Colts Season Is On The Brink Of Going Off The Rails
Source: David Berding / Getty
The Indianapolis Colts and their decision makers made the monumental choice last week to bench 2nd-year quarterback Anthony Richardson after ten total starts in favor of 39-year-old Joe Flacco, with the explanation being that they were in a “win-now” mode, and that Flacco gave them the best chance to do that.
Against the Minnesota Vikings, in the first game played since that decision got made, the Colts and those very same higher ups witnessed the worst possible outcome, as the Colts offense struggled through its worst outing of the season in 21-13 loss. The final score is not indicative of how the actual game went; the Colts offense only scored 6 points total, and never had a drive make it into the red zone. The lone touchdown for Indy came when defensive tackle Grover Stewart blew up Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and Colts cornerback Kenny Moore scooped up the loose ball and took it 38 yards to the house.
It was a truly anemic performance by Shane Steichen, Joe Flacco, and the rest of the Colts offense. It also wasted a strong showing by Gus Bradley and his defense, as they forced 3 turnovers, scored the Colts only touchdown, and basically kept the Colts in the game the whole evening. It was so bad that it’s led some to wonder if Flacco will soon find himself back on the bench, despite Steichen saying last week that the switch to him was not a temporary move. Steichen would also double down in the postgame press conference by saying that Flacco was still the guy “for now”, and the team would announce Monday that Flacco would be under center next Sunday against Buffalo.
If the Colts do end up going back to Richardson this season, it will be an embarrassing admission that they made a mistake in benching him, and more importantly, that they do not have a solution for their offensive woes. Supposedly there were disciplinary reasons that factored into the benching, but if that’s the case, was it worth potentially ruining Richardson’s confidence? Was it worth subjecting Colts fans to the type of play they saw Sunday night? Was it worth the offense blowing a winnable game against a good opponent? Maybe this ends up being the wakeup call Richardson needed, but when you consider the history of first-round quarterbacks who were benched by their first team, it doesn’t look promising.
Even if they do stick with Flacco, is there any reason to believe things will be better? Flacco can give you a good game or two and may be able to do the routine stuff better than Richardson, but as we saw last night, there’s a reason he hasn’t been a regular starter for several seasons now. What exactly can Richardson learn by watching him from the sidelines? The proper way to miss wide-open checkdowns?
Regardless of what way they go, the Colts are standing on the brink of disaster. They still have several tough outings on the horizon, and at this point, even the “winnable” games are looking more and more challenging. A season that began with such anticipation is quickly threatening to go off the rails completely, if it hasn’t already.
Once again, it’s a complete mess on West 56th Street. Sadly, it’s one that doesn’t appear likely to get cleaned up anytime soon.
During the Monday edition of The Ride With JMV, John spoke to Stephen Holder of ESPN, and also had a chat with Chris Hagan of FOX59 about the Colts loss, and where they go from here. Listen to those conversations down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
