Would the Indianapolis Colts have won if Anthony Richarson hadn’t decided to pull out of the game? The NFL is fascinated with this conversation after the Colts’ 23-20 loss against the Houston Texans. This prompted Colts HC Shane Steichen to reevaluate the quarterback situation, but surprisingly, Richardson’s transgression has nothing to do with it.

The Colts quarterback took the podium after the loss and was too honest with the media. He felt so “tired” by the third quarter that he decided to pull out of the game. This came as a surprise to Rich Eisen and his colleague Daniel Jeremiah because it felt like once-in-a-lifetime phenomena to these analysts.

Daniel Jeremiah, former college scout for the Ravens, Browns, and Eagles, shared his Anthony Richardson experience. Jeremiah had never seen a QB pull out of a game like this before. Per the former scout, it’s shouldn’t be up to the QB to decide to leave, unless he’s suffered some kind of injury.

“I’ve never seen that at the high school level. I’ve never seen that at the college level. I’ve never seen it at the pro level. I’ve never seen a quarterback tap out because he was tired,” Jeremiah admitted on The Rich Eisen Show. “You don’t get to ask out of the game when you’re tired at the quarterback spot.”

Richardson is coming off a shoulder injury that he suffered last year, but the problem of getting tired had nothing to do with that injury. He unexpectedly exited the game in the third quarter before he went 10-of-32 for 175 yards. But why did Richardson exit inexplicably?

Well, he felt tired after back-to-back scrambles and decided to catch his breath. By that time, he had rushed for 45 yards over 6 carries. Maybe he did not realize that his honest admission might lead to him getting all this backlash. Check out what he said in the presser.

“Tired, ain’t gonna lie,” Richardson told reporters about his exit. “That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told [head coach Shane Steichen] I needed a break right there.”

As mentioned before, the 4-4 Colts haven’t been able to find an offensive groove and Richardson’s stunt has given the HC a lot to think about.

What does coach Steichen think about Anthony Richarson’s exit against the Texans?

Coach Steichen didn’t deny Richardson’s request to exit the game, but felt like it was an unacceptable decision to make on his part. But the HC was smart enough to convey that Richardson’s excuse wouldn’t be factored in the further decision making regarding their offense.

But there’s no rest for the wicked and the media immediately asked whether Richardson will start the next game against the Vikings. “We’re evaluating everything,” said the HC. But that felt like an inadequate answer, so the correspondents pressured Steichen some more.

When further pressed about Richardson’s status as a starter, the HC said, “Right now, today, he is, yes.” Maybe Richardson, being tired, led him to take 5 sacks (career high). However, another reason for his dismal performance might have been poor receiver play.

The Colts receiver core in its entirety came up with 175 receiving yards and a touchdown. The rush game wasn’t impressive either, with 163 rushing yards and a TD to show for. But some of that blame goes to Anthony Richardson, who’s never completed more than 50% of his passes except in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

However, that 75% completion rate was fugazi because he just completed 3 of his 4 passes. Against the Steelers, he suffered a hip injury in the first quarter and didn’t return. For now, he might have to focus on becoming better and not running out of energy if he is to start against the Vikings.