After the Indianapolis Colts squandered multiple chances to pick up a massive division win against the Houston Texans in Week 8, head coach Shane Steichen made a shocking decision. Steichen announced that he is benching quarterback Anthony Richardson in favor of longtime veteran Joe Flacco.
The fallout from the decision is understandably a big deal, and the optics aren’t great around benching a former top five pick after just 10 NFL starts. Despite the move, the Colts have insisted that they’re not giving up on Richardson and that he will be back in the lineup soon. Did receiver Michael Pittman Jr. came to his quarterback’s defense in a post on Instagram.
Richardson’s benching came as a surprise to many because of how young he is and how little experience that he has at the NFL level, but his play on the field had certainly not been up to standard so far this season. He has taken a step back from before his injury that ended his rookie year.
Sunday may have been rock bottom for Richardson, who completed just two out of 15 passes in the first half and finished the game just 10-for-32. While his receivers didn’t exactly help him out on some of those balls, Richardson’s inaccuracy is a massive problem and is hampering a passing game that is not functional at times with him quarterback.
Both sides of the Anthony Richardson-Joe Flacco debate
Anthony Richardson’s benching has sparked heated discussion from fans on both sides about why the move should or should not have been made.
On one side, Joe Flacco gives the Colts the best chance to win this season. There’s no question about it after watching them both play this year. In three games, Flacco has thrown for 716 yards and seven touchdowns to just one interception while completing almost 66% of his passes. The offense is scoring 28 points per game in his starts and has been very productive.
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Richardson’s stats pale in comparison. He is completing just a dismal 44.4% of his passes with four touchdowns and seven picks and has looked skittish this season. His inaccuracy is glaring, and he seems to have lost the feel for the position that he had as a rookie.
On the other side, the whole deal with Richardson coming out of college was that he needed more reps. He was a raw, toolsy project that needed to be molded into an NFL quarterback. Maybe the Colts feel like sitting him down for some period of time is the best way to help him reset, but the timing of the move is strange.
Then again, maybe the Colts’ Week 9 matchup also plays a part in the decision. Indianapolis will take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, which sounds like a nightmare defense for Richardson to have to face.
Brian Flores’ exotic, blitz-heavy defense would be a real handful for Richardson to play against at this stage where he is severely lacking confidence. Flacco can stay calm, execute and distribute the ball where it needs to go to give the Colts a better chance of moving the ball on Sunday, and maybe Richardson can come back into the lineup when the schedule gives them a more quarterback-friendly matchup.