Anthony Richardson vs. C.J. Stroud? Colts rookie isn't playing that game

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Anthony Richardson vs. C.J. Stroud? Colts rookie isn't playing that game

INDIANAPOLIS — The top billing for this week’s Colts-Texans showdown writes itself.

Anthony Richardson vs. C.J. Stroud. The No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft taking on No. 2.

The hopes and dreams of two rival AFC South franchises, pitted against each other in the first of many battles, each one serving as fodder for the inevitable debate about which team made the better choice.

But Richardson isn’t looking at this game that way, and it’s not mere lip service, boilerplate pablum designed to avoid making the wrong kind of headlines.

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Richardson knows there’s a danger to getting too pumped up to play against another star quarterback.

“The last time I tried to compete with somebody else, I didn’t play great,” Richardson said. “I’m just focused on myself, focused on my details and trying to help my teammates.”

The last time was a little more than a year ago.


Richardson was coming off an electric season-opening win over No. 7 Utah, the kind of win that caught the eyes of the NFL. For his encore, Richardson was taking his Florida team to Lexington to take on No. 20 Kentucky, the home of highly-touted draft prospect Will Levis.

“I was so excited, so pumped,” Richardson said. “Two highly-sought quarterbacks are getting ready to play in front of all these NFL scouts, and that’s when it hit me. … I told myself: ‘I have to play perfect.’”


Richardson struggled instead.

Facing off against Levis, Richardson completed just 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards, picked up just four rushing yards on six carries and tossed two interceptions in an ugly, disheartening performance.

“Trying to battle against him instead of battling against their team,” Richardson said.


The pressure started to weigh on Richardson. Ultimately, the load he was carrying inspired Richardson to start working with Brett Ledbetter, a mental coach who has helped Richardson put the game in perspective, figure out what motivates him best.

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“I saw the difference in myself and in my play,” Richardson said. “I wasn’t focused on trying to please everybody. I was just living in the moment and having fun.”

Richardson is still excited to see Stroud this weekend, although not to prove his worth over one of the players drafted ahead of him.

The two quarterbacks have been friends going back to the passing camp circuit that ends up engulfing most of the nation’s best high school quarterbacks.

“That’s my guy,” Stroud told reporters in Houston on Wednesday. “Known him since we were in high school, competed against each other in (Nike’s Elite 11 quarterback competition), became real good friends there and kind of kept the relationship when he was at Florida and I was at Ohio State.”

Stroud, like Richardson, is excited he gets a chance to compete against Richardson again, the way they used to compete on the Elite 11 fields at Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Except that in Oregon, Richardson and Stroud were competing directly against each other.

When they meet Sunday, Stroud has to contend with the Colts defense, one week after completing 28 of 44 passes for 242 yards in a loss to Baltimore. The Texans rookie took five sacks in his debut; he’d better be more worried about DeForest Buckner, Kwity Paye and the rest of the Colts defensive line than matching his friend throw for throw.

By the same token, Richardson is coming off an encouraging debut, completing 24 of 37 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception, as well as rushing 10 times for 40 yards and a touchdown. He has his hands full this week, taking on a Houston defense that opened its season against one of the NFL’s best dual-threat quarterbacks and limited Ravens superstar Lamar Jackson to 169 passing yards, 38 rushing yards and an interception while sacking him four times.

Worrying about Stroud won’t help Richardson crack open the Houston defense.


“I think he’ll be fine,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “A lot of the times it’s quarterback vs. quarterback, to me, it’s team vs. team. … It’s not quarterback vs. quarterback, it’s the Houston Texans vs. the Colts. That's what we've got to focus on and treat it that way.”

Richardson’s already learned that lesson for himself.