Analyst Points Out Colts’ Glaring Issue

Despite the turbulence faced by the Indianapolis Colts on both sides of the ball this season, they’ve still found their way into the late playoff push with just two games left in the year.

However, while the Colts might be alive in the hunt, they’ll have to iron out a few issues within their recent displays which may inevitably make or break their chances for a playoff spot for the first time since the 2020 season– especially on the offensive side of the football.

As ESPN and Aaron Schatz rattled off the most concerning stat trends within the NFL’s playoff bubble teams, the Colts had one of the most interesting to note of the bunch, and possibly the most impactful on the list– their pass offense.

“Pass offense is a pretty big category, but the entire concept is a problem for the Colts,” Schatz said in his rationale. “Indianapolis ranks between 13th and 15th in DVOA for run offense, run defense, pass defense, and special teams. But the Colts rank 25th in pass offense DVOA. If they don’t make the playoffs this season, the blame falls on the passing game.”

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The passing attack for the Colts has been nothing short of up-and-down across the entire season.

A rough start for Anthony Richardson eventually led to veteran backup Joe Flacco getting a couple of starting reps in the middle of the season. Then, Richardson returned to QB1 two weeks later to take the reins. Now leading into this week vs. the New York Giants, the situation under center is up in the air again as Richardson is listed as questionable ahead of Sunday’s contest.

It’s been a whirlwind on the offensive side. Yet, regardless of who’s taking the snaps on Sunday vs. the Giants, the Colts must be more efficient in their passing attack. Richardson throwing under a 50.0% completion rate for the year is far from sustainable to keep putting wins on the board, even as an elite threat in the run game.

In fact, Schatz mentions that the Colts’ passing offense has seen a bit of a drop-off in production from their short time with Flacco under center.

“Things have been worse with Anthony Richardson at quarterback than they were with Joe Flacco,” Schatz continued. “Richardson has incredible rushing skills and is also good at avoiding sacks. The problem is throwing the football. Richardson ranks 32nd out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks in passing EPA, barely ahead of the Titans’ Will Levis. Richardson is ridiculously behind every other qualifying QB in completion percentage. He’s completing 48% of his passes this season, while every other quarterback is above 60%.”

It’s no secret that Richardson’s development has been a project since being drafted two years ago, but with a second-to-last EPA per play right ahead of a now-benched Will Levis, something has to change fast.

Thankfully, easy matchups for the next two weeks against the Giants and the Jacksonville Jaguars can make a simple path for Richardson to perform well if he suits up. The fourth overall pick of the 2023 draft has shown clear flashes of talent and ability to be the franchise guy during parts of his first two years in the league, yet the details need some fine-tuning.

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