The Indianapolis Colts have officially kicked off their preseason.
It wasn’t a pretty day in Orchard Park for Indy, falling 23-19 in the opener, but there were some positive moments that Shane Steichen can pull from their exhibition against the Buffalo Bills.
Here are my five takeaways from the matchup:
1
Anthony Richardson's debut
The much anticipated first look at the Colts’ offense with Anthony Richardson got off to a rough start to kick off the game. After starting the drive by picking up a first down, miscommunication between the rookie quarterback and Isaiah McKenzie led to an interception on the opening drive.
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson throws interception on his opening drive ‼️
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) August 12, 2023
It initially looked like Richardson was feeling the pressure and made an errant throw but McKenzie was quickly scolded by his receivers coach as soon as he got to the sideline.
Anthony Richardson and Isaiah McKenzie not on the same page there and it ends up with a interception from Richardson.
WR coach Reggie Wayne had something to say to McKenzie after the intervention, possibly may have cut the route too shallow.
— Destin Adams (@TheDestinAdams) August 12, 2023
Former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano weighed in on the play as well.
Blown assignment. Site vs edge blitz. Slot receiver missed it. AR will learn from this and not try to make something out of nothing next time out!! https://t.co/hmFUoTar4z
— Chuck Pagano (@ChuckPaganoNFL) August 12, 2023
McKenzie would later take responsibility for Richardon’s interception.
Isaiah McKenzie took responsibility for Anthony Richardson's interception in a chat with @LarraOverton. He called it a miscommunication on the route.
McKenzie to his QB after the play?
"Just keep balling. That's on me."
— Nate Atkins (@NateAtkins_) August 12, 2023
Richardson’s second drive was dominated by the running backs but he made a couple of nice plays. On the first play, he would shake off a would-be sack and turn it into a five-yard game with a strong run through a defender. He also had a nice nine-yard completion to Michael Pittman Jr. to pick up a first down.
His final drive of the game was his best. He took the offense from their own seven-yard line and got them down inside the redzone. He made a very nice 20-yard completion to Kylen Granson, which I am looking forward to seeing the All-22 film on. From the TV angle, it looked like he had to make a perfect throw to avoid multiple defenders getting their hands on it.
Richardson’s best play of the day came on a dropped ball by Alec Pierce that would’ve resulted in a 34-yard touchdown if Pierce would have survived the contact from Siran Neal and the ground.
Excellent throw from Anthony Richardson. Good job stepping up in the pocket. Pierce needs to catch this pic.twitter.com/tVbDKcv0hM
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 12, 2023
Richardson finished his day going 7/12 for 67 yards and an interception. He also picked up seven yards on two rushing attempts. Overall, it was an up-and-down day for the first-year quarterback. He made some nice throws but also had a couple of balls he wished he would have had better touch on.
The Bills were blitzing him, which gave him problems with pressure. It’s a good thing that he was seeing this type of defense prior to the regular season. This should help him so he knows how to handle it when the game counts.
Today wasn’t a crowning moment but it was good to see that Richardson didn’t let his turnover impact him and he was able to finish his day on a strong note.
2
Depth concerns for the offensive line
While the Colts starting offensive line is still a work in progress, Saturday’s performance from their backups is concerning. On Gardner Minshew’s first drive of the game, they gave up back-to-back sacks on the first two downs which led to a three-and-out.
They also didn’t help out their running backs as well. The backup offensive line failed to generate any initial drive to give their backs room to work with and the rushing lanes were very slim throughout the game.
Jake Funk, Kenyan Drake, and Jason Huntley had a combined 2.07 yards per carry with the backup unit. It’s just one preseason game, but the backups gave no hope if the starters have to miss any time in the regular season.
3
Gardner Minshew's positive end to the first half
As I mentioned, Gardner Minshew’s first drive was a quick one due to the backup offensive line giving up two straight sacks but he took advantage of his final appearance of the day in his second drive. The Colts started the drive at their own 12-yard line with 4:25 left in the second quarter.
He kept the drive alive with a third-down completion to Josh Downs then got into a two-minute situation just a play later following a Jake Funk one-yard run. Minshew started it with an 18-yard completion to Mike Strachan. He threw it up to his receiver and Strachan’s size advantage came into play to secure the catch over Christian Benford.
He would later connect with Downs for the second time to get an 18-yard gain to get inside the red zone. Just a few plays later, Jake Funk would punch it in for the touchdown to end the first half.
Minshew finished his day going 6-of-6 for 72 yards and that all came on that drive. Indianapolis is in good hands with his experience in these situations if they don’t feel like Anthony Richardson isn’t ready to be the opening-day starter.
4
Grant Stuard was all over the place
The competition for the backup roles in the linebacker room is up for grabs this preseason and Grant Stuard made a strong push for his spot on the 53-man roster. Not only he showed why he can be a core special teamer on a shoe-string tackle on a Rigoberto Sanchez 65-yard punt but he was also all over the place making tackles for the defense throughout the afternoon.
The best play of the day came when he helped force a fumble for the Colts. Henry Black delivered a stick hit to Jace Sternberger but it was Stuard that came in to help pop the ball out of his hands.
That's our ball.
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/LmBtCQqrDI
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 12, 2023
Stuard led the team with 12 tackles (six solo). Now we will see if he can stack it up with another good performance against the Chicago Bears next week.
5
Rough day for the field goal unit
The Colts kicking woes were supposed to come to an end when Chris Ballard gave Matt Gay a record-breaking contract this offseason but today wasn’t an ideal debut for their new kicker. Anthony Richardson’s final drive should’ve ended in points but self-inflicted wounds (penalties) forced them to settle for a field goal.
Gay would end up hooking a 28-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the crossbar.
• Matt Gay (4 year, $22 million) just missed a 28 yard field goal
• Jim Irsay paid $20 million to save a whale
• Jonathan Taylor still not paid 😭#GoHorse pic.twitter.com/TEZ8MKjyKG— Mantis (@YoungMantis2) August 12, 2023
He would end up making his PAT attempt to wrap up his day. The kicking issues didn’t end there. Later in the second half, Lucas Havrisik missed his only PAT attempt after Darius Rush’s pick-six.
Brian Mason should have his unit put in extra work this week in practice for a better outcome when the Colts face the Bears next Saturday night.
