Colts beat Eagles 27-13 in preseason finale, as QB Anthony Richardson shows more strides

The Indianapolis Colts (2-1) beat the Philadelphia Eagles (0-2-1) in the preseason finale, 27-13, on Thursday Night Football.

The biggest story of the night—and likely all season, will be the continued development and growth of rookie starting quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Despite being only 21 years of age and with just 13 collegiate starts, from what he showed on Thursday night, Richardson may be further along than some NFL pundits anticipated.

Yes, there are some inconsistencies—including ball security (with a fumble on TNF) and some errant high throws here and there, but there’s a lot to like regarding Richardson right now. You don’t have to squint too much to dream upon what he could be in time too.

And that’s special.

While Richardson’s final line wasn’t admittedly great, completing 6 of 17 passing attempts for 78 passing yards, as well as amassing 38 rushing yards on 5 carries (and against the Eagles’ second-team defense). He did suffer from a handful of drops by his wide receivers.

The biggest thing for me was just how comfortable he looked in the pocket with both strong presence and poise, and was able to progress through his reads, while also feeling the pressure when needed—and showed the special ability to escape it accordingly.

Otherwise, Gardner Minshew concluded a bang up preseason for him, as he completed 9 of 11 pass attempts for 102 passing yards and a touchdown pass. It was an 8-yard touchdown toss to veteran running back Kenyan Drake early in the third quarter.

Rookie running back Evan Hull had 6 carries for 25 rushing yards and an early second quarter 1-yard touchdown run. He’s shown a lot of promise as a pass blocker.

Deon Jackson appears to be Indy’s interim starting running back, as he got the Colts on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter.

Fellow rookie Will Mallory led all Colts with 43 receiving yards on 2 receptions. It also looked like 3-year tight end Kylen Granson is showing solid initial chemistry with Richardson, catching 2 receptions for 25 receiving yards on both of his targets.

Rookie linebacker Liam Anderson led all Colts with 10 tackles (7 solo).