The Colts’ preseason ended with a 25-16 loss to the Lions, but the bigger story inside Lucas Oil Stadium was the backup quarterback race that now has to be sorted out with the roster deadline looming.
Indianapolis got one final look at Anthony Richardson Sr. and Riley Leonard, and the two quarterbacks took very different paths through the night. Richardson opened with the first-team offensive line and Keenan Allen making his Colts debut, and the first pass of the game belonged to Allen, who hauled in a 24-yard crosser on Indianapolis’ second offensive snap.
That drive, along with the next one, ended with Blake Grupe field goals from 46 and 36 yards. Spencer Shrader later added a 60-yarder, giving both kickers one last chance to state their case.
Richardson’s work was the cleaner of the two. Across 17 snaps, he went 7-of-10 for 80 yards and took one sack on his final snap, with the offense producing 100 total yards during his three drives. For the preseason, he finished 21-for-33 for 249 yards with one interception, while also rushing 10 times for 68 yards, scoring one rushing touchdown and losing one fumble.
Leonard’s stint came after Detroit put together a 16-play drive that drained more than eight minutes. The rookie’s first real test was physical right away, as he tucked the ball and took a heavy hit from Lions linebacker and former Colt Joe Bachie.
But he answered on a key fourth-and-6, stepping up in the pocket under contact and firing a 25-yard completion on a corner route to Anthony Gould. The 5-foot-9 slot receiver led the Colts with four catches for 51 yards, including the longest play of the day.
That sequence helped set up DJ Giddens, who finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 13-13. It was the kind of series Leonard and Giddens needed to help their roster cases.
But the momentum didn’t last. On the next kickoff, Curry recovered a fumble, and Indianapolis again had a short field.
This time, the offense went nowhere. Leonard’s first throw came up short after pressure disrupted the pocket, he then short-armed a bubble route, and after the Lions blitz forced a missed block from Giddens, Leonard’s next pass was picked off by Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
Leonard played only 12 snaps and finished the preseason 20-of-42 for 199 yards, with two interceptions and two fumbles. The contrast with Richardson was hard to ignore. Leonard had been more consistent in camp, but on preseason production alone, Richardson separated himself.
Detroit controlled the game with 356 total yards, 75 offensive plays and 13 conversions on 19 third downs. Indianapolis ran only 48 plays and went 1-for-10 on third down. Even with three short fields created by the defense, the Colts managed just 16 points on nine true drives.
The defense did its part to create opportunities. The starting unit shut down Detroit’s opening series in three plays, and the Colts forced four turnovers overall while getting the ball in enemy territory three times. Sauce Gardner added an interception of Luke Altmyer, who tried to squeeze his second throw into a tight window while on the move.
There were also more flashes from the Colts’ rookie edge rushers. Caden Curry, the sixth-round pick and Greenwood, Ind. native, recovered a kickoff fumble late in the first half. Then, two plays into the second half, George Gumbs Jr. stripped Altmyer and recovered it himself to hand the Colts reserves another short field.
Now the focus shifts to the deadline. All 32 teams have 24 hours to cut from 90 players to 53 by Sunday at 6 p.m. The Colts can keep a third emergency quarterback available without using an active roster spot, but the decision will show who they want to develop toward the 2026 season.
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