Doyel: Back to reality in Jacksonville for Colts without injured QB Anthony Richardson
We dared to dream about the 2023 Indianapolis Colts, didn’t we? Give credit to this team for finding itself tied for first in the AFC South five games into the season, and credit to us for the power of our positive thinking. That was us, before this game Sunday in Jacksonville: We saw the Colts’ possibilities.
Then came this 37-20 loss, and we saw their limitations.
Rookie cornerbacks. A leaking offensive line. Rookie coach. Gardner Minshew.
Add it up and you have the ugliest game of the season for the Colts, a mostly hopeless loss that gives Jacksonville the season sweep and therefore the head-to-head tiebreaker. In other words, for the Colts to win the AFC South, they cannot merely tie the Jaguars for first. They have to win it outright.
Insider: Gardner Minshew struggles in Colts blowout loss as Jacksonville curse continues
That last sentence, about the 2023 AFC South title? That was a statement of fact, nothing more or less. Damn sure wasn’t me, daring to dream. Not anymore. Not today, anyway. Ask me tomorrow, you know? But right now the Colts are coming off a game that laid bare their weaknesses, the bad ending to a bad day that started with a report from the NFL Network that reflected coach Shane Steichen's previous statements the franchise is seriously considering season-ending surgery on the right shoulder of rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
If that means 11 more games like the one we just watched, well, please wake me up. Because this feels like a nightmare.
Gardner Minshew threw how many passes??
Before Sunday, Gardner Minshew had never thrown 50 passes in a game. He’d never been intercepted three times, either. Those numbers are related, primarily because Minshew doesn’t have the arm – sorry, let’s be like the cool kids; he doesn’t have the arm talent – to get away with that many passes. If he’s throwing it 50 times, his team must be trailing. Which means the other team knows he’ll be passing.
Which explains Sunday, when Minshew attempted a career-high 55 passes and threw a career-high three interceptions. But if you’re looking for the bright side, here you go:
It could have been much, much worse.
Minshew had one interception negated by a defensive penalty and had two easy interceptions dropped by Jags linebacker Devin Lloyd, and had a third, tougher one dropped as well. That’s what, seven potential interceptions? Well, not exactly. On the next snap after Lloyd’s first drop, Minshew threw an interception. That means he could’ve thrown only six picks, not seven!
You can’t throw two interceptions on the same drive, see. Though if it were possible, Sunday was your game and Gardner was your guy.
After the game, asked about the Jags' pressure, Minshew didn't go easy on himself.
"They got some pressure," he said, "but at the end of the day, I was careless with the ball. I didn't do a good enough job taking care of it. I put our team in a really bad spot, you know, and it's not fair to the rest of the guys, so I'm really going to look at those, hold myself accountable."
Nate Atkins: 10 thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' 37-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars
As for Colts coach Shane Steichen afterward, he did that thing he always does, saying the blame starts with him – “I’ve got to make it easier on him,” he said of Minshew – and while normally that’s just ego-massaging nonsense, he had a point Sunday. It’s true the Colts found themselves trailing 14-3 after the Jags scored 14 points in 16 seconds, but that was early in the second quarter. More than 14 minutes left, plus the entire second half to play. No time to panic.
Steichen called for 11 passes on the Colts’ next 13 plays, in part because Minshew had completed his first nine throws of the game, and in part because the Colts were already down 11 points. But for that many passes, the math works like this: Gardner Minshew plus a defense expecting the pass equals ugliness.
Minshew’s 10th pass in that stretch was dropped by the Jaguars’ Lloyd. His 11th pass was caught by Jags safety Andre Cisco. Jacksonville scored on that drive for a 21-3 lead. An exchange of field goals made it 24-6. Then Steichen was calling two passes on three plays before punting – a “three-and-out,” you call that – and the Jags were driving for another touchdown and it was 31-6 and time to go home.
Two of those touchdowns happened because the Colts’ rookie cornerbacks are not ready for this moment. These guys could be good someday, especially JuJu Brents of Warren Central, but Sunday was not that day.
Brents, a second-round pick this year, and Jaylon Jones (seventh round) each committed pass interference on a drive that ended on a 10-yard TD pass from Trevor Lawrence to tight end Brenton Strange, who was alone near the end zone. The closest Colts to him were Jones and linebacker E.J. Speed. Maybe it was Speed’s fault, but zone coverage has been complicated for the Colts’ rookie corners.
On an earlier touchdown, a 29-yard strike from Lawrence to Christian Kirk for a 21-3 lead, Brents let Kirk run past him, perhaps thinking he had help behind him.
Narrator: He did not have help behind him.
Shaddup, narrator. Not in the mood today.
Surgery makes sense for Anthony Richardson
Colts running backs Zack Moss and Jonathan Taylor ran 15 times for 40 yards, combined, which also could explain why Steichen felt what this Colts offense really needed was more Minshew.
With the news that Richardson could be facing season-ending shoulder surgery, the prospect of more games like this feels deflating after what we saw for five games. Yes, we saw Richardson get knocked from three of those games, all in part because of artificial turf – his bruised knee and separated shoulder smacked on the unforgiving stuff at Lucas Oil Stadium, while the back of his helmet crashed into Houston’s turf for a concussion – but we saw Minshew come off the bench and rally the team.
Doyel last week: Colts need to protect Anthony Richardson and switch to grass
At 3-2, the Colts were playing Sunday for sole possession of first in the AFC South, and a 3-1 record in division play. Win this game, and they were on their way to something special. Maybe. That was the dream, anyway.
But lose this game the way the Colts lost it – three interceptions, no running game, rookie cornerbacks making rookie cornerback mistakes – and the narrative changes. Before, we saw what was possible. One week after coming off the bench to lead the Colts past Tennessee, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Titans and a seven-game skid at Lucas Oil Stadium dating to October 2022, why couldn’t Minshew return to his old home of Jacksonville and help the Colts snap their eight-game road losing streak to Jacksonville?
Then we saw why.
And we saw, as if we’d forgotten, how important Anthony Richardson is to this franchise. On a day like Sunday, when the Colts offense needed Superman, he was standing on the sideline with his right arm in a sling. Good old Anthony, he still made this trip and came out to the field well before kickoff to sign autographs for anybody who wanted one. Given that he’s from nearby Gainesville, Fla., and played for his hometown Florida Gators, lots of kids wanted his autograph.
This franchise is in good hands with Richardson going forward, which is why it’s not the worst idea in the world for him to undergo shoulder surgery. Fix that thing surgically – which would make a second sprain less likely than simply letting it heal on its own – and prepare for the next decade.
What about the rest of the 2023 season? Well, it doesn’t look great. Not today. Then again, anything seemed possible just one week ago. This is a crazy game and a crazy league, and worse teams than the 2023 Colts have found themselves in the postseason.
You laughing? Kindly keep it down. I seem to be dreaming.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts vs. Jaguars: Minshew struggles in Anthony Richardson's absence
