Late in the third quarter, with his Indianapolis Colts in the red zone and trailing by 10, quarterback Anthony Richardson tapped his helmet, indicating to his sideline he needed to come out. Onlookers initially feared the young passer suffered another injury. After the game, Richardson admitted the real reason: He just got tired.
The sequence began two plays prior when Richardson found Alec Pierce in the end zone, but the touchdown was called back for offensive pass interference. Then on second-and-goal from the Houston Texans’ 23-yard-line, Richardson escaped the pocket and evaded Houston’s pass rush before being sacked at the line of scrimmage. Richardson was tackled at the knees and fell awkwardly during the sack, leading to the injury concern.
It was then that he tapped his helmet and headed to the sideline. Backup quarterback Joe Flacco — who started three games this season and led Indianapolis to two wins — entered and handed off to Jonathan Taylor for a 5-yard gain to set up an ensuing field goal.
“Tired, I ain’t gonna lie,” Richardson said when asked about the play after the game. “That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told (Colts coach Shane Steichen) I needed a break right there.”
Anthony Richardson has come out of the game for the Colts pic.twitter.com/yscTEQ3sEf
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 27, 2024
Richardson was back out with the offense the next drive, but his postgame revelation about the substitution drew ridicule from fans and former Colts punter Pat McAfee.
“I had never seen an NFL QB tap out while still being healthy until watching Anthony Richardson,” McAfee said on X during the game. “The QB is your franchise. The message it sends is loud and influential.”
The Colts went on to lose 23-20, their fourth defeat of the season. Richardson started the game by missing on 13 of his first 15 attempts and eventually finished with 175 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 10-of-32 passing.
In his five appearances this season, Richardson has passed for 783 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 48.5 percent of his passes. In Flacco’s three appearances, the 39-year-old passed for 716 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception while completing 65.7 percent of his passes.
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(Photo: Jack Gorman / Getty Images)
