The Indianapolis Colts looked remarkable in their Week 1 win over the Miami Dolphins. Perhaps no one looked better than their new quarterback, Daniel Jones. And that has last year's starter, Anthony Richardson, sinking fast.
Richardson didn't get into the game for a single snap, even though his team had a 30-8 lead with just over six minutes left in the game. Maybe Coach Steichen had a premonition of the Bills-Ravens game, I don't know. It's more likely he wanted to get Jones as many snaps as possible. It may have looked easy, but it was still his first regular-season game in a new system.
Still, I have to wonder. Jonathan Taylor was out of the game on that final Colts drive. Why protect your RB 1, and not your QB 1? It smacks a bit of, "Yeah, we trust D.J. Giddens; AR5, not so much." Giddens was basically the 1B, as he already had eight carries to Taylor's 18 before that drive, but you get the idea. There's a bigger reason I see Richardson's stock falling after this game, too.
Colts' Anthony Richardson looked worse than ever without touching the ball
Now, I'm not completely sold on Jones. Yeah, the Colts didn't punt once; they put on a clinic of ball-control football. Jones put the ball in phenom Tyler Warren's hands every way possible. Danny Dimes certainly played well.
But how much of that was due to his own solid work, and how much can be ascribed to an absolutely terrible game plan by Miami and even worse execution, I'm not sure. I'll dive into that another time.
For now, regardless of how that plays out, Richardson looks awful in comparison. The short routes that Jones nailed time and again are exactly the kinds of throws AR5 would miss. Steichen chose Jones for his consistency. For at least one week, his choice was completely vindicated. But it's a long season, and the Denver Broncos actually field a defense.
As for Anthony Richardson, every successful Colts drive - and they were all successful - dropped his stock one notch lower. It's the same head coach and the same offensive coordinator. Sure, Warren's new, but it isn't like AR5 didn't have any weapons last year. Josh Downs led the team in receptions. Jones simply fits the offense the Cots want to run far better.