Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson are being slammed for brutal Texans loss

The Indianapolis Colts lost yet again to the Houston Texans - and, yet again, it was an infuriatingly close game. Despite their horrific performance earlier in the 2024 season, the defense was the star of this game. They held the Texans to just two touchdowns, sacked CJ Stroud twice, forced fumbles, and kept the pressure on Houston's offense throughout the entire game. Was it perfect? No, but considering how much time the defense had to spend on the field thanks to the Colts' largely-useless offense, there's not much else fans could ask for from the defense.

No, the problem on Sunday could be laid at the feet of two specific people: quarterback Anthony Richardson and head coach Shane Steichen. And no one is shy about saying so.

The internet comes for Anthony Richardson

If the calls to bench Richardson were loud before, they're deafening now. Even without that play, his performance Sunday was bizarre at best. This was arguably his worst game so far; he finished just 10-of-32 for 175 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, and an overall rating of 48.3.

Then, there was the moment that he tapped out of the game... because he was tired.

Needless to say, there were not many people siding with Richardson, and one of the harshest responses came from the "Get Up" panel, and former offensive lineman Damien Woody in particular.

"Bro," Woody said, speaking directly to the camera. "I'm a former offensive lineman. We don't get breaks. We're sitting, blocking for you every single play to protect you, OK, and you're going to sit there and tap your head and ask out of the game? You need to get your conditioning up. I can't even wrap my mind around the fact that you're asking out of the game. You must be grossly out of shape or something else must be going on. But I don't have the luxury as an offensive lineman to tap my helmet and get out of the game."

Former NFL coach Rex Ryan added, "He thinks it's acceptable! What makes him think this is acceptable, kid? Is it the fact that the GM's making the head coach play you? Maybe that's what makes it acceptable!"

Dan Orlovsky, a former quarterback for the Colts, didn't show any sympathy, either. "When it comes to physical exertion, no one's job is easier on game day than the quarterback's. I can't fathom Anthony saying this," he said. "I can't fathom him saying it, and then getting into the huddle in the fourth quarter, and looking guys like [Damien Woody] in the eye, and saying, 'I need a 10-play drive here. Everything you got, I know you're dead, I need you to give me everything you have because we can go win the game right now.' I can't imagine, because those guys are going to be like, 'You the same dude that tapped out?'"

At the Athletic, James Boyd likewise was incredulous at Richardson's seeming lack of humility and acceptance of reality. "Instead of owning up to his troubling day, there was Richardson himself claiming to be a 'great passer,' as if he hadn’t only completed 10-of-32 passes, including just two in the first half," Boyd wrote, and then added, "Yet, when questioned about his inaccuracy, Richardson spoke as if he hadn’t just put himself on the wrong side of history."

Now, it's true that some of the issues on Sunday weren't Richardson's fault. As analysts like Nate Atkins and Stephen Holder have pointed out, a good number of passes from Richardson were right on target, and were dropped by the receivers... and then there were the constant false starts from Quenton Nelson, an oddly porous offensive line, Shane Steichen's absolutely insane play-calling, and other all-around issues with the offense that can't be laid solely at Richardson's feet.

But at what point does Richardson finally own up to his own issues and stop referring to himself as a once-in-a-lifetime talent?

Shane Steichen condemns his QB to failure

Steichen has a reputation for developing young quarterbacks, but you wouldn't know it by how he's treating his young QB. Judging by what he's putting Richardson through, he's doing everything he can to make Richardson fail.

Immediately in the first half, Steichen had Richardson chasing deep throws - a huge mistake for a developing quarterback with accuracy issues - and refusing to change tacks when the receivers were consistently letting Richardson down. Jonathan Taylor, the best player on the Colts offense right now, was back for the first time in several weeks after an ankle injury, but he was criminally underutilized. He finished with 20 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown, but just eight of those carries were in the first half.

Richardson, who is admittedly a strong runner, had just two designed run plays, both in the second half.

In his post-game analysis, Stephen Holder pointed mostly at Steichen for Richardson's troubles. "Shane Steichen can, perhaps, do more to help him. The play calling is SUPER aggressive and often Richardson is left in long down-and-distance situations. That’s tough for good quarterbacks to overcome, let alone a 22-year old who is in the midst of some real struggles," he tweeted. "Colts are still not leaning into his running ability. Just two designed runs today after seven last week. The fourth down and 3 play where Richardson ran around right end picked up 12 yards was effortless. Make them defend it. Bonus: Plays like that boost his confidence."

Nate Atkins likewise pointed out that Steichen is asking way too much of Richardson when the offense doesn't have the weapons around him to be successful.

"Think about this: They have the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL, who was completing 53.5% of his passes through nine career starts. Their No. 1 wide receiver, Michael Pittman Jr., is playing at about 50% through a painful lower back issue. They don't have tight ends or running backs who add to the intermediate passing game. And Adonai Mitchell is going through a number of rookie struggles," he wrote. "So when the attention gets strong on Josh Downs or Alec Pierce, that's how you wind up with targets to Will Mallory, Mitchell, Tyler Goodson or Kylen Granson on critical downs. It's asking too much of Richardson, and of the way this team is built. "

Explosive plays may be more exciting, but if the Colts had run the ball more, relying on Taylor, they very well could have won the game. Their best drives were in the second half, when they used both Richardson and Taylor together for a dynamic ground game. Yet over and over again, Steichen continued putting Richardson into no-win situations, and still somehow expecting the passing game to be successful.

Steichen has repeatedly acknowledged that he is not setting Richardson up for success... yet he is changing nothing. How long is he going to continue doing the same thing while expecting different results?