Colts' Steichen lauds Richardson, takes blame for interception in preseason debut
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen liked what he saw from rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson during Saturday's 23-19 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Richardson completed seven of 12 pass attempts for 67 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the game. The first-year passer also quarterbacked multiple solid offensive drives that didn't result in points, as kicker Matt Gay missed a field goal attempt and receiver Alec Pierce dropped a would-be 34-yard pass near the goal line.
"I thought he had great poise," Steichen said of Richardson, according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. "I knew we had the early interception. That's my fault. We've got to do a better job communicating on that one. ... That starts with coaching, starts with myself. Other than that, I thought he was efficient."
Richardson tossed an interception in his first drive while targeting wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
First pick of the preseason made by Dane Jackson!
- Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 12, 2023
: WIVB | Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/0yuGAsPBXV
"You go out there and you have a shitty pick the first time out, but you come back from that and you recover from that," Colts center Ryan Kelly said of Richardson. "You go out there and just control the huddle, control the game, and I thought he did a great job of that today."
Indianapolis kicked off a new era this year after hiring Steichen as its head coach and drafting Richardson fourth overall in April. The Colts went 4-12-1 in 2022.
Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.