The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up the preseason with a 27-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to give them a 2-1 record in August.
There should have been much to take from this outing with the Bengals holding out their starters but with Anthony Richardson and the starting offense struggling after their strong opening drive, there is a little concern over what they will look like in the season opener.
The starting defense handled their business during their limited action while it was the backup units that helped the team pull away in the second half to close out the game.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the preseason finale:
Takeaways from Colts' final preseason game
Great start but a rough ending for Anthony Richardson
It was rainbows and butterflies for the starting Colts offense against the Bengals backups to start the game. Anthony Richardson and company put together an efficient drive that leaned into AR utilizing his arm for the most part. The second-year quarterback made the correct reads and delivered with good ball placement to march the offense into the endzone.
Richardson was 7/8 for 65 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. It was a much different story after the good start. On the following drive, AR and Kylen Granson appeared to have some miscommunication on where Granson was going to take his route which led to a pick-six.
The following three drives were less than inspiring for Richardson. He looked like he was pressing to make up for the interception. Most of his throws were errant and had some missed opportunities to sustain drives with balls going over his receiver’s heads.
In his final drive of the night, it got derailed when Richardson was stripped of the ball which Quenton Nelson recovered. They were unable to pick up the first down after the fumble set up a third-and-15.
Richardson finished going 8/14 for 86 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He picked up three rushing yards on a scramble on his last play of the night. I do believe Shane Steichen told him he wasn’t allowed to keep the ball on quarterback reads because there were a couple of plays Richardson that could have had chunk gains on the ground if he kept the ball.
This should also factor in that this was a limited playbook Steichen was working with and we will see his true plan for this unit when the games matter.
Should the Colts hit the panic button on Richardson? No. This should be expected that there will be ups and downs from AR as a passer. Plus it is clear he still needs to work on developing more chemistry with his receivers to get the timing right when the games matter.
It wasn’t a complete disaster for AR, there were positives but the glaring negatives are parts of his game that he has to continue to improve upon in what should be his first full NFL season.
Starting defense handles their business
On a night when Cincinnati elected to hold their starters out, it was the starting Indy defense that handled their business against the backups. They forced a three-and-out on the opening drive thanks to a third-down sack by Laiatu Latu.
While this rep was against a backup, Latu continued to impress in the limited snaps he has received this offseason. This play was also a look into the damage that Latu and DeForest Buckner can do by rushing the passer on the same side of the line.
The starters forced a punt on the following drive but almost came up with a turnover. Tyquan Lewis got early pressure on the quarterback which almost led to an interception by E.J. Speed.
The Bengals would end up picking up a first down on the following play and got to midfield due to a roughing the passer by Kwity Paye. The Colts would end up forcing the punt after some solid coverage by Jaylon Jones on a deep shot down the field.
The full starting unit forced a three-and-out on their third series of the night. Some of the starters were pulled after that drive but the ones on the field helped force the third three-and-out on the defense’s fourth drive.
In total, the starting defense allowed just 24 yards on 16 plays. This is exactly the type of performance you expect from starters against backups. Now they have just over two weeks to prepare for the explosive Houston Texans offense.
Tyler Goodson and Evan Hull continue to impress
The pecking order of the backfield looks to be clear heading into the season opener. Barring that Trey Sermon’s hamstring injury ends up costing him the RB2 spot on the depth chart. Jonathan Taylor played the first series before his night was over.
It was Tyler Goodson that took over for JT which is notable because he was the one that got the start in last week’s preseason contest against the Arizona Cardinals. Goodson was precise with his running and showed some juice multiple times throughout the night.
Goodson ended his night running the ball 13 times for 57 yards. He also caught two of his three targets for 10 yards. The longest kick return of the game (34 yards) did come from him.
It looks like Goodson is the RB3 on the depth chart but it should be noted that Evan Hull did get some work with the starting unit. He had some solid runs throughout the night.
Hull had nine carries for 30 yards. There was a concern entering the preseason about the backups to Taylor but after the last two contest I think they should be fine with the combination of Sermon, Goodson, and Hull heading into the season.
Swing tackle role still up for grabs?
There is a concern over how Blake Freeland has looked throughout the preseason entering the Bengals matchup and it appears the coaching staff is very aware of it as well. When the second team came in, for the first time in the preseason games, it was third-round rookie Matt Goncalves that was in at left tackle with Freeland playing as the right tackle.
Goncalves struggled to begin the first look at him as a left tackle.
But there was also some good.
Shane Steichen has to be hoping that Bernhard Raimann doesn’t have to miss any time this season because whether it is Goncalves or Freeland, there will be a major dropoff in play from the left tackle position until either of the young tackles show some development throughout the season.
Could a waiver claim at the tackle position come next week after teams make their cuts? It should be something that Chris Ballard should consider. Or even a veteran free agent if the coaching staff has no trust in who they name as the swing tackle.
Jason Bean makes his case for the practice squad
One fringe roster player who provided excitement this preseason for the Colts has been Jason Bean. On Thursday night, the UDFA rookie quarterback continued to move the chains for the offense with his arm and legs.
He made the most out of the one drive he had. To start things off, he kept the drive alive with a scramble on a third-and-six.
Bean also made a couple of solid throws to get the ball in scoring position.
He capped off the 13-play, 96-yard drive with a third-and-goal run where he stretched the ball past the goal line while taking a hit for the touchdown.
Unfortunately for Bean, his night was over after that score because of a shoulder injury he suffered from the hit he took. On his one drive, he went 4/4 for 52 yards while picking up 15 yards and a touchdown on three rushing attempts.
The No. 1 pick of the UFL Draft may have to hold those plans back if Chris Ballard wants him on the practice squad. His playing style fits Shane Steichen’s scheme, plus with Joe Flacco on a one-year deal and Sam Ehlinger’s rookie contract coming to an end after this season, he would have an opportunity to compete for the backup quarterback role this time next year.
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