The latest chapter of the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones was written on Saturday. With the club taking on the Green Bay Packers in their second preseason exhibition game of the summer, we got another look at both signal callers as head coach Shane Steichen mulls which of the two he’ll start when they host the Miami Dolphins in the Week 1 regular season opener.
Last week, the plan was derailed after Richardson was knocked out of the contest due to a dislocated pinky. Fast-forward a week, and Steichen’s plan played out much smoother. Heading into the matchup, Jones was slated to start and play the opening two series, and Richardson would relieve him after that and take the field for the remainder of the first half. That’s exactly how it unfolded at Lucas Oil Stadium, and both quarterbacks had their moments.
As a general takeaway, I viewed Jones as having a slightly better afternoon, but hardly enough to close the book on this competition. That’s especially true with Richardson arguably throwing the best ball of the game, albeit with an asterisk.
“Obviously, you’ve got a quarterback battle, you’ve got two first-round draft picks,” Steichen said postgame, via NFL.com. “When they both came in, I made it very clear that this is gonna be a battle, and they’re gonna compete for the job. Like I said, I’m gonna make the decision that I feel is best for the football team.
“I’m very close, I’ll say that. I’m very close.”
Below, you can find our full takeaways of this next step in Indy’s quarterback battle.