Insider: Anthony Richardson starts hot, cools off as Colts lose to Jaguars 31-

[JAFF]

Insider: Anthony Richardson starts hot, cools off as Colts lose to Jaguars 31-

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts put a scare in the AFC South favorites in the joint debut of head coach Shane Steichen and quarterback Anthony Richardson.

But the Indianapolis offense wasn’t able to keep the pressure on behind its rookie quarterback, and Jacksonville eventually overwhelmed the Colts 31-21 in the first game of the season, the Colts’ 10th consecutive opener without a win.

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) moves in to bring down Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Richardson on fire early, cools off late before injury

The debut of the NFL Draft’s No. 4 pick got off to an impressive start.

Richardson completed 16 of his first 20 passes for 164 yards, ran seven times for 28 yards and got his first touchdown pass on a screen Michael Pittman Jr. took 39 yards for the score.


Indianapolis gave Richardson a lot of short, quick throws early in the game, allowing him to move the chains by making quick decisions and getting the ball out of his hands, mostly to slot receiver Josh Downs, running backs and tight ends.

Once the Colts took the lead on DeForest Buckner’s wild strip-sack and fumble return, though, Richardson struggled, completing just 1 of 7 passes over the next three series, including a backbreaking interception to Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell, who leaped in the way of a deep out for a pick that set up a dagger of a touchdown for the Jaguars.




More:Jaguars stop playing, Colts don't and DeForest Buckner scores

Ultimately, Richardson completed 24 of 37 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he rushed for 40 yards on 10 carries in a start that proved the rookie can handle a starting job in the NFL, even if there are likely to be some dry periods along the way.


Richardson went down with an injury on his final carry, staying down after taking a big hit from two Jacksonville defenders before getting up with trainers and giving way to Gardner Minshew.

Running backs fall flat in Jonathan Taylor’s absence

The Jonathan Taylor saga has dominated the Indianapolis airwaves for months.




First, the Colts decided they would not entertain any talks of extending Taylor until after the season, a move that led to a frustrated Taylor, a trade request and the running back's frantic-but-fruitless search for a trade partner leading up to the NFL’s mandatory roster reduction to 53 players.

Taylor is now on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, forced to miss the first four games.

More:Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is reportedly healthy, targeting Week 5 return

And after plenty of debate this offseason about the value of running backs in today’s game, Indianapolis got precious little production from the position against Jacksonville.

Veteran backup Zack Moss was held out of the game, unable to return from the broken arm he suffered at the beginning of training camp. Rookie Evan Hull left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.

That left most of the work up to Deon Jackson.



Jackson struggled mightily. The third-year back carried 12 times for 14 yards, caught five passes for just 14 yards and fumbled twice, putting Taylor’s absence in the spotlight in the worst way possible.

Colts defense can’t hold on

When the Indianapolis offense fell flat in the second half, it put an awful lot of weight on an Indianapolis defense that had given the Colts the lead on one of the wildest plays the NFL will see this season.

Unable to cover Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley in the first half — Ridley finished the game with eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown — the Colts found a rhythm by dominating the line of scrimmage, shutting down the Jaguars running game and then making an enormous play.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner sacked Trevor Lawrence as the Jacksonville quarterback reared back to throw, forcing the ball up in to the air for a fumble, and when Jaguars rookie Tank Bigsby picked it up, he thought it was an incomplete pass.



Veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin, who racked up 19 tackles in the game, came rushing up and knocked the ball out of Bigsby’s hands, sending it flying back into open space, where Buckner picked it up and took off, rumbling all the way to the end zone and reaching his left hand over the goal line for the second touchdown of his career, handing Indianapolis a 21-17 lead.

But Indianapolis failed to run more than four plays on five consecutive possessions around that play, and eventually the Jaguars wore the Colts defense down, leading to a go-ahead touchdown by Bigsby and a 26-yard touchdown run for Travis Etienne that sealed the game.