Anthony Richardson on missing a play: I told Shane Steichen that I just needed a break

There was a strange moment from quarterback Anthony Richardson near the end of the third quarter of Indianapolis’ eventual 23-20 loss to Houston.

It was third-and-goal at Houston’s 23, with Richardson having been running around a lot the last two games. When he was thrown to the ground for no gain on second down, he walked to the sideline, tapped his helmet and immediately fell to his knees.

It appeared Richardson was injured when backup Joe Flacco came in and passed the ball to Jonathan Taylor, who set up Matt Gay’s 37-yard field goal. But after the game, both head coach Shane Steichen and Richardson said the QB was tired and just needed a short rest.

“I was tired” Richardson said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I won’t lie. There was a lot of running there. I didn’t think I’d be in the next game, so I just told Shane I needed a break right there.”

“He needed a breather,” Steichen said. “He ran three times in a row and it was third and long, so we wanted to give the ball away.”

Although the explanation makes some sense, it is still unusual for a quarterback to leave the game due to exhaustion – especially on third down.

Richardson finished the game having completed 10 of 32 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown – a 69-yard strike to Josh Downs – and one interception. He gained 45 yards on the ground in six attempts.

That performance dropped Richardson’s completion percentage from 4,815 percent at the start of Week 8 to just 44.4 percent. In six games, he has thrown for 958 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions. This corresponds to a passer rating of 57.2.

“I feel like I’m a great passer,” Richardson said. “I’ve played quarterback most of my life. I’m just a different quarterback than everyone else, so people will try to point out that I’m not as efficient as everyone else. But it’s cool for me. I run the ball much better than any other quarterback. Probably not Lamar (Jackson), but (better) than most quarterbacks. So I take advantage of my opportunities.”

Great passer or not, Richardson’s passing skills need to improve, especially if Indianapolis remains in the thick of things in the AFC playoffs.