Richardson, Explosive Colts Not Enough to Topple Texans | Jake's Takes

The Indianapolis Colts had a couple of 50-plus-yard touchdowns on Sunday but could not fend off the AFC South division champion Houston Texans.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks to pass Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, during a game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

For the first time since last October, the Indianapolis Colts (0-1) had their quarterback on the field for the regular season as the team hosted the Houston Texans (1-0) on Sunday.

Throughout the game, Anthony Richardson showed examples of why he was sorely missed last year as he recovered from an early-season shoulder injury. The second-year quarterback orchestrated long touchdowns of 54 and 60 yards and a determined rushing touchdown late from a few yards out. However, it was not enough to overcome the reigning AFC South division champions, as the Texans left with a 29-27 victory.

Here are my takes from the first game of what should be a promising season.

— The streak lives on. The Colts haven't won on Week 1 since 2013 against the Oakland Raiders.

— The vertical passing game is confirmed to be back. In the first quarter, during the Colts' second drive of the game, Richardson took a shotgun snap, faked a handoff, slipped, and uncorked a rocket while nine yards deep in his own backfield. The ball sailed toward the end zone, hitting Alec Pierce perfectly in stride for the Colts' first touchdown of the 2024 season, a 60-yarder in totality. Later, early in the fourth quarter, Richardson lasered a pass about 20 yards over the middle of the field, which was caught by Ashton Dulin, who took the ball the rest of the way for a 54-yard touchdown. This was an element of the Colts' offense sorely lacking in 2023 with Richardson out.

A 60-yard drop in a bucket.

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/7hI0hGDQfm

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 8, 2024

— Richardson has a relatively strong rapport with most of his pass-catchers, but it appears his chemistry with rookie AD Mitchell is still a work in progress. On the Colts' first drive of the game, they faced 4th-and-2 from the Houston 47-yard line, and Mitchell ran a short comeback to the right side. Richardson's pass was well over Mitchell's head, so much so that it begs the question of whether or not there was a miscommunication on how the route was supposed to develop. Later, midway through the second quarter, the Texans blew coverage, which allowed Mitchell to skate free down the right side, but Richardson floated the ball and missed Mitchell for a would-be 29-yard touchdown. Richardson later narrowly missed Mitchell for another would-be touchdown and then once more on a back-shoulder throw down the right side.

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— The Colts' pass rush needed a strong performance to beat Houston, and they did just that despite the loss. In total, the Colts sacked Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud four times (DeForest Buckner 1.5, Kwity Paye 1.0, Tyquan Lewis 1.0, Dayo Odeyingbo 0.5) and had 10 hits. Rookie Laiatu Latu also made an impact despite not registering his own takedown. While Latu was lined up on the right end, Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil committed two false starts.

— The reason the Colts needed their pass rush to step up on Sunday is because the secondary is still a work in progress, which rang true throughout the game. They did have some nice plays, but much of it was aided by the pass rush. While there weren't any blown coverages that led to huge plays for Houston, too often, there were Texans receivers all alone, allowing Stroud to hit them for productive gains. There were also a couple of ill-timed penalties on the defensive backs, which kept Texans drives alive.

— Special teams remains one of the biggest X-factors. Midway through the third quarter, Buckner and Odeyingbo got through for a sack, which forced a Texans punt from their own 18-yard line. Colts linebacker Segun Olubi flew in from Houston's right side and blocked the punt, which was recovered by Colts safety Trevor Denbow at Houston's 5-yard line. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor punched the ball into the end zone on the very next play.

— God bless you, TY Hilton. While the former Colts great is no longer with the team, he is still offering his support. On Sunday, it was in the form of the pregame ceremony of banging the anvil, in which he then put on the famous clown mask that he wore against the Texans back in the 2018 playoffs.

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