Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen heard the boos on Sunday.
However, he didn’t consider making the change the fans wanted — pulling 39-year-old Joe Flacco and returning to second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Two weeks after Steichen made Flacco the starter, believing the veteran gave the team the best chance to win, the questions about switching back to Richardson started to grow louder.
“Until I say otherwise, Joe is our guy right now,” Steichen said when asked if he still thought Flacco was the best option for Indy (4-6). “I understand. I understand. Like I said, I’m going to go back and look at everything, but right now, that’s where we’re at.”
Flacco’s stats in the Colts’ 30-20 loss to Buffalo were 26 completions on 35 attempts for 272 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Those turnovers, along with four sacks and a lost fumble, sealed the Colts’ defeat.
Since replacing Richardson, Flacco has committed six turnovers in two starts, and he’s 1-3 as the Colts’ starter this season. He has also led the team to two of their lowest total yardage games of the year. Throwing an interception on his first pass Sunday, which was returned for a touchdown, certainly didn’t help his case. Flacco admitted it was a bad decision.
Naturally, Colts fans didn’t wait for a third straight loss to show their displeasure, letting Steichen and the team — or Flacco — know what they thought, despite Richardson’s struggles with a league-low 44% completion rate.
The fans seemed to think things were even worse with Flacco at quarterback.
“This league is tough, things like that happen,” Flacco said about the boos. “You don’t want to put yourself in that situation. But you know we can only look at ourselves and I can only look at myself in terms of what’s happening.”
Finding a solution isn’t going to be easy.
While Richardson gave the Colts big plays and a dual-threat option with All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, his inconsistent throwing often stalled drives. He’s also struggled with injuries, starting just 10 games since being drafted No. 4 overall in 2023.
Richardson also faced heavy criticism for taking himself out of a game against Houston in the third quarter to catch his breath, which he later admitted was a mistake.
Flacco, on the other hand, has struggled behind an offensive line that has featured two rookie starters in each of the last two games, with a third rookie on the field Sunday. While his completion percentage is better, Flacco has also missed some throws and been the victim of dropped passes. The Colts’ top receiver, Michael Pittman Jr., has been playing through a back injury, which led to him being inactive for the first time on Sunday.
The resulting slide seemed inevitable.
Just three weeks ago, the Colts had a chance to tie the Texans for the AFC South lead. Now, with six games left, Indianapolis is one game behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the AFC and facing tough decisions.
They could return to Richardson and accept the growing pains of a young quarterback trying to become a starter. Or, they could stick with Flacco, who led just one scoring drive last week at Minnesota and only one meaningful touchdown Sunday, a 2-yard TD pass to Tyler Goodson in the first half.
For now, Steichen seems convinced Flacco is his best option, though it’s unclear when that could change.
“Obviously, we’ve had two games that he’d like to have back, but we’ll keep battling through it, see where it goes,” Steichen said. “We’ve got to give them (the fans) something to cheer about. We’re moving the ball. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to go back, and freaking get it cleaned up.”
