GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Anthony Richardson figures to produce numerous electrifying plays and youthful mistakes in his first full season as a starter.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback delivered too many of the latter on Sunday as the Colts remained winless after losing 16-10 to the Green Bay Packers. Richardson threw three interceptions, the last coming when Evan Williams picked off his Hail Mary pass on the game’s final play.
“You can’t win any game with multiple turnovers,” Richardson said. “That’s on me.”
Richardson went 17 of 34 for 204 yards with one touchdown pass to go along with the three INTs. He rushed for 37 yards on four carries.
The fact the Colts still had a chance in the closing seconds is a testament to Richardson’s playmaking ability.
Richardson showcased his extraordinary athleticism by staying inbounds long enough to run 11 yards down the sideline on a fourth-and-10 play to keep the Colts in the game. On the next play, the Colts scored their lone touchdown on Richardson’s 4-yard pass to Alec Pierce with 1:47 left in the game.
Indianapolis had the ball on its own 41-yard line for the game’s final play, but the Packers weren’t taking anything for granted after Richardson already had thrown a 60-yard touchdown pass to Pierce that traveled 63 yards in the air a week ago when the Colts fell 29-27 to the Houston Texans.
“The guy has a freaking cannon,” said Green Bay linebacker Eric Wilson, who had one of the Packers’ interceptions. “He put that on show the first game of the year.”
Those types of plays explain why the Colts have so much confidence in their future as long as Richardson can stay healthy. After the Colts selected the former Florida quarterback with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Richardson played just four games as a rookie before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
But the Colts also will have to live with the mistakes he’s going to make due to his relative inexperience. Richardson entered this season having started just 13 games in college and four in the pros.
His mistakes proved costly Sunday as the Colts failed to score on three separate trips to Packers territory. Indianapolis trailed 13-0 in the third quarter before its comeback attempt fell short.
“We just started out slow,” Richardson said. “It’s frustrating when you have a decent week of practice, you execute a certain way in practice, you game plan a certain way, and then you get to the game and some things are switched up and you adjust a little too late.”
Richardson’s first turnover came after the Packers took a 10-0 lead on their first two possessions. The Colts had reached Green Bay’s 40-yard line when Richardson encountered pressure and Xavier McKinney picked off an overthrown pass intended for Pierce.
With the Packers leading 16-3, the Colts again reached Green Bay’s 40 early in the fourth quarter. This time, Eric Wilson picked off a pass by Richardson that was intended for Michael Pittman.
“The first pick, that was just me,” Richardson said. “I saw A.P. coming across the field and I just released it a little too high. The second one, also me, I thought the backer was going to slide underneath the route to A.D. … The ’backer made a good play.”
Richardson didn’t get much help.
One week after allowing 213 yards rushing to Houston, the Colts gave up 261 yards on the ground, including 237 by halftime. Trey Sermon got stuffed for a 4-yard loss on third-and-1 from Green Bay’s 28 to open the fourth quarter, and Matt Gay followed that up by missing a 50-yard field goal.
Now the Colts have dug themselves an early hole as they chase the playoff berth that has eluded them since a 2020 appearance in the wild-card round.
“Honestly, I’m not worried,” Richardson said. “We know that we’re a way better football team than we are presenting right now. Like I said, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. We’ve got 15 more guaranteed, God’s willing we can get more. But we’ve just got to correct the little things that we’re messing up on right now and just show that we’re a good team.”
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