Evaluating Anthony Richardson's Performance in the Game Against the Lions

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have experienced a challenging stretch, having lost four of their last five games. Their most recent defeat occurred on Sunday afternoon when they fell to the Lions with a final score of 24-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

All eyes were on Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson as he made his second start after returning from being benched. Richardson completed 11 of 28 passes for 172 yards, without throwing any touchdowns or interceptions, despite facing significant pressure throughout the game.

“I thought he played well,” said Colts head coach Shane Steichen. “Obviously, took care of the football. Like I said, we were in some tough situations there with them on first-and-20s and second-and-longs. Those are hard to overcome sometimes, but I thought he battled like crazy throughout the whole game for sure.”

Some of those "tough situations" referenced by Steichen stemmed from penalties; the Colts recorded a season-high 10 penalties during this matchup, many of which negated substantial plays.

“I think he (Richardson) handled it well,” said Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. “It's a great football team. When you have so many penalties it’s hard to win when you shoot yourself in the foot before or during the play. For us as an offense, those mistakes need to be eliminated for us to even have a chance. I think he managed it well considering some of those pre-snap and during-the-play penalties we had.”

While Richardson's statistics might not tell the entire story, several incompletions could arguably have been completions under different circumstances. One notable missed opportunity was a throw to tight end Drew Ogletree in the second quarter that would have resulted in a touchdown if caught.

After the game, Richardson shared his thoughts on Ogletree's drop:

“Man, just stick with it,” Richardson said. “He’s not going to catch every pass. I’m not going to throw a great ball every time. So, like I said, it’s the nature of the game. Whatever comes your way, you’ve got to adjust and just play ball. He dropped the ball – so what? I don’t throw perfect passes all the time either; it is what it is. We’ll get the next one.”

In addition to his passing performance, Richardson also led the Colts in rushing with a career-high 61 yards on 10 carries.

“Gosh, he made some good plays – off-platform throws,” Steichen noted. “He had a big one on third down that got called back due to holding. But again, he’s battling like crazy; I thought he did well without turning the ball over and made important plays with his legs on that first drive. We just need to find ways to finish drives in the red zone and convert those opportunities into touchdowns moving forward.”

The Colts will look to rebound next Sunday against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.