Joe Flacco remains the Colts' QB1 despite the offense's poor performance this season

MINNEAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts' quarterback change didn't go quite as expected, as the team's offense produced its fewest points, yards and first downs of the season in Joe Flacco's first game since he was named the starter ahead of Anthony Richardson.

But coach Shane Steichen appeared unwilling to reconsider his much-discussed decision, saying after Indianapolis' 21-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night that Flacco would remain the Colts' QB1.

“At the moment, yes,” Steichen replied when asked if Flacco was still his regular player.

Steichen's decision came under scrutiny after he made the move on Tuesday, telling reporters on Wednesday that the decision was made because Flacco “gives us the best chance to win right now.”

Instead, the Colts fell to 4-5 and their offense seemed to take a step back, resulting in season lows in offensive points (six), yards (227) and first downs (13) as the offense struggled to find consistency against the Brian Flores led the Minnesota Vikings defense.

The Colts were particularly unproductive in the first half, mustering just 92 yards on offense and 62 yards passing. Indianapolis was 3 of 11 on third downs, with Flacco going 3 of 9 for 47 yards in those scenarios.

“You know, it’s going to be difficult to play against a team like that here,” Flacco said. “But I don’t think you ever expect something like this.”

Overall, Flacco completed 16 of his 27 passes for 179 yards with one interception, the result of a questionable decision that allowed Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. to undercut Colts receiver Josh Downs on a third-down breakaway route.

Flacco, Steichen said, “was fine. Obviously he's played in environments like this before, but again it starts with myself… I have to continue to pay attention to what we're doing offensively. We have eight (games) left and I have to look at the scheme stuff and see what we do and go from there.

Richardson's struggles were well documented, particularly his 44.4% completion percentage and seven interceptions, which were low in the NFL. But the Colts missed the 22-year-old quarterback's attributes, such as his dangerous deep-ball throws and running ability.

Flacco only had two completions of more than 20 yards on Sunday. His 7.7 air yards per attempt were the Colts' lowest in a game this season. Explosive plays are an area where Richardson has excelled, with an NFL-high 12.3 air yards per attempt in 2024.

As for the running game, the Colts struggled to find consistent success against the Vikings' formidable run defense. Richardson, a dual-threat quarterback, has given the Colts a boost on the ground that they may have missed on Sunday. Indianapolis finished the season with a season-low 68 rushing yards, with running back Jonathan Taylor (48 yards) matching his lowest performance of the season with 105 yards a week after their loss to the Houston Texans.

The change at quarterback “definitely changes the plays we run,” receiver Alec Pierce said. “We don’t do a lot of things (run-pass option).”

The offensive performance overshadowed a defensive surge by the Colts, who committed three turnovers, including a sack fumble by Grover Stewart that was recovered by Kenny Moore II and returned for a touchdown.

It was the Colts' only touchdown of the game.