Anthony Richardson just gave an insane reason for skipping a play during Texans game

The Indianapolis Colts' 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans included plenty of eyebrow-raising moments, including a fairly stellar performance by the Colts defense and the return of star running back Jonathan Taylor. Yet it was the Colts' embattled quarterback that has people talking, and not for good reasons.

In the third quarter, Anthony Richardson suddenly left the game after receiving heavy pressure from the Texans defense. He had been sacked, but was evidently not injured, and the bizarre experience not only had fans furious at the young QB, but demanding answers.

Well... for better or worse, we now have them. Apparently, Richardson was just tired.

"Tired, I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there that I did," he said in a post-game press conference. "I don't think I was gonna be able to do that next play. So, I just told Shane (Steichen) I needed a break right there.”

One of the few things Richardson has in his favor following his dreadful season so far has been his athleticism. Despite his size -- 6'4" and 244 pounds -- Richardson is known to be an elite-level athlete. He can run a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, and cleared a 40-inch vertical leap, as well as a broad jump of 10-foot-9. These are the best of any quarterback in NFL history. And then, of course, there are his occasional cannon throws that leave many spectators awed.

So, sure, maybe Richardson is struggling as a new quarterback, but he's a great athlete... or, that's the thinking, anyway. But how does that logic jibe when this supposedly-incredible athlete, who has boasted recently of being one-of-one, has to sit out a play during a huge game, simply because he was tired?

Needless to say, few people were sympathetic.

Another X user tweeted a deadly comparison to other Colts quarterbacks and called for him to be removed as starter. "Peyton Manning played with a broken, bloodied and swollen jaw. Andrew Luck beat the eventual Super Bowl champs while playing with a lacerated kidney and torn abdomen," user Nathaniel T. wrote. "Anthony Richardson came out of an important divisional game, because he was tired."

Others, though, came to Richardson's defense, noting that the subpar play around him may have been why he was struggling so much.

It's a fair argument to make that Richardson's performance may not have been as bad as it looked on the surface; the Colts' offensive line, normally one of the best in the league, did not play well today. Many of his missed passes were failures on the receivers, not poor throws from Richardson. And of course, head coach Shane Steichen's play-calling left much to be desired.

Yet being the quarterback means being not only the face of the franchise, but arguably, the foremost leader on the field. There will be games when the team crumbles around them, and that's when the quarterback has to be the person to carry everyone... not slink off the field because he's tired.