to prepare for this matchup having last played on Thursday, will enter Week 9 as a top 10 scoring defense and the best at disrupting the quarterback.
According to Pro Football Reference, the Vikings rank first in pressure rate this season and frequently cause that disruption through blitzing. Under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Minnesota also does an excellent job of disguising where those blitzes are coming from.
Overall, the Colts offensive line has held up well this season but they are coming off a rough performance against Houston, where Richardson was under pressure on nearly 50 percent of his dropbacks.
If Flacco is under that kind of duress, he doesn’t have the ability to get away from defenders and escape the pocket like Richardson does.
Passing game-wise, Flacco will add more stability, having completed 65.7 percent of his passes this season at a modest 6.6 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns to one interception.
With the Colts making this move on Tuesday, Flacco will have the entire week of practice to prepare with the first team offense.