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The Colts are collapsing Joe Flacco against the Vikings and need QB Anthony Richardson

The question, genius, is this: What now?

What are the Indianapolis Colts doing? Now?

They tried out the physical brilliance of 22-year-old Anthony Richardson at quarterback. They tried the veteran expertise of 39-year-old Joe Flacco. Both failed spectacularly. That's what we call last week's loss in Houston, a spectacular failure when Richardson went 10 of 32 and left the field because he was tired, and that's what we call Sunday night in Minnesota, where the Colts put up an attack in a 21-13 loss against the Vikings set a season low – many times over.

What now?

Back to Richardson? Will you give No. 3 quarterback Sam Ehlinger a chance?

Wait, I have it. Just a few days ago, the Colts activated fourth quarterback Jason Bean from injured reserve, bringing the rookie from Kansas back to the training group.

Maybe it's time for Jason Bean.

Maybe it's time to take a nap. Wake us up when the 2025 NFL Draft is coming up. By then, the Colts could have a viable solution to a quarterback problem that is already knee-deep in year six.

Probably not though.

Doyel from the camp: Rookie Jason Bean looks so good at QB that the Colts are no longer moving him to WR

Where is Michael Pittman Jr?

The Colts can't win without Michael Pittman Jr. being the focal point of the offense. Not with tight ends who don't make plays and running backs who can't catch and a receiver room that's decent, it really is, but it's only decent when Pittman catches eight or 10 passes a game. When he catches a pass like he did Sunday night — when he caught a total of eight passes in the last four games — then the Colts' receiver room is downgraded from “good” to “poor.”

By the way, Pittman appears to be injured. His back has been bothering him for weeks, and on Sunday he broke up a Flacco pass thrown to Vikings safety Harrison Smith – you read that right – and appeared to injure the ring finger of his left hand. Pittman was working on that on the side over there, and unlike some of the other players, Pittman is not an actor, not a fabulist. When he is straight seek On one finger I would make sure the thing is still attached. He's so tough.

The invisible Michael Pittman isn't what's bothering the Colts, but it's a symptom. Either he's injured, meaning the season is effectively over, or the Colts have two quarterbacks – the young man and the old man – who don't realize he's the most important player in their passing game.

That means the season is essentially over.

The season is essentially over, I say. The Colts are 4-5, two games behind the 6-3 Houston Texans in the AFC South, but it's closer to three games thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker Houston owns after beating the Colts this season. The Colts have no chance of catching up to the Texans in the last eight games – well, they outdueled them by one game. Can the Colts sift through the AFC's rubble to sneak into the playoffs as the final wild-card team? Can they earn the right to go on the road and lose to someone by 20 points in the first round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs?

As funny as this sounds, maybe we need to come up with another solution.

Maybe the Colts need to go back to Anthony Richardson.

Don't look at me like that.

Insider Nate Atkins: Ten thoughts on this loss, starting with Joe Flacco

Insider Joel A. Erickson: New QB, quarterback, same result for Colts vs. Vikings

Go back to QB Anthony Richardson

Yes, we've looked all over the place with this story. And by “we” I of course mean me. But I also mean you, and I mean the Colts, because none of us have any idea what this franchise should do next at quarterback. So if you're here making fun of me for rooting for Richardson until he quit last week in Houston, then asking for Flacco, and now asking for a return to Richardson after the Flacco-led offense posted a season-low 227 yards and more yielded zero touchdowns against Minnesota…

Mock me. Do it. However, I believe your anger is misguided. They should be more than just upset with the Colts, who haven't found a quarterback problem they can't make worse. What, you weren't happy with the interim Jacoby Brissett in 2019? Try a season with Philp Rivers in 2020. Sorry, you didn't like 2021 with a run-down Carson Wentz? Try an even older, even worse Matt Ryan in 2022!

And don't get me started on 2023 and Gardner Minshew II, dude.

Here in 2024, there on NBC's “Sunday Night Football” at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Flacco was 16 of 27 for 179 yards and an interception and was sacked three times, and it's not just the numbers, but the manner how he put them together. Or rather, didn't compile it.

He targeted Pittman just four times and managed one hit for 14 yards. He targeted Jonathan Taylor five times, scored three times for 11 yards and a fourth pass hit Taylor brilliantly. Literally bounced off Taylor's right hip. Didn't even put his hands down to catch the ball. As if it were important. Roberto Duran would never have given up against Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980 if his hands were as tough as Taylor's.

No, I mean, the Joe Flacco experiment. Yes, after starting as the new QB1.

I can no longer watch Flacco repeatedly ignore open targets underneath to attack across the field. While attacking across the field is admirable, isn't that why Anthony Richardson was benched? At least he's hitting the guys downfield. He misses the ball on the short passes, while Flacco rarely throws them and takes a sack on the final drive while staring directly at No. 85, which is open about 10 yards in front of him.

And so this game featured an offense outscored by its defense, with cornerback Kenny Moore II returning a fumble 36 yards for the Colts' only touchdown. That was the biggest play in a game filled with big plays from Gus Bradley's defense, which played softly as usual and gave up a lot of yards as usual, but eventually made enough big plays to give the offense a chance…until the defense simply exhausted itself. Minnesota ran 10 times for 55 yards on its final two drives, scoring a touchdown on the latter for a 21-10 lead with 2:05 remaining.

Defensive tackles Grover Stewart (two sacks, the forced fumble that Moore returned for a touchdown) and DeForest Buckner (one sack, one tackle for loss, three QB hits) were the Colts' best players, and safety Nick Cross – 10 Tackles and an interception – was close, followed by linebackers EJ Speed ​​(12 tackles) and Zaire Franklin (interception, eight tackles) and Moore (six tackles, one for a loss and the TD return).

The defense deserved more from the offense, and the offense tried. This is not about that effort. Quenton Nelson was a one-man team destroying the left guard, Taylor ran quite well (13 carries, 48 ​​yards), beleaguered rookie receiver Adonai Mitchell made a spectacular leaping, toe-dragging catch from 22 yards out and the slot -Receiver Josh Downs was a nuisance (six catches, 60 yards).

But overall, the offense with Flacco wasn’t good enough.

Just like the offense wasn't good enough overall with Richardson.

The Colts won't make the playoffs. They are not mathematically eliminated yet and won't be for another six weeks, but let's be realistic about what awaits us. No, let's go one step further and say: Even if the Colts Do Sneak into the playoffs with a 9-8 or 8-9 record – yay – all it guarantees is an ugly road loss that makes another AFC city money, followed by a mediocre draft pick in the first round.

Everyone, including me, was wondering if Joe Flacco was the answer. Now we know: That's not him. And soon he will receive his NFL pension.

We're still wondering, myself included, about Anthony Richardson's ceiling. Soon he'll be 23. Then 24. Then 25.

Do you have a better idea for a Colts quarterback?

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.

More: Join the text conversation with sports columnist Gregg Doyel for insights, reader questions and Doyel's behind-the-scenes scoop.

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