The Colts gave up a winnable game against the Texans 23-20 as the division title chances crumbled. It will be a sharp climb to win this division and the only hope the Colts have is the Wild Card at this point. The Colts are now 1-3 in the division and the best they can finish is 3-3 now. The Colts defense kept the team at bay and the offense continued to sputter.
More Regression For Anthony Richardson
The final stats for Richardson were 10/32 for 175 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Yes, the box score looks awful, but as many of the local media pundits have said, some context is needed. In the first half, he finished 2/15 through the air, and while that is terrible, the coverage that Houston delivered was sticky. Several of the throws were on target and accurate but were ultimately incomplete. I thought local sportswriter Kevin Bowen said it best: they were “accurate incompletions.” He couldn’t be further from the truth. He had a better second half, and the receivers dropped a noticeable amount of on-target balls.
The biggest piece of news that has engulfed this team so far is when Anthony Richardson took himself out of the game on a 3rd and long. He claims he was “tired” and needed a break. The optics on this are understandably terrible and the noise is only going to get louder. The captain and leader of this football team should not be asking to come out of the game. Plain and simple. Shane Steichen, of course, defended the move and stood by his quarterback. Football is the ultimate team sport and the “Do Your Job” mantra is there for a reason. How this will be handled internally with the guys in the locker room will be a storyline to follow this week.
The “Get Up” panel was not kind to Anthony Richardson this morning. pic.twitter.com/34iGI78jlT
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) October 28, 2024
The Defense Bent But Didn’t Break….Again
Overall, I thought the defense was just OK this week. Allowing only 23 points is typically considered a victory for the unit but there were some cracks. The stars of the show this week were DeForest Buckner and Dayo Odeyingbo. Both were disruptive on CJ Stroud and were the only ones that were able to obtain a sack. The pressure on Stroud was there but he was able to either get away from it or get the ball out before the sack hit. The Colts had no answer for Joe Mixon (again) as he finished with 102 yards on 25 carries.
The secondary did a great job at the beginning of the matchup, but the effectiveness waned as the game progressed. Jaylon Jones and Samuel Womack made minimal impact on the game and the Texans receivers feasted. Stroud threw for 285 yards in the air and of the 21 first downs they racked up, 15 of them came from the arm of CJ Stroud. Considering the poor performances we have seen this season; this defense did keep them afloat and prevented the game from getting out of hand.
Shane Steichen Begins To Lose His Luster
The struggles of the franchise over the past two seasons are known. But there is one person who seems to dodge that criticism, and that person is Shane Steichen. His past resume with quarterbacks showed he was capable of greatness and was brought in to be the coach for Anthony Richardson. Steichen backed up the hype by getting the Colts to a missed throw from the playoffs last season with Gardner Minshew under center for much of the season.
This season has been a roller coaster, but one thing is persistent. This team is unable to put together a complete game in all three phases. Anthony Richardson has been downright bad, and it now appears he is regressing in his development. On defense, they continue to improve but just cannot have full consistency. The special teams unit has been fine, but nothing has really stood out.
While Steichen was brought in to coach the entire team obviously, we all know he was brought in to oversee the development of Anthony Richardson. Steichen’s strength has been developing a wide assortment of quarterbacks. Most importantly, bringing out the best in them.
Whatever plan they had for Richardson this season is simply not working. You cannot tell me that throwing that ball at the end of the half that was intercepted by the Texans Jalen Pitre was a good call. You had the opportunity to just run the ball and potentially go to halftime tied after your offense could not get anything going. It’s inexcusable, and play calls like that can get playcallers fired. Yes, the Texans’ coverage on the receivers was terrific most of the game, but he is simply not setting Richardson up for success this season. Steichen knows it, and he must be better going forward, or the sentiment around him will begin to change.
I asked #Colts HC Shane Steichen how *he* can make it easier on Anthony Richardson:
“We’re evaluating everything. Running the ball better, putting him in simpler positions, getting the ball out of his hands quicker, so he’s not dropping back, sitting back … We gotta be better.” pic.twitter.com/hBB1XtQWJB
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 28, 2024
