Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson took fans on an extreme roller coaster during Sunday's 16-10 loss against the Green Bay Packers.
On the surface, Richardson's numbers are pretty brutal. The second-year quarterback completed 17-of-34 passes (50%) for 204 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a 41.8 passer rating.
Richardson also added four carries for 37 rushing yards while fumbling (and recovering) the ball twice.
The Colts scored just 10 points, tied for the fewest in a game during Shane Steichen's tenure and the third time it's happened since he took over as head coach.
It was a brutal loss for the Colts on both sides of the ball, but was Richardson truly that bad?
Anthony Richardson's Week 2 stats paint ugly picture
The standard box score scout is likely loading up an arsenal full of arguments about Richardson's completion percentage. He's yet to surpass 50% in a game this season, which isn't a great sign.
However, according to Pro Football Focus, Richardson suffered the worst drop rate from his receiving corps. His 15% drop rate from his receivers led all NFL quarterbacks in Week 2. Even so, his 62.5% adjusted completion percentage ranked second-worst among Week 2 passers.
According to Next Gen Stats, Richardson's time to throw (3.24) was the second-highest in Week 2, lower than only Deshaun Watson (3.27). Meanwhile, his completion percentage over expected (CPOE) was a league-low 12.2%.
His EPA per dropback at -0.23 ranked seventh-worst in the NFL in Week 2, though it was right around the marks from Jared Goff (-0.23), Patrick Mahomes (-0.22) and Dak Prescott (-0.20).
According to Pro Football Focus, Richardson led Week 2 passers with an 11.5% turnover-worthy play rate from a clean pocket.
What Anthony Richardson did well in Week 2
Richardson still did a strong job of avoiding sacks. His 9.1% pressure-to-sack rate was the fourth-best mark among passers with at least 18 dropbacks in Week 2.
It also should be noted that Richardson's completion percentage is going to be a volatile mark considering the insane average depth of target (aDOT) he's putting on the field.
His 12.0 aDOT, per Next Gen Stats, was the second-highest mark in Week 2 while his 17.6% deep-pass rate ranked third behind only Josh Allen and Kyler Murray.
Meanwhile, his 93.8 passer rating on short throws (0-9 yards) was 10th-best among passers with at least 10 short pass attempts, per Pro Football Focus.
There is a lot of development ahead for Richardson, who now has just 274 total NFL snaps in his career. He must do a better job of varying his velocity on intermediate throws, and Shane Steichen has to do a better job keeping his quarterback from playing hero ball on every drive.
Until (if) that happens, it's going to be a bumpy ride from week to week.
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