Late in the third quarter of Indianapolis’ eventual 23-20 loss to Houston, there was a curious moment from quarterback Anthony Richardson.
It was third-and-goal at Houston’s 23, with Richardson having run around extensively on the last two plays. When he was brought down for no gain on second down, he went to the sideline tapping his helmet and immediately took a knee.
It appeared as if Richardson might have suffered an injury, as backup Joe Flacco came in and handed off to Jonathan Taylor to set up Matt Gay’s 37-yard field goal. But after the game, both head coach Shane Steichen and Richardson said the QB was tired just needed a momentary break.
“I was tired,” Richardson said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go that next play, so I just told Shane I just needed a break right there.”
“He needed a breather,” Steichen said. “He ran three times in a row and it was third and long, so we were going to hand the ball off.”
While the explanation makes some sense, it’s still an unusual thing for a quarterback to exit the game due to exhaustion — particularly on third down.
Richardson finished the game having completed 10-of-32 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown — a 69-yard strike to Josh Downs — and one interception. He added 45 yards on the ground in six attempts.
That performance dropped Richardson’s completion rate from 48l5 percent entering Week 8 to just 44.4 percent. In six games, he’s thrown for 958 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions. That works out to a 57.2 passer rating.
“I feel like I’m a great passer,” Richardson said. “I’ve been playing quarterback pretty much my whole life. I’m just a different quarterback from everybody else, so people are going to try to point out that I’m not as efficient as everybody else. But it’s cool to me. I run the ball way better than every other quarterback. Probably not Lamar [Jackson], but [better] than most quarterbacks. So, I take advantage of my opportunities.”
Great passer or not, Richardson’s passing results must improve, especially if Indianapolis remains in the thick of things in the AFC playoff picture.
