The Colts are 0-2 as they head into this weekend’s game against the Bears and two things jump out when you start looking at reasons why they’ve lost both their games.
One is the 474 rushing yards they’ve allowed and the other is the four interceptions that quarterback Anthony Richardson has thrown. If you can’t stop the run and you give the ball away, it’s hard to give yourself enough opportunities to win games but the nature of the NFL is that Richardson’s struggles draw more attention than any other facet of the game.
The Colts drafted Richardson in the first round and built their offense around him, so anything he does wrong is going to be magnified. Running back Jonathan Taylor doesn’t think that should be the case and said on Thursday that he’s told Richardson not to “carry that on his shoulders.”
“Just let him know like ‘Hey, it takes all of us, you know, it’s not all on you,’” Taylor said, via the team’s website. “And of course, being at the helm, the quarterback position, a lot of the spotlight is on you, but it’s the greatest team sport.”
Taylor’s not wrong, but the reality is that the Colts’ record is going to serve as a referendum on Richardson and a full season that looks like the first two weeks isn’t going to do much to convince anyone that he’s the foundation for future success.
