Cincinnati Bengals defenders had a field day launching verbal taunts at Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson during a joint practice Wednesday. Richardson threw an interception during 11-on-11 drills and repeatedly resorted to scrambling.

“Is that all he does is run?” Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt yelled at Colts fans watching the practice.

Richardson, who is coming off an injury-riddled rookie season in Indianapolis, is widely expected to be a playmaker for the team in his sophomore outing. In many ways, his performance Wednesday backed this up, as he found rookie receiver Adonai Mitchell in traffic for a touchdown and excelled in a two-minute drill.

At other times though, he obviously struggled to find open targets and had one passed intercepted off a deflection. It was a mixed showing, emblematic of Richardson’s NFL career so far in many ways. Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that working with other teams will be a valuable resource for the young passer.

“I think it’ll be really good for [Richardson],” Steichen said of joint practices this week. “Any time you can get out there in those game-like situations, it’s good. Obviously, you want to be smart with these guys in the preseason because we’ve got a long season ahead of us, but we’re excited to get those guys out there.”

In 2023, Richardson was a marvel when he appeared on the field, finding success in the air as well as on the ground. Unlike many running quarterbacks, Richardson is 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, which many thought would keep him healthy. Despite his size, however, he had trouble protecting himself, sustaining multiple head injuries and a season-ending shoulder injury in the span of four weeks.

Based on his athleticism alone, Richardson may prove to be a revelatory franchise player for the Colts. Some have already designated him in that role despite his brief appearances to this point. The Bengals may taunt him now, but if Richardson can stay healthy and prolong the flashes of brilliance he has shown thus far, he may be the one getting the last laugh.

The Indianapolis Colts’ announcement last Wednesday that quarterback Nick Foles would start in the team’s Week 16 game against the Chargers felt like more of a surrender than anything else. Former Falcons star Matt Ryan headed to the bench for the second time this season under his second head coach, now having been replaced by two different quarterbacks. The Colts lost 20-3.

At the beginning of the season, Ryan’s move to Indianapolis spelled promise for a Colts franchise that had slowly been improving over the course of the 2021 season. He has not come close to fulfilling the role of savior since, however. Through 12 starts, he ranks 14th in passing yards, 20th in touchdowns and 25th in quarterback rating.

Following a particularly ugly loss to the Titans in Week 7, former head coach Frank Reich benched Ryan ahead of Week 8 in favor of rookie Sam Ehlinger, who only lasted two weeks before sustaining an injury. Reich was fired soon after and replaced by interim head coach Jeff Saturday, who reinstated Ryan as the starter until Week 15.

Foles’ reputation as a backup maintains a mythical quality because of his work on the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 season when he stepped in for Carson Wentz and led the playoff-bound team to a Super Bowl victory. This run in Indianapolis will likely be far less romantic, however, as his first start against Los Angeles resulted in an anemic 20-3 defeat. The Colts have been eliminated from playoff contention and will have to carry on without star running back Jonathan Taylor, who suffered a season-ending injury last week.

As the Colts limp through the end of a season that once seemed to hold serious potential, it’s impossible to assess the source of the team’s dysfunction without pointing to Ryan. Once a dynamic passer in Atlanta for a perennially productive offense, the 37-year-old simply has not shown the same ability in Indianapolis.

In many ways, the Colts’ offseason cannot come fast enough, as their running back needs time to recuperate while they search for a permanent head coaching replacement. Only then will they be able to reassess the quarterback position and resume a rebuild that has suffered countless setbacks since Andrew Luck’s departure in 2018.

The Indianapolis Colts will be a little thin at the safety position after starting safety Khari Willis announced his retirement after only three seasons in the NFL. The 26-year-old said that he is having the game to pursue ministry.

In an Instagram post, Willis wrote, “With much prayer and deliberation, I have elected to officially retire from the NFL as I endeavor to devote the remainder of my life to the further advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I thank all of my family, friends and those who have supported me on this journey thus far and I look forward to your continued support through the next phase of my life.”

Willis was a standout athlete in high school, excelling on both sides of the ball, he was the No. 11 ranked player in all of Michigan and committed to play for Michigan State where he registered 189 tackles and three interceptions during his time with the Spartans. Willis was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He quickly made an impact, cementing himself as the team’s starting strong safety halfway through his rookie year. He finishes his career with 219 tackles and four interceptions through 33 starts.

Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich expressed his appreciation for Willis in a statement on Wednesday saying, “We’re thankful and appreciative of Khari’s contributions to the Colts both on and off the field over the last three seasons. Khari’s character, leadership, and professionalism will be missed in our locker room as will his play on Sundays. I admire and respect his decision to transition into the next stage of his life and ministry and my prayers will always be with him.”

It is unclear who will take Willis’ starting role at strong safety. The Colts signed veteran safety Rodney McLeod in free agency and also selected Maryland safety Nick Cross in the draft. It is likely that McLeod gets the starting nod, however.

Colts QB Carson Wentz returned to practice for the first time since undergoing foot surgery in early August after suffering an injury near the start of training camp. Videos from reporters at practice reveal Wentz moving around and throwing the ball without any signs of discomfort.

According to head coach Frank Reich, Wentz is itching to get back on the field. “He’s getting very antsy. Very antsy. He’s wanting to push the envelope, as I would expect,” Reich said. “But he’s gotta be patient and just stay focused on the mental side of it right now and we gotta let things take their course. But at the same time, there’s a time to push things and we’ll keep doing that as it’s appropriate.”

This upcoming season will be an important one for the former Super Bowl champion, who experienced a historic regression in his final year with the Eagles after an excellent three-year stretch from 2017-2019. Wentz relationship with the Eagles organization began to sour after the team drafted Oklahoma star QB Jalen Hurts and reportedly took a turn for the worse after he was benched on December 6, 2020 against the Green Bay Packers.

Former Baltimore Colts linebacker Mike Curtis died this week at the age of 77.

Curtis was known for being a hard-hitting set of pads behind the tackles, and proved his worth in a 14-year career, for three different teams, the majority of his time spent in Baltimore. 

The four time Pro-Bowler was known around the league as “Mad Dog” and was drafted with the 14th overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft. The man out of Duke was named first-team All-Pro after the 1968 and 1969 seasons. During those years, Curtis spearheaded a defensive crew that allowed the fewest points in the league and ranked second in yards allowed. The Colts would go 13-1 in the ’69 season, unfortunately losing to the Jets in the third Super Bowl. 

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Interestingly enough, as hard-hitting of a linebacker as Curtis was on the field, his most memorable moment comes from a 1971 game against the Miami Dolphins, where a fan tried to run on the field and steal the ball. The fan was met with an blindsiding, smashing blow from Curtis seconds after making it on to the field. 

Two years after the loss to the Jets, Curtis and the Colts finally got their revenge, beating the Cowboys, 16-13 in Super Bowl V. Curtis sealed the victory in the fourth quarter with an interception late down the stretch. 

Curtis finished his career with the Washington Redskins, and also had a stint with the Seattle Seahawks in 1976, when the team was announced as a new, expansion club. 

Everything went right for the Pittsburgh Steelers during last night’s Sunday primetime game against the Indianapolis Colts. This even included a late touchdown celebration that has never been seen before that had the home Pittsburgh crowd cheering for their team.

The Steelers gave the Colts no chance of ever coming within scoring position especially with no points allowed in the second half as the Steelers would go on to win 45-10. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in another stunning performance from the veteran quarterback. Star wide receiver Antonio Brown caught eight receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns including a monstrous 71-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. “I just feel a chemistry growing between us on offense,” Roethlisberger said of Brown. “Things just seem to be working.” Wide receiver Martavis Bryant had four receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown with running back DeAngelo Williams rushing for 134 yards.

The highlight of the night came from Brown during the last minutes of the game when he returned the punt return for the a touchdown. When he entered the end zone, Brown flew right into the goalpost with legs stretched out before falling and celebrating with his teammates.

The Steelers are currently 7-5 after the win last night and are still in the hunt for a wild-card spot with four weeks to go in the regular season. The Colts, on the other hand, still have a spot in the playoffs because of being division leaders in the AFC South with a record of 6-6.

Photo: PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 6: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a fourth quarter touchdown by jumping on the goal post during the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Heinz Field on December 6, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

The Indianapolis Colts were keeping up with the New England Patriots during Sunday night’s primetime game in Indianapolis, until a certain play call left football fans scratching their heads as to why the play was executed in the first place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrtzpdH_uPM

With 1:14 left in the third quarter, the Colts were on fourth-and-three on their own 37-yard line about to punt to the Patriots. Bizarre events started to occur when they started to change their formation on the line of scrimmage to shift all the way to the right with only wide receiver Griff Whalen and safety Colt Anderson on the ball. With five Patriot defenders on the ball, there was nothing Anderson could really do with one blocker in Whalen and resulted in a botched fake punt attempt that had the Patriots tackle Anderson and have the ball deep in Colts territory.

Head coach Chuck Pagano took full responsibility after the game and explained to the media what exactly the play call and intention was in having the Patriots go offsides so the Colts could have a first down because of the penalty. “The whole idea there was on fourth-and-3 or less, we shift to an alignment to where we could catch them misaligned,” Pagano said. “They tried to sub some people in. Catch them with more men on the field — 12 men on the field. And if you get a certain look, you have three (or) two yards to make a play. We shifted over and I didn’t do a good enough job coaching it during the week. Alignment wise, we weren’t lined up correctly and we had a communication breakdown between the quarterback and snapper. That’s on me.”

With this loss, the Colts are now 0-5 against the Patriots while quarterback Andrew Luck has started. It seems the Colts will need a better trick next time if they are to defeat the Patriots, who are still undefeated for the season at 5-0.

Photo: INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 18: LeGarrette Blount #29 of the New England Patriots runs for a touch down against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 18, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)