INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson had two chances to slide and avoid contact during the first quarter of Sunday's 27-24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn't, and the result was he couldn't finish another game. Richardson started fast, completing a 32-yard pass on the first snap.
That drive ended with a touchdown, and he got the Colts back into the red zone on their second series before departing with a hip injury he could have avoided. “Obviously, we want to get down in those situations,” coach Shane Steichen said. “But there are some situations where it is kind of awkward, guys are coming around and you don't want to slide.
So we'll go back and look at it.” The Colts (2-2) drafted Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in 2023, largely because of his strong arm and athletic 6-foot-4, 244-pound body.
While they don't want to take his physicality away, they would like him to avoid some of the hard hits he's taken in his eight career starts. Richardson ran three times for 24 yards, taking a big shot on his right hip on the second run that sent him to the sideline after he fumbled. Three plays later, he returned and appeared to get hit on or near the head at the Steelers 5-yard line .
When he got up, he went straight to the locker room. Referee Land Clark said in a pool report that the officials did not call a penalty because the the contact was deemed “incidental” and not with “enough force to warrant a flag.” By .