The Indianapolis Colts lost in Week 9 to the Minnesota Vikings, but they didn't just lose; they were humiliated on prime time television. On the heels of Shane Steichen's decision to bench Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco, the offense had their least productive game of the season, failing to score a single touchdown and the only points scored coming from kicker Matt Gay and a turnover ran back for a touchdown from Grover Stewart.
Steichen has insisted that Flacco will remain the Colts' starting quarterback, but fans are not happy - and neither are analysts, apparently. The power rankings for Week 10 have been released, and it is not pretty for Colts fans.
Nate Davis, USA Today: #21 (-1)
What they wouldn't do to trade this years-long quarterback dilemma, the Joe Flacco promotion leading to zero offensive TDs and Indy's first loss of the season by more than six points on Sunday night.
Eric Edholm, NFL.com: #21 (-2)
When Shane Steichen made the move to Joe Flacco last week, it sure seemed like the Colts were going headlong into the second half of the season with Flacco as the quarterback, no question, while Anthony Richardson remained vaguely in their plans. Then Flacco went out and struggled against the Vikings' defense, and Steichen was forced to answer questions about potentially making another switch at the position, saying he still considers the veteran his best option "right now." Remember, Steichen indicated that the move was made more because of what Flacco offered than because of what Richardson did or didn't do, including the infamous “tap out” on a third-and-goal play in the Colts’ loss to the Texans in Week 8. So now Flacco will be seriously tested against a battering ram in the next three games, with Indy hosting the Bills and Lions, sandwiched around a road game against the desperate Jets. These appear to be shaky times for this team.
Stephen Holder, ESPN: #21 (+/- 0)
The Colts' season is in a precarious spot, with Indianapolis falling below .500 after Sunday night's loss. If the Colts are going to stay in the playoff race, they need to steal a win in a rare home game amid a stretch of five of seven road games. Can the Colts get their offense -- and quarterback situation -- figured out against a defense that's top 10 in scoring defense (19.2 points per game), defensive EPA (12.2) and opponent QBR (50.4)?
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: #22 (+1)
Joe Flacco looked bad on Sunday. Maybe that’s because he went against a tough Vikings defense, but it was concerning. The decision to bench Anthony Richardson was controversial, and it will look bad if Flacco craters.
Conor Orr, SI: #20 (-4)
I got a lot of “see?!” replies on Sunday when the Colts lost to the Minnesota Vikings based on my take that, yeah, it’s sensible that Shane Steichen benched Anthony Richardson for many reasons. And that contingent of the “he needs to play” crowd grew louder when, I wonder, if they watched the game at all. Do we know what that defense would have done to a quarterback who came into the game with a passing EPA of minus-30 and the fourth-highest sack rate in the NFL? There’s a point when reps lose their purpose. This was a graduate-level defense.
Josh Kendall, The Athletic: #21 (+/- 0)
Stewart ran over Minnesota center Garrett Bradbury and sacked Sam Darnold, resulting in a fumble that Kenny Moore II returned for Indianapolis’ only touchdown of the game Sunday. Stewart finished with two sacks, the first multi-sack game of his 116-game career. The 31-year-old defensive tackle has been a smiling stalwart for the Colts since they drafted him in the fourth round in 2017.
Mike Florio, NBC Sports: #21 (-2)
Anthony Richardson might be getting another chance to tap out, soon.
Bleacher Report: #21 (+/- 0)
The Indianapolis Colts were one of the NFL's most talked-about teams in Week 9 after benching second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco. It was supposed to stabilize the offense and keep the Colts in the thick of the AFC South race.
If Flacco was supposed to be an upgrade on Richardson, it didn't show Sunday night. Against a Vikings pass defense that entered the game among the worst in the NFL, Flacco finished 16-of-27 for 179 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 63.7. The Colts had their fewest points, yards and first downs of the season.
While addressing the media, Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that Flacco will remain Indy's starter "for now."
"Obviously, he's played in environments like this before," Steichen said. "But again, it starts with myself. I've got to keep looking at what we're doing offensively. We have eight left, and I've got to look at scheme stuff and see what we're doing and go from there."
Analyst's Take
"Indy's listless performance against the Vikings clearly demonstrated that Flacco isn't the answer at quarterback. But the Colts are essentially damned if they do and damned if they don't.
"Start Anthony Richardson, and the bad habits that have led to some of his struggles could becoming so ingrained that it will be hard for him to turn his career around. Start Flacco, and the Colts are a low-ceiling also-ran that will win just enough games to get buried in the middle of Round 1 in next year's draft.
"Expect a few more weeks of mediocrity with Flacco, followed by the team turning back to Richardson for the stretch run." - Gary Davenport
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: #22 (-1)
The move to bench Anthony Richardson didn't do much for the offense against the Vikings. Joe Flacco didn't look great, so how long do they stick with him?
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: #22 (-1)
The Colts made a hasty decision to sit Anthony Richardson because they need to be a run-heavy team with him and Jonathan Taylor to be most complementary to the defense. Joe Flacco's chuck-and-duck routine isn't right for this team.