COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Anthony Richardson led a touchdown drive on his first series against Bengals backups Thursday night, but the rest of his night was a struggle.
The Colts quarterback got his first significant chunk of playing time with the rest of the offensive starters in the final preseason game. He showed he still has work to do on his accuracy and consistency.
The fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft played the first five offensive series, finishing 8 for 14 for 86 yards in Indianapolis’ 27-14 victory over Cincinnati.
Most of it came on the first drive after a Cincinnati punt when Richardson directed an 80-yard drive, completing 7 of 8 passes for 65 yards and finishing it with a 9-yard scoring toss to Adonai Mitchell.
His one incompletion was a throw that sailed through the hands of tight end Drew Ogletree in the end zone.
It got worse from there.
Bengals safety Jordan Battle picked off Richardson’s pass and went in 9 yards for a TD. The third drive stalled when Richardson missed Mitchell on third-and-6 from the Colts 35.
Then he missed Mitchell again deep on third down to force another punt. On his last drive before giving way to Sam Ehlinger, he put the Colts in the hole with a sack and fumble. On third-and-15, picked up just 3 yards on a scramble.
BEARS 34, CHIEFS 21
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent ran for a touchdown on the opening drive of the Bears’ game against Kansas City on Thursday night, and Chicago went on to win in a preseason finale in which both teams sat nearly all their starters.
The game was halted briefly after the first play of the second half, when Bears cornerback Douglas Coleman III made a tackle along the Kansas City sideline and was left motionless on the ground. He was tended to by doctors as players from both teams took a knee, and eventually was immobilized on a stretcher and driven out of Arrowhead Stadium.
Bagent was 3 of 6 for 57 yards along with his TD run. The second-year pro has been competing with Brett Rypien, who took over late in the first quarter against Kansas City, for the job of backing up first overall draft pick Caleb Williams.
Reddy Steward picked off two passes for Chicago, bringing one back 48 yards for a touchdown.
Carson Steele had the most impressive night for the Chiefs. The undrafted rookie from UCLA made a good case to back up Isiah Pacheco, running four times for 50 yards. That included a 31-yard, tackle-breaking run to set up his own TD plunge.
Shortly before kickoff, the Chiefs agreed with Creed Humphrey on a four-year, $72 million extension, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The contract includes $50 million guaranteed, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the paperwork for the richest contract for a center in NFL history had yet to be signed.
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