Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is playing through the growing pains.
The second-year signal-caller struggled Sunday in a 23-20 loss to Houston, completing 10 of 32 attempts for 175 yards with a touchdown, an interception and five sacks. Richardson was off the mark all afternoon and tossed a horrible pick late in the first half that allowed the Texans to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Richardson knows the criticism is coming his way after a winnable division game fell by the wayside.
"Man, you've got to take it with a grain of salt because people are going to say it's my fault," he said, via Mike Chappell of FOX 59. "I definitely could have played better today."
Richardson was scattershot again Sunday, missing passes short and wide. Only a handful of his passes were crisp and on the mark. Richardson had a sub-50 completion percentage on passes both under 15 air yards (8-of-18, 44.4 pct) and on passes of 15+ air yards (2-of-13, 15.4 pct) in Week 8, per Next Gen Stats.
"I definitely could have delivered the ball better," Richardson said. "I definitely could have made some better checks. I could have played better. I definitely understand that. Even when we play well and we win the game, they're going to say, 'AR was the main reason we won.' You've just got to be able to take both sides of it, the wins and the losses. I'm just steadily trying to grow and just keep getting better."
Richardson has struggled in Year 2, owning an NFL-worst 44.4 completion percentage in 2024.
Sunday's struggles came against a menacing Texans defense, which has made QBs look pedestrian all season. The only two players over the last 10 seasons to complete less than one-third of their passes in a game with 30-plus attempts are Richardson and Josh Allen. Both came this season on the road against the Texans.
The struggles might be easier to dismiss if it were a one-game blip from Richardson. But the 22-year-old is confident he can turn the page.
"Because I can play," Richardson said. "I can play football. I've been doing it my whole life. I don't necessarily look at numbers. They said (Michael) Vick didn't have a great completion percentage his first couple of years and he's probably one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever do it.
"I just look at each play for itself because I don't have the ability to control every single thing that happens on every single play. I can only control what I can control, and I'm just trying to do my part out there.
"If my numbers are low, I've just got to pick them up, and I've just got to play better."
A sequence midway through the third quarter will make headlines. After scrambling and eventually being sacked for no loss, Richardson tapped his helmet, asking to exit. Joe Flacco replaced him for one play on a third-and-23, which led to Matt Gay's 37-yard field goal. Coach Shane Steichen dismissed the situation.
"He needed a breather," Steichen said. "It was third-and-long, so we said we're going to hand the ball off."
Richardson's added: "Tired. I ain't going to lie. That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn't think I was going to be able to do that next play."
The lack of offensive efficiency is more troubling than the one-play reprieve. The Colts don't appear to be legitimately considering sitting Richardson for a game or two at this point in favor of Flacco.
"We keep working through the process," Steichen said when asked about Richardson. "It's a process. We keep grinding through it. We do it together.
"It's a team game. We grind through those things and we get it figured out."
Sunday's loss dropped Indy to 4-4, with two defeats coming at the hands of the division-leading Texans. Sitting at the No. 8 spot, just outside the final wild-card berth, plenty of time remains for the Colts to get into the dance. But they'll need more consistency from the QB.
