Anthony Richardson [608x342]
Anthony Richardson [608x342] (Credit: Jeff Hanisch/Imagn Images)

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Anthony Richardson approached the lectern wearing his frustration on his face.

But even if the expression of the Indianapolis Colts quarterback had not provided an indicator of his mood, his words moments later certainly did.

"We know we're better than that," Richardson said minutes after the Colts lost 16-10 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. "It just hurts losing, bro. Nobody wants to lose. I know we've got 15 more [games], but, man. Losing the first two definitely hurt."

Richardson was frustrated by his own shortcomings, including a pair of ugly interceptions [a third one was a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game]. But he could just as well have been irritated by the lack of contributions from the more experienced players surrounding him, the ones who were expected to lighten the load on the 22-year old quarterback.

What has happened instead is the Colts' areas of strength have let them down in their first two games, like the inexplicably poor performance of a highly paid defensive line, drops by the wide receivers in Week 2, and even some head-scratching decisions and playcalling by coach Shane Steichen and his staff.

All of which left Richardson looking sullen in his postgame news conference on Sunday at Lambeau Field. For the second straight game, he had nothing to show for his efforts.

The Colts thought they had a winning formula for 2024: A sound, veteran team that could give Richardson, the 2023 fourth overall draft pick, the space to make the requisite mistakes young quarterbacks produce. Instead, Richardson has been left to play hero ball to overcome underperformance elsewhere.

The blueprint will need to change for the Colts to avoid an 0-3 start in their Week 3 matchup with the Chicago Bears (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

"Right now, we've got a young quarterback, and no matter what team you're on, there's going to be times when the offense needs to stand up and the defense needs to stand up throughout the season," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "But I do think when you have a young quarterback, more times than not the defense has to stand up and they've got to buy some time for him to get experience and be able to execute at a high level."

To say the defense has let Richardson down is putting it mildly.

Just consider the massive disparity in time of possession, which has been largely a product of the Colts' league-worst run defense taking a beating through two games (474 rushing yards allowed). Indianapolis is last in time of possession by a sizable margin, with Richardson and the offense averaging 19 minutes, 54 seconds of possession.

That means that for roughly two-thirds of the first two games, Richardson -- an explosive player capable of game-changing plays at any time -- has been relegated to the sideline.

And even when the Colts have had the ball, there have been challenges. Richardson's receivers routinely let him down on Sunday, with multiple dropped passes according to Steichen.

"We just didn't execute," veteran receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said after the Packers loss. "We've got to hit our base plays because we can't always just rely on the big shots."

Pittman hasn't gotten going in 2024 after leading the Colts in receiving in each of the past three seasons. He leads the team in targets with 15 but has only seven receptions.

Not to be ignored is the curious playcalling that, ultimately, placed more pressure on Richardson. Steichen is an aggressive playcaller, and that may have influenced his decision to employ such a heavy passing attack against the Packers rather than leaning more heavily on Jonathan Taylor and the running game, or giving Richardson a few more designed runs to allow him to play instinctively.

Richardson is still developing as a passer and has started only six games because of his season-ending injury last season. But, at times on Sunday, it was hard to tell given Steichen's game plan.

Steichen seemed reluctant to commit to the running game on a day when Taylor averaged 8.6 yards per carry. Taylor did not play any snaps in the fourth quarter as the Colts were trying to rally. Backups Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson, who are used more in passing situations, played all 21 snaps in the quarter.

The Colts didn't try to take advantage of the Packers' porous run defense with Richardson either, who had one designed run in the game (to be fair, Richardson might have had one or two more had he made different reads in read-option scenarios).

All of this served to put more of a load on Richardson as a passer. He had 36 dropbacks, his most since his first start in Week 1 of last season.

"It was everybody," Steichen said. "It starts with me. It wasn't great. We've all got to be better in every situation moving forward."

Richardson's mistakes were inevitable for a quarterback who started just 13 games in college and is just starting his NFL journey. His two interceptions on Sunday were the result of avoidable mistakes. And his accuracy remains a work in progress. But that's the expectation with a rookie quarterback.

What wasn't expected was the rest of this veteran team undermining the good things Richardson has done.

"He's a fighter," receiver Alec Pierce said. "We just have to stand by him and let him know we've got his back. We know how hard that position is and he's so young. ... It's a very tough position and there's going to be growing pains. That's understandable. But we all believe in him.

"We've just got to get better as an offense as a whole."