With the Indianapolis Colts' preseason coming to an end after their blowout win against the Cincinnati Bengals, there's no better time to look at the biggest winners and losers from the whole preseason.
This preseason was more eventful for Colts fans than usual (maybe more so than some fans would have liked), primarily due to the lengthy saga of a quarterback competition that was Anthony Richardson versus Daniel Jones.
As we now know, head coach Shane Steichen crowned Jones the victor, but many other players shone (and didn't) throughout the preseason for this Colts team. Let's take a look to find out who benefited the most from this three-week stint of exhibition games.
Winners and losers from the Indianapolis Colts' preseason
Winner No. 1: Quarterback Daniel Jones
Yes, to get the elephant out of the room, by far the biggest winner of the preseason for the Colts was the player who solidified himself as the starting quarterback. Before Steichen's decision prior to the Colts' week three game against the Bengals, many Colts fans anticipated that Richardson would (and maybe should have) taken the starting job.
However, due to inconsistent play and constant injury concerns (and maybe some in the building politics that we aren't privy to), Richardson was named the backup quarterback, and Steichen was adamant that this situation was not a fluid one.
Jones was from from spectacular in the preseason, putting up a stat line of 10 for 24 for 144 yards against the Ravens and following it up with a seven for 11 outing for 101 yards against the Packers. However, Shane Steichen believed that he showed the thing which he values most in a quarterback, with that trait being consistency.
Unfortunately, the oft-maligned head coach doesn't seem to care whether or not that consistency means being consistently average.
Jones didn't wow in the first two preseason games (he didn't appear against the Bengals), but as always, the preseason should be taken with a grain of salt. Colts fans can only hope that Jones will step up his play in the regular season.
Winner No. 2: Tyler Warren
The Colts' most highly anticipated rookie of the class has had limited opportunities through the preseason, but that might be more telling of the caliber of player that Shane Steichen believes he has than any detractor. Warren had a short but productive night in week one of the preseason against the Ravens, catching only three passes, but he produced forty yards on those three receptions.
The quantity was even lower the next week against the Packers, with Warren reeling in just one catch, but that catch did net the team 25 yards. Oftentimes, coaches call their most vanilla plays in preseason, hoping not to tip off any opposition as to what they really can do.
Steichen could be doing the same with Warren, keeping him hidden in preseason before unleashing him once the games really matter.
Warren has definitely seen little action, but when he is on the field, his presence is a very noticeable one. The Colts might have stumbled into a star when Warren fell to them.
Winner No. 3: The Secondary
This one is a bit broader than the two players above, but for a position group that's been highlighted for being the weakness of the team, the Colts' secondary has been surprisingly effective throughout the preseason.
Again, the preseason can't be taken at face value, especially when it comes to the subpar quarterbacking on the field. However, as the old adage goes, you can't control who you play, and the Colts' secondary has risen to the challenge against all of the offenses they've faced.
Against the Ravens, Baltimore was only able to amass 49 total yards from their quarterbacks. The next week wasn't much better for their opponent, as Green Bay only cobbled together a performance of 200 yards, obviously not as good as the previous week, but still a commendable effort against a better stable of quarterbacks.
Now, against the Bengals came another standout game yards-wise. The Colts held their opponent to just 96 passing yards, meaning that in two out of three preseason games, the Colts' opposition was held to double-digit passing yards. Yes, it's the preseason, but that's a winning formula.
The secondary is maybe the biggest X factor for the Colts' season outside of the quarterback situation, and although the regular season is a whole different animal from the preseason, Colts fans have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the group.
Loser No. 2: Anthony Richardson
What a mess. Richardson's rocky tenure with the Colts has been about as far from what the team hoped when they selected him fourth overall in the 2023 NFL draft. Richardson has played in just fifteen total regular season games for the Colts, and yet, already, the franchise has turned its back on him.
It isn't all on the franchise, however, as in his limited action, Richardson has been far from advertised. The same completion percentage issues that popped up in college have persisted in the NFL, and injury concerns have only piled on to that. The big thing that was said about Richardson when he came out was that he needed more experience, and unfortunately, he hasn't been able to get on the field to get that experience.
The Anthony Richardson experience has been one filled with huge ups and terrible downs, but it seems that with Jones being named the starter, that experience may be all but over, at least with Indianapolis.
Maybe Richardson gets a fresh start somewhere else, but the young gunslinger has a tough hill to climb to prove he can be even a starting QB in this league, let alone a franchise one. With another disappointing year at quarterback, it may be time for the Colts to start anew at the position come next draft (most likely with a new regime if that happens).
Loser No. 2: Shane Steichen
Much has already been said about Steichen in this article, but this preseason has brought nothing but shaken confidence in the Colts' most recent head coach. For someone who seemed to be such an ardent Anthony Richardson supporter when he was first brought in, Steichen has certainly changed his tune fast about the young QB.
The rest of the team's performance has been questionable throughout these three games as well. With a record of 1-2 in the preseason, Colts fans have to hope that the starters play much better than the backups, who have seen most of the game action in the regular season. The bounce-back blowout against the Bengals helped in a major way, but it was also a Bengals team that didn't play any starters.
This speaks to the talent deficiency on the Colts roster as well. Yes, the backups played the majority of the action in these games, but they played against other backups. Is the depth for Indianapolis that much worse than the depth of other teams? Steichen better hope not, because injuries are a part of football, as many Colts fans know only too well.
There was nothing but hope and goodwill when Shane Steichen was hired to be the Colts' head coach, fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Eagles, but it seems that initial goodwill has run out.
It's time for results from Shane Steichen (not to mention the even longer tenured Chris Ballard), and if he doesn't deliver this season, he may not get another chance to be the head coach of an NFL team again.