There are a lot of dirty hands for the Indianapolis Colts when it comes to the decision to bench Anthony Richardson for veteran Joe Flacco. Richardson certainly did his part by missing throws and not operating the offense nearly as efficiently and effectively as Flacco, but his teammates did their part as well.
The Colts had a number of dropped passes in their narrow loss against the Texans on Sunday, not to mention Richardson was consistently under pressure because the offensive line couldn't keep the Texans at bay. At 4-4, the Colts have a legitimate shot not only at a wild card playoff spot, but they could honestly still make a run at the AFC South if they play their cards right.
And Flacco, quite frankly, has been impressive when on the field. Too impressive over the last two years to be riding the pine. He should undoubtedly be playing, but people hate that it's coming at the expense of Anthony Richardson. Let's talk about whether or not the Colts were right to make this move...
Colts make controversial choice to bench young QB Anthony Richardson
Some people are calling Richardson's decision to "tap out" of a third-and-long play because of fatigue as "quitting" on his team. I don't know that I would go that far, but at the same time, has anyone seen that before? I can't recall the last time I saw a quarterback call for a substitution due to exhaustion on the field.
Regardless of what your thoughts are about that particular play, there's no denying that the results with Flacco on the field have been superior than with Richardson on the field. Richardson has completed 44.4 percent of his passes in six games. The only game in which his completion rate was above 50 percent was a game in which he only threw four passes.
The Colts' offensive operation exploded with Joe Flacco on the field as Flacco has completed 65.7 percent of his throws in three games with a whopping seven touchdowns compared to just one interception. Richardson had just four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The bottom line in the NFL is winning games, and the Colts have a better chance of winning games with Flacco out there right now than with Richardson, who has some things to clean up mechanically that he can work on off the field. Even though it's frustrating that Colts head coach Shane Steichen declared that the way a guy like Richardson improves is with on-field reps, there are also aspects of the game that he doesn't appear to be seeing very well right now and sitting for a bit could help him.
This doesn't have to be the end for Richardson in the NFL, not even with the Colts. Even though it feels a certain type of way, he has a long career ahead of him. The Colts are a team that proved last year they can compete, finishing with nine wins. They have a ton of outstanding talent at the offensive skill positions and if Flacco can extract the best out of both of those guys, that can also help the team for the long haul.
And right now, it's impossible to know when Richardson might get back on the field. The Colts are making a rough decision -- develop the franchise QB or try to win now. And if at any point Flacco begins struggling, Richardson can come back and provide a spark.
We'll see the long-term effects of this move for the Colts, but given Richardson's massive struggles this year, even a top-five pick is not exempt from being benched for making poor decisions on the football field. This could end up being a great coaching move by Shane Steichen.