CINCINNATI – A grin crested across Anthony Richardson's face as he was asked to sum up his final preseason game of 2024.
"Decent," Richardson quipped. "Got two touchdowns."
The 22-year-old quarterback quickly clarified he was, of course, joking. Two of his throws did result in touchdowns in the Colts' preseason finale Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium – one went to a teammate (wide receiver Adonai Mitchell) and one went to an opponent (safety Jordan Battle).
But that wisecrack was maybe a reminder into Richardson's even-keel personality. He cares deeply about his play, of course, but he doesn't dwell on the good or the bad. And that never-too-high, never-too-low demeanor is an important trait for an NFL starting quarterback to possess.
"It's always fun when I get to play football, you know, it's part of the game, stuff's gonna happen," Richardson said. "Stuff's not always going our way. There's gonna be incomplete passes, I'm gonna miss some passes, the receiver's gonna drop some, you know, we're gonna drop the ball sometimes, but it's cool. Stuff like that's gonna happen."
The pick-six happened because Richardson and tight end Kylen Granson weren't on the same page, head coach Shane Steichen said, adding that he's not concerned about the play.
"Granson saw something and I saw something else," Richardson said. "We've just got to be on the same page right there."
Richardson threw incomplete on a couple of third down throws later in his game to Mitchell, one of which came when the Bengals ran a sparingly-used, complex coverage. The other came when Richardson threw high toward Mitchell, who looked to have separation crossing the field.
Again, neither Richardson nor Steichen were particularly fazed by those plays.
"Look, guys are going to miss throws," Steichen said. "You know what I mean? I don't care if you're a second-year player or a 15-year vet. Guys are going to miss throws. So I don't have any concerns with that."
Richardson, too, fumbled when he only had one hand on the ball and was hit from behind by Bengals defensive end Justin Blazek.
"They preach two hands on the ball in the pocket almost every day in the QB room," Richardson said. "I know they're going to tell me that when we get back in the meetings in the next couple of days."
Richardson started his evening with a crisp 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard touchdown to Mitchell.
He zipped completions to wide receivers Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. to march the Colts down the field, and his only incompletion on the drive went off the fingertips of tight end Drew Ogletree in the end zone one play before his touchdown to Mitchell. Richardson made good decisions and threw with accuracy and decisiveness on the possession, completing seven of eight passes for 65 yards.
"That first drive was awesome," Steichen said.
But just like his view of those less-successful possessions, Richardson kept a level head when asked about that scoring drive.
"It's important to execute," Richardson said. "We don't necessarily go out there thinking, you know, we've got to score, we've got to score. We just execute, and if we execute we know we're gonna score."
That Thursday night's game was one of just two scheduled nationally-televised games the Colts have all season – the other being Week 11's Sunday night game against the New York Jets – inevitably will lead to plenty of snap reactions and analysis from folks who didn't see the totality of Richardson's preseason. One good or bad throw, one good or bad series or one good or bad game was never going to define the last month for Richardson.
The reality is the Colts are pleased with the totality of Richardson's preseason. And while Richardson's calm and collected presence are important, there's another word starting with "C" that defines him, too: Confident. He's confident in himself and the Colts are confident in him.
And when Texans week begins on Labor Day, the calm, collected confidence of Richardson that was on display Thursday night will be right there again as the Colts begin preparations in earnest for their season opener.
"I would say I'm a little bit more relaxed," Richardson said. "I'm not pressing to do anything, I'm not trying to the superhero when I'm out there, I'm just trying to execute and do my job, because I know I've got great teammates on this team and I know they're going to make plays. So I've just got to do my job the best way that I can. I just feel a lot more comfortable just on the team and just in general. I love it here."
