Colts QB Anthony Richardson needed a breather? That can't happen

Have you had enough fun yet? Also. The Anthony Richardson roller coaster ride has finally, officially and irrevocably exhausted me.

Well, allow me to hedge a little and say irrevocable right now, today, after seeing his return performance — his final stat line, 10-for-32 for 175 yards, a trip back in time to the 1950s — in the Colts' 23-20 loss Sunday in Houston. Richardson, the Colts quarterback, still has all the talent in the world. He's big and strong and yes, I feel a bit like you at this moment:

He's tired of writing about his talent, his size, his speed and even his kindness. And he has all of this at a Hall of Fame level. The guy is a 6-4, 260-pound, sprinting-fast teddy bear of an NFL quarterback. What's not to love?

Firstly, his statistics.

Which is what happened at the other end of the third quarter.

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At one point on Sunday he was 2 of 15, and lest you think that was a coincidence, get this: Richardson entered the game ranked last in the NFL with a .485 completion percentage. He completed 59.5% of his passes last season with the Colts and 54.7% of his passes at the University of Florida. Maybe he won't always be like this, but the sample continues to grow, and right now he is this:

Inaccurate.

Also: Not good enough.

But what else is he? It seemed like we learned something new about Richardson on Sunday when he kind of – didn't he? – stop with a possession. Or give up on yourself. Maybe quit his team. That's a loaded word, stopand afterward, Colts coach Shane Steichen and Richardson avoided that concept like the rattlesnake that it is.

News from Anthony Richardson: Colts QB Anthony Richardson left the game because he “needed a breather,” according to Steichen.

But we have a duty here – I write this, you read it, all of us who are aware of the facts as they unfolded on Sunday – to take into account what we saw and heard during the game.

And that's what we saw after Richardson fought for his life on second-and-goal from the Houston 23, dodging a sack at the 40 before being tackled to the ground at the line of scrimmage. Richardson stood up, looked toward the sideline and tapped his helmet, the signal that he had to leave the game. Of course we've seen this before. This was Richardson's 10th^Th He began his career in the NFL and for the fifth time he was unable to play a complete game.

So what was the injury this time?

There was no injury.

Let's take a break so you have time to digest this.

Shane Steichen: Anthony Richardson “needed a breather”

Shane Steichen says Anthony Richardson “needed a breather.”

That's why Richardson, with first place in the AFC South at stake, withdrew from the game late in the third quarter against AFC South rival Houston (6-2) on third-and-goal was faced.

“He needed a breather,” Steichen said. “He had run three times in a row and we wanted to give the ball away.”

More: What Steichen and Richardson said about the Colts QB checking out of the game

Two things:

First, Richardson didn't do that knowledge the Colts (4-4) would give the ball away. Not the moment he rose from a tackle and left the game.

Secondly, did he need a breather?

That can't happen. It just can't happen. Can you think of a single time in your life when an NFL quarterback – sorry, a franchise NFL quarterback who happens to be the best athlete on the field – retreated from a drive on third-and-goal , because it was him tired?

Now you can.

“Tired,” Richardson told reporters in Houston when asked why he withdrew from the game. “I won't lie.”

Can't happen. Can't happen. You can break this down any way you want and you can interpret it any way you want and if you were the sports columnist for the local paper and you knew that you were going to need access to this particular franchise quarterback for the next 10 years – or No matter how long he's been here, you probably shouldn't write what I'm about to write:

But that's pathetic.

Anthony Richardson, 22 years old, needed one breather?

Hey, Joe Flacco, can you come over and finish this section for me? Not the entire column. I can come back later. Maybe it will even look great later. But right now I need a breather.

Because I just can't do it.

Bad Steichen call, bad Richardson pass

The thing is: Richardson looks brilliant at times. I'm not apologizing for anything I wrote or trying to soften the blow. In any case, I'm not sure you can soften the blow of the word “pathetic.” But I'll do what I've already done in this story and write the truth:

Richardson looks brilliant at times. He looked brilliant at times on Sunday — after taking a breather, honestly — as he drove the Colts to a touchdown on their next possession. On that drive, Richardson completed four of seven passes for 64 yards. Of the three incompletions, one was a beautifully thrown 25-yard lob to Michael Pittman Jr. that was punctuated by a great defensive play, and the next was a 25-yarder that Tyler Goodson dropped in the end zone.

However, if you take away that possession, Richardson was 6 of 25 for 111 yards with a touchdown and an interception, a terrible interception, a terrible throw after a terrible call by Steichen, which, quite frankly, lost this game. To recap:

It was somehow tied in the final seconds of the first half, even though Richardson had played 2:14 up to that point. The Colts have the ball at their 12, and Richardson just nearly threw a pick-six. Only one player had a chance on Richardson's short pass to Pittman, and it wasn't Pittman. It was Houston's Kamari Lassiter who failed to make the one-handed catch. Now there are 34 seconds left, and it's a third-and-one from their own twelve, and Richardson is – I repeat – 2 of 14 on the day, so the Colts will surely call –

WHAT.

WHY IS RICHARDSON THROWING ANOTHER SHORT PASS?!

Best of all, there are three Colts nearby: Pittman and Colts receiver Josh Downs are practically side by side, and tight end Will Mallory is on his way there. That means three Houston defenders converge on the spot where Richardson, who had a wildly inaccurate day, wants to throw the ball.

What could go wrong?

Richardson eventually throws one to his receiver on downs, meaning he didn't see Houston safety Jalen Pitre standing in the way. Pitre went for it, and the Texans scored on the next play and led 17-10 at halftime. And what was the end result? Just a three-point defeat?

The Colts could have beaten Houston if Steichen hadn't made that decision. As bad as Richardson was – and he fumbled twice – the Colts could have won this game without that untenable play call from Steichen at the end of the first half. Anthony Richardson could have been the winning quarterback. Maybe he even should have been the winning quarterback.

Doesn't change what you've read. Let me get off the AR-5 rollercoaster. He isn't accurate enough, and toward the end of a winnable game, he lacked either the physical or mental strength – the only two options – to finish a drive inside the Houston 25.

Seen enough. Where is the plug? Time to pull it.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.

More: Join the text conversation with sports columnist Gregg Doyel for insights, reader questions and Doyel's behind-the-scenes look.

Shane Steichen: Anthony Richardson “needed a breather”

Bad Steichen call, bad Richardson pass

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