The Indianapolis Colts passing attack against the Houston Texans looked starkly different from what Shane Steichen and the offensive staff rolled out throughout the 2023 NFL season with Gardner Minshew at the helm.
With the return of Anthony Richardson, a quarterback with a skillset vastly different than Minshew's, some change was expected. Still, rather than a heavy focus on run-pass options and quick throws, the Colts instead leaned on the strength of Richardson's arm to carry their pass game.
The Colts only ran 45 offensive plays in Week 1 (generally an NFL team averages somewhere in the low-60s) and Richardson attempted a pass on just 19 of those plays. This was the fewest pass attempts by a starting quarterback in the NFL so the sample size is admittedly low, but the numbers can still give some context to the Colts game plan.
Leading the way amongst starting quarterbacks, 21.1% of Richardson's passes traveled 20 or more yards in the air, more than twice the NFL average. With 19 pass attempts, this only equates to four attempts traveling more than 20 air yards, but three of these were completed and two resulted in touchdowns. The one incompletion was the miscommunication between Richardson and Adonai Mitchell in the 2nd quarter which saw an open touchdown opportunity fall to the turf.
Richardson also led the NFL in average depth of target with 17.3 yards, joining Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (12.2) as the only two with an ADoT over 10 yards. This number is certainly skewed by the two completions to Alec Pierce that traveled for 60-plus yards, but if deep shots continue to be taken at a similar rate, Richardson will remain a leader in this category.
This plan of attack in the passing game from Steichen and company could have been prepared specifically with the Texans in mind based on weaknesses spotted during film sessions. It could also be due to the Colts' personnel available to them. The Colts were without starting slot receiver Josh Downs in the season opener, a player who can create opportunities down the field as well, but whose strength is the ability to win routes against defensive backs quickly. This could also be a trend that we see continue throughout the season. The high success rate on the deep shots taken in week one could have the Colts looking to continue their aggressive approach.
The Colts play their first away game of the season against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, a team whose pass defense performed below average in their season debut, so the opportunities for more deep shots could be there for the taking.
