What the Dolphins Defense Should Expect with Richardson

The Miami Dolphins will face an Indianapolis Colts team with two wildly different quarterbacks

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) during pregame warmups against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

All reports indicate the Miami Dolphins will face quarterback Anthony Richardson when they square off against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend.

Richardson hasn’t played since exiting the team’s Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was replaced by veteran Joe Flacco, who kept the Colts on track by winning that game and beating the Titans on Sunday.

It’s a crucial game for the Dolphins, who are coming off their bye and looking to get to 3-3 with their second straight win. However, despite modest stats, Richardson poses a unique challenge compared to someone like Flacco.

We’ve decided to study the Colts’ offense to break down what the Dolphins can expect when preparing for a quarterback like Richardson.

Richardson vs. Flacco

Let’s start with the obvious.

Richardson is a significantly better athlete than the 39-year-old Flacco. In fact, when considering size and speed, Richardson is probably the NFL’s most athletic quarterback. And that mobility can make it hard for pass rushers to get him down.

“Richardson is probably the ultimate athlete and probably, and from a pass-rush standpoint, the biggest challenge we’ll have so far this season,” Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell told reporters this week. “And then you have Joe Flacco, who from the secondary stuff is different, but for us up front, he’s probably as close as you’re going to get to a statue in the NFL.”

That bears out in the numbers, too. Richardson has taken four sacks this season in four starts, while Flacco has taken six in just two starts (plus the majority of the Steelers game).

Richardson’s speed also makes him a threat to create yards with his legs once he breaks out of a sack. Despite that, Richardson hasn’t hurt teams with scrambles much this season. He’s scrambled just six times for 72 yards, ranking 18th among qualified passers.

Besides scrambles, Richardson has been more productive on designed runs. On 11 designed runs this season, he’s posted 73 yards. That’s the sixth-best in the league, but there’s a huge gap between the two players above him — Jalen Hurts (95 yards) and Kyler Murray (115 yards).

Athletic passers, like Josh Allen, have hurt Miami in recent years, but as we covered earlier this season, the Dolphins are better equipped to handle mobile passers. The numbers back that up, too.

Miami has allowed the second-fewest scramble yards (24) this season, trailing only the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some of that concerns who they’ve faced and the game script, but it’s a good sign that Richardson won’t take them completely by surprise Sunday.

What might be harder for the Dolphins' defense is preparing for the difference in the Colts’ passing game with Richardson at the helm.

Flacco likes to target the middle of the field and will mostly work the short passing game aside from a few shot plays. Flacco’s intended air yards per attempt is 8.7, which is actually toward the top of the league.

However, Richardson is a whole other beast. He loves to throw the ball downfield and will attack the sidelines more than the middle of the field. Richardson leads the NFL in intended air yards per attempt at 12.7. The next-closest quarterback is Brock Purdy at 10.6.

Richardson has thrown a go route on 14.3 percent of his attempts this season, while just 7.8 of Flacco’s passes have been go routes. There’s no doubt the Colts’ young passer will test the back end of Miami’s secondary. 

That might be a sore spot for the Dolphins, given their safety situation. Jordan Poyer hasn’t played in two weeks, and Jevon Holland is dealing with a hand injury. Holland could play through the injury, but the only other traditional safety on the roster is Marcus Maye.

Maye has played OK this season, but deep-field coverage has never been a strength of his game, even when he was a full-time starter.

On the bright side, Miami’s passing defense has kept teams in front of them for the most part. It’s allowed just 11 passing plays of more than 20 yards, the fourth-fewest in the league.

It should be noted that the Dolphins have played one less game than most teams and that the Titans didn’t attempt to throw downfield much at all two weeks ago.

Against more potent passers, like Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence and Geno Smith, the Dolphins have let up some big plays downfield. While defending the deep part of the field looks like a strength on paper, the Dolphins are more unproven than anything else.

Some of the responsibility of defending deeper routes also falls on the cornerbacks, a position Miami is much healthier at. The interesting matchup will be whoever covers Alec Pierce.

Pierce is the team’s most potent deep threat, averaging a whopping 17.5 yards per target and 28.3 yards per reception, which leads the league. Ensuring whoever is covering Pierce on Sunday has safety help is probably wise.

Preparing For Both

The Dolphins seem to be taking on the task of preparing for both players. However, because Flacco and Richardson are so different, that could be challenging.

“I think it is a different set of problem solving that you try to do your best for all players involved, and when you’re trying to learn players on the fly, it does make it a little more challenging to have decisions that you feel absolutely, positively this is the best thing for this player or these players on this play,” coach Mike McDaniel told reporters this week. "We’re quick studies here, and I’ve been through the process of expediting that, so I think players are better off when their coaches know the full breadth of their skill set.”

To be fair, Miami is probably smart to at least inform the players of what the offense will look like with Flacco. The Colts have a higher EPA per play with Flacco in the lineup, and Richardson has left several games across two seasons with an injury.

The Dolphins have never faced Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, but they have plenty of experience against Flacco. The veteran has a 6-3 starting record against Miami, but it bears noting that he's 6-0 with the Baltimore Ravens and 0-3 with the New York Jets, the last matchup coming in the 2022 season finale when the Dolphins won 11-6 at Hard Rock Stadium to clinch a playoff berth.

The Colts have to be committed to Richardson because of how highly they drafted him, but it’s not impossible that he gets re-injured or plays so poorly that the Colts replace him.

Either way, since they’re coming off the bye, the Dolphins have had plenty of time to prepare for Indianapolis. There isn’t a good excuse for the defense to be taken off guard by anything the Colts can or will do.