Colts' Anthony Richardson Reflects on Tale of Two Halves vs. Rams
The margin for error in the NFL is incredibly slim.
The difference between winning and losing is normally determined by a few select plays throughout the contest. Make too many self-inflicted mistakes, and it will be difficult to come out with a victory.
The Indianapolis Colts witnessed that firsthand on Sunday as the Colts fell to the Los Angeles Rams 29-23 in overtime, the second straight week Indy has forced overtime. The Colts were down 23-0 in the second half before roaring back with 23 unanswered points to tie the game. The comeback fell just short as the Rams won on a walk-off touchdown from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua.
But how did the Colts get down 23-0 in the first place? Quarterback Anthony Richardson, who returned this week after missing last week's contest with a concussion, offered some insight into why it was a tale of two halves for the Colts on Sunday.
"We were definitely frustrated in the first half," Richardson revealed. "The offense, we started off very slow. We weren’t executing the right way or doing the right things that we thought we were going to do. They showed us a little bit of different things. It took us a while to adjust, but we just started out slow."
The Colts had trouble moving the ball in the first half. Numerous three-and-outs plagued the offense as Indy could not sustain drives. When Richardson and the Colts did get a drive going, spearheaded by Richardson's work on the ground, it ended in a turnover as the ball was punched out of Richardson's arms as he was going to the ground.
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The Colts also had trouble containing one of the best defensive players of all time in Aaron Donald. Down Bernhard Raimann and Ryan Kelly due to concussions, the Colts started backups at left tackle and center. Rookie fourth-round pick Blake Freeland got his first career start at left tackle, and it went about as well as you would expect when facing Donald.
The Rams often lined up Donald on Freeland to take advantage of the rookie. Donald was a menace on Sunday, finishing with a sack, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and numerous pressures. Richardson had to escape the pocket multiple times because of Donald and the Rams pass rush.
“Man, he’s a great player," Richardson remarked about Donald. "You always watch him. Last year I was watching him a lot and was like, ‘Dang, I’m going to have to go against that dude one day.’ Today was the day. He definitely made some great plays. He’s a great guy, great ball player. It just took me a while to kind of adjust and understand how physical he was. So we just dialed it up and tried to make it work.”
The Colts defense had one of their worst halves of the season as well, contributing to the 23-0 hole they found themselves in. The pass rush had a hard time getting to Stafford, allowing the Super Bowl-winning quarterback plenty of time to throw. Numerous penalties on the defense gave the Rams free yards and allowed them to extend drives.
Going into the half down 20-0, the Colts knew it would take a massive effort to get themselves back into the game. But the Colts did not focus on the gigantic task as a whole. Richardson and the Colts needed to focus on stringing together good plays and executing the game plan.
"The second half, we just came out and tried to play and focus on the next play instead of worrying about trying to dig ourselves out of the hole.”
The rookie quarterback took it upon himself to lead the Colts back into this game. On the second drive of the second half, after three nice gains on the ground by Zack Moss, Richardson escaped the pocket once again and fired a dart on the run to Mo Alie-Cox for a 35-yard touchdown. The Colts got a two-point conversion on the next play as Richardson escaped the pocket again and found Moss on the left side. The first score of the game for the Colts was spurred by Richardson creating when the play broke down and gave the offense some life.
“I think (extending plays is) a huge part of my game," Richardson explained. "I guess there is a whole bunch of studies out there that shows if a quarterback is able to extend the play, most of the time it’s going to work out. I just try to make it work. If it doesn’t work the right way that we hope it would work and designed it to work, I just try to improvise and make things work in a certain way. My teammates, they knew where to go whenever I did leave the pocket and I just get them the ball so they can make plays.”
The Colts got another score two drives later as Richardson took it in himself for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. Richardson became the first quarterback in NFL history to have four rushing touchdowns in his first three games. The score was set up by a deep ball to Alec Pierce for 38 yards, followed by a dart to Michael Pittman Jr. for another 15.
Richardson was cooking now, and after leading the Colts down the field on the very next drive, tied the game with another touchdown pass to Drew Ogletree and a two-point conversion to Pittman. The rookie quarterback led the Colts back from a 23-point deficit against a team that won the Super Bowl two years prior. It was a remarkable half from Richardson that showed great poise and resiliency.
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“I just let it flow," Richardson admitted. "I try not to get too high on myself because everything could be going good and one minute it flips on you. I just try to focus on each and every play. Whenever we were in the huddle, I was telling the guys, ‘Let’s just move the ball and focus on each and every play and try not to rush into it.’ I did feel like I was clicking a little bit but I was just trying to trust it every play.”
Richardson finished the day 11-of-25 (44%) for 200 yards and two touchdowns through the air while adding 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The rookie was not perfect on the day but proved he could bounce back from a rough start and get his team back into the game. The defense also stepped up, limiting the Rams to three points in the second half before the overtime period.
So, at the end of the day, what was the difference between the two halves for the Colts?
"We stopped shooting ourselves in the foot," Richardson said candidly. "Limit the penalties and started working the offense the right way – the way we thought we should’ve been doing it in the first half. Just focusing on each and every play. The first half, we didn’t do that. So we just tried to limit all the penalties and stuff that we were doing to ourselves and tried to play against the other team instead of playing against ourselves.”
There are no moral victories in the NFL. Ultimately, the Colts dug themselves into too deep of a hole due to self-inflicted wounds and unnecessary penalties. However, what Sunday did prove is that the Colts have a young quarterback who does not get rattled when things get tough and can will his team back into a game when down three scores.
It may sting now, but in a season where development and preparation for the future are paramount, Richardson has already shown to be the real deal.
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