Anthony Richardson's bizarre game against the Texans has NFL fans and experts puzzled

In Week 8, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was coming off a ho-hum performance in last week's win over the Miami Dolphins. The Colts may have gotten the win, but fans were less than inspired by Richardson's 41.7 completion percentage and erratic play.

Week 8 couldn't have gone any worse than last week, right?

Wrong.

Richardson's performance in the loss to the Houston Texans was just as erratic, but the entirety of the game plan was equally confusing. At one point on the day, Richardson was just 2-for-15, with one of those completions being a long touchdown to Josh Downs. Without that big play (which Richardson is known for), he would have been only 1-for-14.

Erratic, boom-or-bust play is the name of the game for the young passer, and on this day, it showed in a massive way. Richardson was inaccurate, and made highly questionable decisions all afternoon. He ended the game going 10-of-32 for 175 yards, one touchdown and one pick. He was given an overall rating of 48.3.

It was arguably his worst game as a pro. Now, Shane Steichen's play calling didn't exactly do him any favors. There could have been even more involvement by Jonathan Taylor and far less deep shots, but that only added to Richardson's bizarre day.

The reason it was so bizarre, over anything else, was because of the polarizing play on a goal-to-go situation in the third quarter, where Richardson subbed himself out of the game. On the previous play, second down, Richardson went down and appeared to get injured.

Later, though, it was confirmed by the Colts sideline that Richardson subbed himself out because he was "out of breath."

Immediately, social media took over and was absolutely buzzing with hot takes, opinions and questions. Why on earth would a quarterback need to exit the game because he was out of breath? It's something most of us had never seen before, including former Colts punter Pat McAfee.

As for the rest of fans and media? There were plenty of reactions to be had, and most of them had to do with just how poorly he played ... not the weird-timed, temporary exit.

Social media went wild over Anthony Richardson's bizarre, poor performance

This seems a bit harsh on the surface, but many fans currently feel this way.

At this point, some fans might be wishing for more of a Jameis Winston, Jay Cutler type ... and that's saying something.

Just another critique.

This one is also harsh, but ... it's a fair assessment for a guy who hardly started football games before getting drafted into the NFL.

That is ... pretty accurate.

Exhibit A: many fans feel this way.

And, here we see a kind, level-headed approach with a smidge of optimism.

Some of us are already looking ahead to the offseason.