Colts QB controversy heats up after Joe Flacco leads team to win over Titans

It wasn't a monster performance by Joe Flacco by any means, but the veteran quarterback did everything that was necessary to help the Indianapolis Colts get a big Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

With this weekend's victory, the Colts are now 3-3 this season, and they've won two of their last three games in which Flacco was under center for at least half of the matchup.

In the win over the Titans, Flacco completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. So, yeah, not outstanding numbers, but he made plays when Indianapolis needed him the most, and it resulted in the team getting their record back to .500.

Do the Indianapolis Colts have a QB controversey between Joe Flacco and Anthony Richardson?

Heading into Sunday, it seemed like quarterback Anthony Richardson had a good chance to return to the Colts starting lineup for the first time since suffering an oblique injury in the middle of the team's Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But, in the end, Indianapolis stuck with Flacco as its starter for the second straight week, and Richardson served as the team's emergency third-string quarterback.

So, with the 17-year NFL veteran starting under center on Sunday, the Colts went on the road in a tough environment and emerged with a big win over an AFC South rival. It's fair to wonder if the outcome would have been the same for Indianapolis if Richardson was the starter instead.

While Richardson is who the Colts want to be their next great franchise quarterback, it's hard to argue against how much better the team's offense looks when Flacco is running the show.

Richardson is young and he's made some amazing plays during his short time with Indianapolis so far. But there have been plenty of times when he's been too careless with the football and it's had a negative impact on the Colts offense.

In Richardson's first three games this season, Indianapolis turned the ball over six times. With Flacco starting for the last two weeks, the Colts only turned the ball over twice.

So, Indianapolis might not have the same potential to come up with mind-boggling plays with Flacco as the starter. But the Colts can feel more confident that the long-time veteran passer isn't going to make a gut-wrenching mistake in the middle of a game that costs the team a win.

Richardson is still only 22-years-old, and as Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have proven this season, more development time might be needed in order for the former first-round pick to reach his true potential.

The goal for every team in the NFL is to win, and if Indianapolis believes it can continue to win games with Flacco starting, then the team should seriously consider letting Richardson watch and learn from the sidelines, even after he's recovered from his current injury.

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