Anthony Richardson Shows Potential, Energizes Colts Fans in Preseason Game vs. Eagles

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Anthony Richardson’s numbers from Thursday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles aren’t going to wow anybody.

But the Indianapolis Colts quarterback showed enough to inspire optimism heading into his rookie season.

Richardson played the first half of Indianapolis’ final preseason game and went 6-of-17 for 78 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions while adding five carries for 38 yards as a runner. While he wasn’t the one directly responsible for the touchdowns, he directed multiple scoring drives and looked in command of the offense for extended stretches.

And plenty of viewers liked what they saw:

All eyes were on the rookie coming into Thursday’s contest after he sat out the Colts’ second preseason game against the Chicago Bears. This was his first game action since Aug. 12 against the Buffalo Bills, and some of the ups-and-downs were to be expected.

There are still questions about his accuracy after he completed 53.8 percent of his passes in his final collegiate season at Florida, and a dropped interception and some overthrows did nothing to change that.

Neither did his struggles in the two-minute drill near the end of the half.

But he also consistently used his legs to escape pressure, scrambled for a key first down, froze defenders on read-options to open up running lanes for others and completed enough passes on the scoring drives to at least keep the Eagles defense honest.

He also didn’t exactly look scared of playing on the road or embracing the spotlight he is under when he unleashed a “Fly Eagles Fly” celebration toward the Philadelphia fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

There will be plenty of growing pains in Richardson’s first year, especially if the Colts end up trading potential safety valve Jonathan Taylor away. But the upside the quarterback brings with his athleticism on read-options and run-pass options is clear in the preseason.

He will attempt to tap into that upside again on Sept. 10 when the Colts open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.