Anthony Richardson isn’t taking over for Daniel Jones, at least not this week. Shane Steichen said Sunday that Jones is still the Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback, even after two red-zone interceptions helped the winless Titans erase a 13-0 halftime lead in a 26-20 loss at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Yes, he’s our starting quarterback,” Steichen told the Indianapolis Star. The boos that followed the team off the field, and the fans grumbling their way out toward Georgia Street, say plenty of people disagree. Here are five questions Colts fans are asking before a trip to 5-0 Minnesota.
Is Anthony Richardson starting vs. the Vikings?
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Not based on anything Steichen said after the game. “I think he knows he’s gotta play better, I gotta coach better,” Steichen told Colts.com after the loss. “There’s a lot of things. It’s not all one guy. But we’ve got to do a lot of things better.”
Jones went 22 of 42 for 269 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions, and he was sacked six times. Both picks came inside the Tennessee 20, which snapped a 32-game streak without a red-zone turnover, according to the AP. Through six starts, he has 1,290 passing yards, four touchdown passes and six interceptions, and he admitted he’s been forcing throws.
Richardson, the No. 4 pick in 2023, is 8-7 as a starter with a 50.6 completion percentage, and he hasn’t started a game since 2024. He also asked for a trade this offseason, which keeps Anthony Richardson waiting behind a quarterback the Colts gave $88 million.
How did the Colts blow a 13-0 lead to the Titans?
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It started on the first play of the second half, when Jeffery Simmons forced and recovered a Jonathan Taylor fumble at the Indianapolis 33. Cor’Dale Flott later picked off Jones at the Tennessee 11, Chimere Dike’s 58-yard punt return set up Cam Ward’s tying touchdown pass to Carnell Tate, and a blocked Rigoberto Sanchez punt went back 14 yards for a touchdown.
Taylor’s 4-yard run tied it at 20 with 5:32 left. Then Cam Taylor-Britt was flagged for a 36-yard pass interference penalty, Joey Slye hit a 49-yarder with 2:03 to go and he added another field goal in the final minute. The Colts outgained the Titans by 213 yards and lost anyway.
“It’s on us. No one’s coming to save us,” Taylor said in the locker room. “You got to look yourself in the mirror and figure out what type of team that you want to be.”
How long will Sauce Gardner be out?
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Probably a while. Gardner left in the third quarter with a calf injury and didn’t return, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the cornerback is considered week to week. It’s a familiar injury, since a calf strain cost him three games late last season.
That’s a tough break for a team that traded two first-round picks to the Jets for him. Taylor-Britt took over after Gardner left, and he was the player flagged on the late pass interference call that set up Tennessee’s go-ahead kick.
The list doesn’t stop there. Punt returner Anthony Gould left with a concussion, and Sanchez limped off after the block. Tyler Warren missed his first career game with a groin injury, while Ashton Dulin and Jaylon Carlies sat for a second straight week.
Is Shane Steichen coaching for his job?
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It’s hard to see it any other way, and we wrote Sunday that Steichen is coaching for his job. The Colts have won two of their last 13 games, dating back to last season, when an 8-2 start ended at 8-9. Steichen’s first three teams didn’t make the playoffs.
Carlie Irsay-Gordon said in January that the “sense of urgency” for Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard to deliver “has never been higher,” according to the AP. Fans were chanting for Ballard’s firing by the end of Sunday’s game, OutKick reported.
Steichen didn’t push back on the crowd. “We gotta give them something to cheer about,” he said after the game. “I don’t blame them for booing one freaking bit.”
Can the Colts beat the 5-0 Vikings?
It won’t be easy. Minnesota is coming off its bye, and the Vikings are favored by 5.5 points at U.S. Bank Stadium. Kyler Murray is settling in under Kevin O’Connell, and Brian Flores’ defense entered the bye allowing the fewest points per game with 10 takeaways in five games.
That’s a bad matchup for an offense with nine Jones turnovers. The best plan is probably the one that nearly worked Sunday. Taylor ran 21 times for 94 yards and caught two passes for 57 more, his most productive game of the season, and the Colts owned the ball for 38:32.
The AFC South isn’t gone yet. Jacksonville lost to the Texans 34-31 in London, so the Colts sit two games behind the 4-2 Jaguars, tied with Houston at 2-4. A loss in Minneapolis, with Jacksonville and Dallas up next, would make that gap tough to close.
More on the Indianapolis Colts
- Colts Facing Troubling Development After Sauce Gardner News
- Why Did Chris Ballard Get Fired? 5 Worst Decisions He Made as Colts GM
- Can the Colts Still Make the Playoffs After Losing to the Titans? What the Week 6 Loss Told Us
- Is Shane Steichen Next? Colts Fire GM Chris Ballard After 2-4 Start and Home Loss to Titans
