The war wages on in the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback room. In one corner you have the player the team used a fourth overall draft pick on just three seasons ago. In the other corner you have the disgraced former starter who the Colts brought in on a one year deal to breed competition.
Original predictions thought that Daniel Jones was just signed on to be a capable back up should Anthony Richardson’s injury struggles persist. However, since his arrival Jones has impressed several people in the building and is now starting for the coveted starting spot.
The competition was disrupted in the first preseason game by a dislocated pinky on Richardson’s throwing hand. This week, however, both gun slingers got their shot. Jones got the opening two drives, then Richardson piloted the team into the halftime locker room.
So who won the day?
“As a general takeaway, I viewed Jones as having a slightly better afternoon, but hardly enough to close the book on this competition,” CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan writes. “That’s especially true with Richardson arguably throwing the best ball of the game.”
After the game, head coach Shane Steichen told the media he is very close to making his decision.
“I’ve seen three weeks of it,” Steichen said, “so I’d like to have a decision here shortly.”
“It’s everything — the operation, the communication in the huddle, the checks, getting guys on the same page,” Steichen continued. “The consistently of all that, obviously, is going to play a big factor in this.”
Daniel Jones Stat Line
Daniel Jones got the start, as originally planned two weeks ago. He played 15 snaps over the first two drives, completing seven of his 11 throws for a total of 101 yards.
This brought Jones preseason total to 46 snaps, which is 15 more than Richardson has played.
He played well today, struggling early but eventually hitting his stride on drive two and orchestrating an 11-play, 77-yard drive that ended in a field goal. At one point, he completed six of seven attempts, including a run of four in a row, with three of those six completions resulting in 20+ yard chunk plays.
“That groove that Jones found himself in amid that scoring drive had the offense looking as smooth as it has in either preseason game so far this summer,” Sullivan concluded.
Anthony Richardson Stat Line
Anthony Richardson did not play bad, but with nearly ten more snaps played than his counterpart, he did not separate himself at all.
His final stat line was six for 11, 73 yards through the air, with nine yards on one rush. He did also show off the deep ball with a 38-yard dime to Anthony Gould that was called back because Adonai Mitchell lined up offsides.
While that would have made the final stat line look better, it would not change what we all watched. The offense flowed better under Jones than it did Richardson.
Now seven months removed from the last time we saw him, it does not look like Richardson changed anything about his play style that troubled him last season. He was making many of the same mistakes he has since entering the league, including holding on to the ball too long on more than one occasion.
“If I were to determine a winner out of solely this preseason performance, I’d give it to Jones by a slim margin,” Sullivan writes. “With Jones, the offense may not have the higher ceiling, but it likely has a higher floor, which is arguably more important for 2025.”
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