INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson tries to ignore the glaring numbers everyone else is talking about.
He has the lowest completion percentage and second-lowest passer rating of any NFL starter after three games, and he leads the league with six interceptions.
No, this is not how the former Florida star envisioned starting his second pro season, but the unflappable 22-year-old has managed to keep his head down, his mind focused on improving and putting this rough patch in perspective.
“It’s just trusting myself, trusting my instincts. You know I’ve been throwing the football for a long time,” Richardson said Wednesday. “Why not just keep spinning it? Just let it rip.”
Richardson’s ability to throw — and run — is what made him such an intriguing prospect that Indy (1-2) took him with No. 4 overall pick in 2023, hoping to stop what seemed an unending quarterback carrousel.
At times, Richardson has shown glimpses of his star power. He completed three passes of 50 or more yards, two for touchdowns, in a season-opening loss to Houston including a perfect 60-yard dart to Alec Pierce just outside the goal line despite slipping on the throw. Coach Shane Steichen called it, perhaps, the best throw he’d ever seen.
At other times, though, Richardson has shown two flaws critics questioned when he came out of college — inaccuracy and inexperience. He’s missed open receivers in key situations or worse, often resulting in short, empty series, resulting in a time of possession disparity of nearly 17 minutes per game through three weeks.
Still, the Colts aren’t worried.
“It’s a long season and we’re only three games into it,” Steichen said. “The confidence level remains high and you continue to grow every single week. You have to go out and have great practices , great meetings and then you go perform on Sunday.”
What Indy has largely seen, so far, is inconsistency.
While Richardson’s strong arm is capable of making game-changing plays at almost any moment and from virtually any spot on the field, everyone including Richardson knows a 49.3% completion rate and passer rating of 55.9 simply are not good enough to win games on a weekly basis. Throwing twice as many interceptions (six) as TD passes (three) won’t work either.
But the Colts also acknowledge they need to be patient.
General manager Chris Ballard has been fond of noting Indy’s young players, not just Richardson, will only get better with playing time. Steichen concurs.
The reality is Richardson only made 13 starts with the Gators and had his first NFL season cut short after four games because of season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder. So with only 20 starts since his prep career ended, Richardson is far from a finished product, something Richardson appears to understand.
“I’ve just got to settle down and just let the ball spin. I’ve just got to give myself time and give myself some grace,” Richardson said after a subpar performance in Sunday’s 21-16 victory over Chicago. “I’m so hard on myself when I’m missing passes out there because it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t want to miss any passes.’ Like, I say, stuff like that’s going to happen, but I don’t want them to happen. So, I’ve just got to play better.”
But finding success won’t come easily.
Next up for Richardson is a chess match against the league’s top-ranked overall defense and scoring defense Sunday when unbeaten Pittsburgh (3-0) comes to town.
Indy snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Steelers in December with the rehabbing Richardson on the sideline.
Then the Colts hit the road for two weeks against AFC South foes who have been regular thorns in Indy’s playoff hopes — Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Though Richardson believes some problems can be fixed by getting back in sync with receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, who returned last week from an ankle injury that kept him off the field for more than a month.
The other part of the solution comes down to Richardson getting back to who he’s always been on a football field.
“Sometimes as a player, you try to think about technique and certain things like that, so thinking about it too much while you’re also trying to think about a game plan and stuff, it can throw you off a little bit,” he said. “You’re just thinking too much instead of just relying on instincts and playing. This week, we’re just focused on playing football and mastering what we can master.”
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