Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen has decided to go back to Anthony Richardson as the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the season a day after saying that Joe Flacco would be the starter until he said “otherwise.”
Steichen said on Monday that Flacco would start against the New York Jets and then said yesterday that “Joe's our guy right now,” but after an additional day to stew on a pair of consecutive losses and poor showings from Flacco, the second-year coach is putting Richardson back in. Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, was benched for Flacco after a game against the Houston Texans in which he “tapped out.”
Shane Steichen: "(Anthony Richardson) will start this week and he will start the rest of the season" #Colts pic.twitter.com/A5upn6gSns
— Dave Griffiths (@DaveG_Sports) November 13, 2024
After Richardson controversially asked to be taken out of the Colts' 23-20 loss to Houston, Steichen said he solely made the decision to replace Richardson with Flacco with winning in mind.
“Joe will be our quarterback going forward,” Steichen said at the time. “Joe gives us the best chance to win right now. I'm not giving up on Anthony Richardson.”
Anthony Richardson sat out a play because he was tired.
And now, he’s been benched.
In the 3rd quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Texans, Richardson tapped his helmet and took himself out of the game.
The reason?
“Tired, I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running… I just told… pic.twitter.com/55Rfo3T4XB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 29, 2024
Unfortunately, the move backfired on Steichen, whose team dropped an ugly game to the Minnesota Vikings on ‘Sunday Night Football' last week before losing to the Buffalo Bills this past weekend. In those games, Flacco threw 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, including 3 against Buffalo.
Despite having lost three in a row, the Colts (4-6) are still in the mix for a playoff spot. According to the NFL's Playoff Picture tool, Indianapolis currently has a 24% chance to make the postseason. With a win this weekend, the odds increase to 38%, but with a loss, they drop to 14%.
The Colts surely hope that Richardson's play, after having a few weeks to sit and watch, will improve down the stretch. The second-year quarterback has completed just 44.4% of his passes this season, in addition to throwing 4 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Indianapolis visits New York to play the Jets this weekend.