Anthony Richardson Week 1 Film Report

Anthony Richardson took to the field for his first career start this past weekend.

Indianapolis Colts' rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson made his debut as a starter this past weekend, as the team fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-21 to kick off the 2023 season. While it was far from a perfect game for the young signal caller, he certainly looked like he belonged in his first game.

Richardson was lambasted in the pre-draft cycle for his lack of accuracy and overall raw ability as a passer, but he looked more than ready for the big league in game one. He completed 24 of 37 passes for 223 yards with one touchdown and an interception, as well as adding 40 yards and a score rushing on the day.

There is bound to be a learning curve for the young passer in year one, and this article series will document the ups and the downs of his first season with the Colts. Today, let's dive into the positives and the negatives from Anthony Richardson's first career NFL start.

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Areas of Success

Operating the Quick Game

Anthony Richardson was quite efficient in the short passing game this past Sunday, which is an excellent early sign for the young passer. He completed 21 of 25 attempts under 10 yards for 173 yards and a touchdown through the air against Jacksonville.

The biggest takeaway from these passes was how smooth Richardson looked in getting rid of the ball. He was quick in getting his feet set, and these rhythm passes were efficient and effective all day long. There is nothing spectacular with any of these throws, but it is great to see the young QB finding a rhythm underneath early in the season.

The biggest highlight in these throws below is the out route to Michael Pittman Jr. Richardson was able to set his feet in rhythm and rip a clean pass to the outside for a productive gain. This is exactly what you want to see from Richardson in the pocket on day one:

Pocket Movement

The Colts allowed four sacks against the Jaguars this past weekend. While this isn't the greatest number on paper, Richardson did do a good job of mitigating some pressure with his advanced pocket movement in game one.

Unlike most rookie quarterbacks, Richardson is rather smooth and elusive with his movement within the pocket. He understands when to slide up when under duress, and he has the play strength to rip through contact when it is absolutely necessary.

Again, these clips below are far from extraordinary, but they are exactly what you need to see from a starting NFL quarterback. He isn't bailing out the backdoor at the first sign of trouble, he is sliding forward while keeping his eyes down the field to keep the offense on track. This is one of the biggest early strengths in Richardson's game at the moment:

Richardson's Top Three Throws of the Game

1.) 20 Yard Completion to Josh Downs

The best connection of the day comes on this pass to Josh Downs over the middle of the field. The Colts are aligned in empty personnel with Josh Downs as the weakside number two receiver, Michael Pittman Jr as strong side number two, and Drew Ogletree as the strong side number three.

This play is a designed quick hitter with two individual half field reads. To Richardson's left, Ogletree and Pittman Jr are operating a high-low route combination to attack two separate levels of the defense. To Richardson's right, Josh Downs is running an option route against the down safety in the box.

With the blitz closing in, Richardson opts to trust his speedy slot receiver to his right. Downs breaks inside on the choice route, and Richardson is able to sling a pass around the blitzing defenders for a 20 yard gain on the play.

2.) 16 Yard Completion to Michael Pittman Jr

This is a fascinating play design from the Colts to free up Michael Pittman Jr early in the second half. The Colts are in a pistol wishbone formation here, with Mo Alie-Cox and Josh Downs aligning in the backfield.

Alie-Cox is pulled at the snap and Downs moves around in motion to muddy the reads of the linebackers at the second level. The receivers behind the backers are running a Shanahan-esq route combination off of the play-action. Pittman Jr is tasked with a slant route over the middle while Alec Pierce is running a deep over to draw away the single-high safety.

The backfield motion and the play-action gives Richardson just enough room to rip a fastball over the middle to Michael Pittman Jr for a nice chunk play:

3.) 12 Yard Completion to Kylen Granson

This next throw may not be as impressive as the previous two, but I love the aggressiveness that Richardson showed on this triangle read. He was a tad passive in his first career start, but this type of throw shows me that he has what it takes to layer passes in this league.

The Colts call a fairly simple triangle read over the middle of the field here, with Kylen Granson running a dig route alongside Pittman Jr on the short comeback and Jake Funk leaking out over the middle. Richardson has three options underneath on this play, and it is designed to make the zone defenders choose who to take away.

The linebackers have their feet stuck in the mud on this play, which gives Richardson a window to rip a fastball to Granson at the second level. Earlier in the game Richardson would have taken the easier passes short of the sticks, but this is an impressively layered ball over the middle of the field.

Areas to Improve

Overall Accuracy

It comes as no surprise that Anthony Richardson's accuracy is still a problem area after week one, but I will say that it wasn't nearly as bad as expected by any means. After completing just over 50% of his college passes a year ago, he finished game one with a 64% completion percentage.

When Richardson was throwing in rhythm and on time, he was extremely accurate and precise. The inconsistencies showed their ugly head when Richardson's internal clock was sped up. When he had to move his feet or move to his second read within a collapsing pocket, his mechanics began to break down.

Some of this can be chalked up to first game jitters, but it is obviously still an area that Richardson still needs to clean up in his game. Overall his accuracy was good in this game, but there were still a few misses that he would certainly like to have back:

Read Option/RPO Decision Making

This last point wasn't too prevalent overall, but there were a few read option/RPO decisions that Richardson would certainly want back in this past game. I have just two clipped below, but there were a couple others that he could have reversed the decision he ultimately made for a bigger gain.

The first clip below was a tough one, as Richardson opted to hand the ball off to Deon Jackson despite having the numbers advantage on the bubble screen to Josh Downs. If he pulls this ball out to the screen, Downs likely picks up a good chunk on the reception.

The second clip was a read option decision where Richardson hands the ball off despite the read defensive end crashing downhill. If he pulls this ball, he likely gets a 10+ yard gain to the outside (this one is a bit more excusable since he was hobbled from the previous play).

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a strong debut for Anthony Richardson with the Indianapolis Colts. He showcased his athleticism, his arm talent, and his overall pocket presence on multiple occasions and made some high level flash throws on the day.

Richardson is still a work in progress, but he appears to be ahead of where many perceived him to be to start the year. If he continues his efficiency in the short passing game and begins to gain confidence at the second and third levels, he could be ready to take a massive jump by the end of his first year.

Grade wise, I would give this opening day start a B for the young passer. Obviously I could grade on a curve and give him an A as a first-start rookie, but I think he would agree with this assessment of his game. He left some yardage out there on the field, but there is a lot to be excited about with the Colts' franchise quarterback.

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