The Colts’ preseason Week 2 loss to the Falcons was ugly on the scoreboard, but the real story was elsewhere: who helped their roster case, and who made life harder on themselves.
The game tilted hard at times - Indianapolis trailed 31-6 - but the individual performances are what matter in August. And on that front, there were a few clear risers, along with some players who did themselves no favors.
Seth McGowan kept building his case with another strong showing. After a terrific training camp, the running back looks like he’s headed for the roster and could settle in as Jonathan Taylor’s immediate backup.
He’s a physical runner who moves piles, and with better blocking from the Colts’ first-team offensive line, he has shown enough to suggest he can be productive. The yards per carry haven’t popped yet, but McGowan doesn’t need flash to matter.
He runs with confidence, understands his assignments, and looks like a legitimate insurance policy if Taylor misses time.
Coleman Owen also helped himself. With Keenan Allen now in the building, Owen may be fighting for his place, but he made one of the biggest plays of the first half with a sharp route that turned into a 39-yard catch and short run.
He isn’t a big target, but he could fit in the slot, where his quickness can help him win on intermediate routes. He also added a 16-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.
He may still be more of a practice-squad candidate, but he’s got one more preseason game to make his case.
Anderson Castle made noise, too. Working behind backups and against Falcons backups, he still stood out as a strong runner with a nose for the end zone.
He finished with eight carries for 41 yards, and the point is simple: he’s been doing enough to get noticed when given a chance. Jonathan Taylor and Seth McGowan look set at the top of the depth chart, while DJ Giddens appears to be in line for RB3.
Castle, though, is more powerful, and he needs a strong preseason Week 3 to see whether he can push past Giddens.
The Colts’ starting offensive line also belongs in the winner column. The first downs weren’t coming - Indianapolis failed to move the chains on nine third-down tries before Richardson ran for one late in the fourth quarter - and that’s a problem tied to the line, not just the quarterback.
The starting unit looks good. The problem is what comes after it.
If injuries hit up front, the offense could be in serious trouble. There’s no easy fix, either, which only reinforces the idea that Chris Ballard can find starters, but hasn’t built enough depth behind them.
On the other side, Mekhi Blackmon had another rough outing. Through two preseason games, he’s not looked like a starter and may not look like someone who needs to be on the roster at all.
The Falcons attacked him early, and he gave up an easy 15-yard completion on their first drive. He allowed more after that, then drew a pass interference penalty when Atlanta went for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal because he never turned his head.
At this point, keeping him around would be a mistake.
Josh Kreutz also hurt his standing. If Tanor Bortolini were to go down, the Colts would be in a bad spot, and Kreutz has not made himself look like a reliable backup.
He has had snap issues in camp, and he had another one in the second quarter with Indianapolis pinned deep in its own territory. The ball hit the ground, though Riley Leonard managed to pick it up and get two yards.
Kreutz had already wiped out a nice Leonard throw for a first down with a holding call. He has been bad enough that he should be released when final cuts come, and the idea of him being the presumed backup to Bortolini is a troubling one.
Anthony Richardson’s night was hard to judge, but not impossible to critique. He came in after halftime with little blocking in front of him, so the chaos around him wasn’t exactly his fault.
Still, he held the ball too long and took a bad sack instead of taking off and running. That kind of hesitation is the issue, because it feeds the feeling that he can’t be trusted with QB1 reps.
His receivers dropped a couple of passes, but even with the Colts getting buried in the fourth quarter, the offense seemed content to keep Richardson throwing short. Anything beyond that would have been risky.
None of it changed the final result, and none of it really needed to. In August, the list of who helped and who hurt themselves matters far more than the score.
In Other News...
Simone Biles Turned Falcons-Colts Into A Sideline Talking Point
Simone Biles was back on an NFL sideline Friday night, taking in the Colts preseason game against the Falcons to support her husband, safety Jonathan Owens. Owens, who signed a one-year deal with Indianapolis in March, got into the action and finished with a tackle, while Biles' presence gave the game an added spotlight beyond the usual preseason crowd.
For the Colts, it was another reminder that Owens arrives with some attention attached, not just because of his own role in the secondary but because of who is often watching from the stands. Biles has become a familiar face around NFL venues since recovering from a serious health emergency, and her appearances have turned into a small but notable sideline subplot wherever Owens is playing. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Left Preseason Week 2 With 3 Big Roster Questions
The Colts left their second preseason game with more questions than answers in a few spots that matter most when the games start counting. Linebacker remains a point of attention, with Akeem Davis-Gaither expected to start, but the identity of the player beside him still unsettled. Up front, the pass rush did not do much to clear up the picture either, with the defense finishing with only one sack and one quarterback hit.
There is also a real conversation developing behind the starter at quarterback, where Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson have both had their issues throwing the ball. The contrast between them is in how they play, not in how clean the passing game has looked so far, and that leaves the Colts weighing style against production as they sort through the backup job. By the end of preseason Week 2, the most important battles on the roster still felt very much open. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Richardson Puts Colts Protection Debate Right Back In Focus
Anthony Richardsons preseason tape has already pushed the Colts protection discussion back to the front of the room. A controversial snap in Baltimore and a later interception in New England offered a quick look at how Indianapolis is trying to sort out its pass protection, and how much of that burden Richardson may be asked to carry as he grows into the job. The lines setup, the way the schemes were adjusted, and Richardsons own choices all showed up in those moments.
The bigger question is how much freedom Richardson will have to direct things at the line, because the Colts appeared to change their protection approach between the two plays. One snap pointed to the growing importance of his ability to identify pressure and set the slide, while the other showed how quickly a small breakdown can snowball into a turnover. For a young quarterback still learning the edges of NFL defenses, it is the kind of detail the Colts have to get right before the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]