1. The 5-28 backfield made its (sort of) 2024 debut.
Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor played seven snaps next to each other on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Those represented five more snaps than the pair played together in 2023.
If you were looking for fireworks, you'll probably have to wait until Sept. 8's season opener against the Houston Texans to see how those two can generate explosive plays on the ground. No team puts anything interesting on tape during the preseason, nor do coaching staffs heavily game plan for these games.
For Richardson and Taylor, the most important thing on Sunday was continuing to build upon the rapport they've forged through OTAs and a few weeks of training camp practices.
"We're really just getting started," Taylor said. "But just seeing how the communication translated over from the practice field on to the game field — you got the time constraints and the opposing defense over there. ... There's some things to clean up, of course, but (it went) really well."
Richardson and Taylor will get some more work together in the next week and a half over three joint practices and/or two preseason games. By the time we get to Sept. 8, they'll have had plenty of work together – both in games and in practices – that'll be critical for Richardson and Taylor to, pun intended, hit the ground running against Houston.
"It's always good to get those guys out there in game-like situations obviously before we go out there," Steichen said. "They got two reps last year together, so to get a few more there, obviously we got a big week coming up against Arizona, these joint practices are gonna be big for our starters. I'm excited about that."
2. Adonai Mitchell is figuring things out in the slot.
Mitchell played eight snaps in his NFL preseason debut and split them evenly between the slot and out wide. The Texas product is an outside receiver by trade, but with Josh Downs out with an ankle injury, the Colts are working him into the slot.
"I've never played the slot," Mitchell said. "I've always wanted to play the slot. Until Josh gets (back) here, I'm enjoying my time out there."
At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Mitchell is bigger than a prototypical slot receiver (Downs is 5-foot-9, 171 pounds), but he has a certain fluid quickness to him that can translate to the slot from an athletic standpoint. For Mitchell, the biggest challenge comes from learning how to play the slot as opposed to playing on the outside.
"I just feel like it's nothing that I can't physically do," Mitchell said. "It's just about grasping the whole mental side of the game. That's a whole different world out there. On the outside, it's one-on-ones, maybe you get doubled a bit. But on the inside, you're working in boxes and triangles. I just want to keep learning right here so I can just expand my game."
Steichen did not put a timetable on Downs' return from an ankle injury sustained during last Wednesday's training camp practice. When Downs returns, he's established as the Colts' go-to option in the slot – and he was having a sterling training camp prior to getting hurt.
But Mitchell now has an opportunity to expand his role and provide the Colts' offense depth and flexibility either in case Downs has to miss time in the regular season, or there's a favorable matchup for the second-round rookie to take advantage of when the games start to count.
3. Evan Hull's long journey back led him into the end zone.
Hull went down with a season-ending knee injury just eight snaps into his rookie year. On Sunday, he returned to the field for the first time since Week 1 of 2023, and in the second quarter, the running back plunged into the end zone for the Colts' first touchdown of the 2024 preseason.
"It's been a long journey," Hull said. "Honestly I was a little emotional this morning, calling my wife when we were talking on the phone, we were praying. It's been a long journey to get to this point to strap up the cleats again, put my helmet on and go out of the tunnel with the rest of the guys. (It was) something I'd been longing for since I got hurt. So very blessed to be in this position."
Hull leaned on his faith through his rehab process and has been good to go since OTAs this spring. He finished Sunday with 16 yards on eight carries with a 15-yard reception, and came away from the game encouraged by how he was able to play.
"Just decisive running, being able to fall forward, breaking tackles, things like that," Hull said. "That's a big staple of my game, being able to do that. Being able to make that plant off that left leg, run hard and run through some things."
From the sidelines, Taylor liked what he saw from Hull, who's competing with Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson for spots behind the Colts' RB1 on their depth chart.
"He ran with an edge," Taylor said. "I was speaking to him about it — he ran with an edge, he was very decisive, he made some great plays. He scored — it's always a good day when you get into the end zone. But I really like how decisive he was."
4. Anthony Gould showed something on a kickoff return.
No player returned more of the NFL's new dynamic kickoffs in the first week of preseason play than Anthony Gould, with the Colts' fifth-round rookie returning five kicks on Sunday. And Gould, on his final return of the game, jetted 49 yards – the NFL's third-longest dynamic kickoff return in the preseason so far.
The Colts, like 31 other teams, are working through the best personnel and schemes to navigate the uncharted waters of the dynamic kickoff (which is the NFL's official name for the play).
"We're still trying to figure out the blocking schemes — we didn't know what they were going to do coming into the game," Gould said. "So we were just, first game getting our feet wet, figuring out what it's gonna look like. I thought it was a good day out there for the first time. I'm excited for it."
The NFL's goal with implementing dynamic kickoffs in 2024 was to reverse the trend of kickoffs being largely ceremonial plays frequently ending in touchbacks – but to reverse it while keeping player safety in mind.
The Colts drafted Gould earlier this year in part for his return ability – he was a first-team All-American punt returner at Oregon State – and it certainly showed with his acceleration and speed to get to the edge for a nearly 50-yard return on Sunday.
"First of all, I'm blessed to be here," Gould said. "That's everything you dream about as a kid. But it was kind of everything you expected. I was out there trying to do my role, do my job and make the most of every opportunity I got. It was fun and I'm excited for next week and excited to get back to work and grind this week."
5. A few observations on defense.
- Before he corralled a bobbled pass for an interception, cornerback Kenny Moore II's physicality shined in a teach-tape tackle of tight end Greg Dulcich on a third-and-long play.
- Defensive end Tyquan Lewis had an impressive rush to generate pressure in the pocket. Lewis, in the first quarter, used his power to push left tackle Garrett Bolles back into quarterback Jarrett Stidham's lap; Stidham got a pass off but it was broken up with an athletic play over the middle by linebacker Zaire Franklin.
- Safety Julian Blackmon played seven snaps, and when the Colts weren't in a two-high safety look, he played strong safety with Nick Cross at free safety. Cross played 19 snaps at free safety, with veteran Ronnie Harrison Jr. stepping in for Blackmon at strong safety after the rest of the first-team defense exited the game.
- Defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore generated four total pressures, per Pro Football Focus, including one when he hit a nasty cross-over on starting guard Quinn Meinerz. He added a play against the run in the second quarter when he slipped past guard Will Sherman and chased down running back Audric Estime for a two-yard gain on second and five.
- Making cornerback Micah Abraham's forced fumble-turned-touchdown even more impressive is how the 5-foot-10, 185 pound sixth-round pick was able to use his hands to disengage with 6-foot-3, 211 pound wide receiver David Sills before ripping the ball away.
