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Stephen Holder, ESPNOct 22, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at large. Stephen finished first place in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition, and he is a previous top-10 winner in explanatory journalism in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. He has chronicled the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005-2013 and the Colts since 2013. He has previously worked for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.
INDIANAPOLIS — With 3:36 remaining in a close game on Sunday and his team facing a third-and-4, Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen could have called a quick throw or a reliable run play for one his backs.
He settled on neither option.
Steichen kept the ball in his quarterback’s hands, calling a power run to the right for Anthony Richardson. Some timely blocking and Richardson’s quickness and hard running allowed him to burst through a hole for eight yards and a clutch first down. After being tackled, Richardson got up and made a dramatic first-down signal, to the delight of the home crowd.
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“Just trying to get the energy going in the stadium,” he said.
Less than two minutes later, the Colts added a field goal that helped ice a 16-10 win over the Miami Dolphins.
“It was huge,” Steichen said.
All told, Richardson, the Colts’ second-year quarterback, ran the ball a career-high 14 times. At least seven of those were designed runs as opposed to scrambles. And much to the Colts’ relief, Richardson appeared to emerge unscathed. That’s crucial as the Colts, winners of four of their last five, travel to play the Houston Texans on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
That cannot be considered a certainty given Richardson’s injury history during his short career. He returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing two games with an oblique injury that was the result of a hit he took while scrambling in the open field in a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. That comes after the season-ending shoulder injury Richardson sustained last season on a quarterback run — one that sidelined him for 12 games.
It all has made the topic of Richardson running the football a delicate subject for the Colts.
But something became more apparent on Sunday: Richardson’s running ability was a huge factor in the Colts’ decision to draft him. To shy away from it — especially on a day when the passing game was struggling mightily — would have been detrimental.
Instead, Steichen leaned into his quarterback’s unique skill set. And results followed.
“I’m here because I’m me,” Richardson said. “I think I’m one of one, honestly. Not many people can do what I do.”
Left tackle Bernhard Raimann took note of Richardson’s impact and the lingering effect of his powerful runs.
“It gets everybody fired up,” he said. “We’ve known this ever since he got here, which just shows up on the field over and over again. He cares so much about this team, about winning football games.
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“Anthony is going to make the most out of it, even if he has a tiny gap to squeeze through. He’s going to make it and he’s going to give it his all.”
Yardage was hard to come by for the Colts on Sunday. The Colts’ 284 yards were their second-fewest of the season. Richardson, facing a flurry of blitzes, was under constant pressure and completed just 10 of 24 passes for 129 yards.
Richardson faced pressure on 60% of his dropbacks. But, notably, he was not sacked despite seeing an extra rusher on 16 of his 29 dropbacks. That’s a season high for blitzes faced by the Colts, but Richardson navigated it skillfully because of his ability to escape and, when needed, scramble.
“I think it’s his strength, and his size to get out of those tough situations and, like I said, it was huge,” Steichen said of his 6-4, 244-pound quarterback. “You got a few of them [Sunday] to avoid some very bad plays. So, credit to him and his ability to get out of those things and avoid those situations.”
Richardson had a team-high 56 yards on 14 carries for an average of 4.0 yards per carry. But his presence had an important overall effect on the offense that might have been less obvious. It was no coincidence the Colts had a season-high 155 rushing yards against Miami, despite playing a third straight game without standout running back Jonathan Taylor. The threat Richardson poses as a runner impacts defenses differently than a more stationary quarterback.
Of course, an NFL quarterback cannot make a living by being primarily a runner. Richardson did not have an efficient day as a passer and admitted it. But Steichen emphasized that much of the blame for that should be directed at his playcalling and gameplanning.
Steichen also said the Dolphins’ coverage presented issues for Richardson.
“There wasn’t a lot of stuff open, to be honest,” the coach said. “So, that’s on me.”
Said Richardson: “Whatever they did, they did a great job. They were dialing it up. We were trying to adjust, but they just kept bringing it.”
But when the Dolphins did, the Colts had an answer: Richardson. The Colts can’t and won’t avoid using his running ability because it’s too important to their success.
“My arm and my legs,” he said, “are a great part of this offense.”
