Anthony Richardson hilariously made the Bengals eat their own trash talk

The Indianapolis Colts play the Cincinnati Bengals in the preseason finale on Thursday night and that has meant the two have participated in joint practices leading up to the showdown.

Things were not going particularly well for Anthony Richardson and the Colts offense early in the practice. In fact, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star described the practice as the Colts' "worst offensive practice of training camp".

Acording to Atkins, the Colts offensive line was getting bullied by the Bengals defensive line, leading Richardson to scramble to try to make something happen. The receivers weren't able to get on the same page as Richardson though, and the Bengals defense started to chirp.

Atkins noted that Bengals safety Geno Stone said, "He doesn't see his receivers," while B.J. Hill urged Richardson to "Throw the ball, bro." Cam Taylor-Britt took a shot of his own, asking, "Is that all he does is run?"

Richardson and the Colts offense had enough of the Bengals trash talk and started to make them eat their words. Atkins discussed how the Colts offense came alive and it started with a completed pass from Richardson to rookie Adonai Mitchell.

"The Colts came out for a two-minute drive, and it was like a different unit had taken control. Pass protection was strong. Richardson was operating with a sense of purpose and urgency, and his receivers were turning for the ball early and meeting the spots he was throwing to."

From there, Richardson continued to excel, connecting with Michael Pittman and then later Alec Pierce.

Anthony Richardson and Colts offense awaken after Bengals taunting

Atkins summed it up well, pointing out that this truly was a great example of how completely different this group can look.

"The practice showcased the two polarizing sides of this offense based on whether Richardson is locked in or not. The more he gets sped up and forced to play with urgency, the sharper his timing, accuracy and ball placement tend to be. But he can also grow choppy and lackadaisical in other settings."

Hopefully Colts fans see more of the re-energized offense and not the one from earlier in practice that was struggling to do much of anything against Cincinnati. Richardson showed that when things are there for him, he can thrive but he also showed us that unfortunately, there are going to be some really tough moments for him as he continues to grow as a quarterback.