While Green Bay’s quarterback situation is in overdrive entering the Packers’ Week 2 game against Indianapolis, the most intriguing matchup will be when the Colts have the ball.
That’s because Jeff Hafley, his Packers defense and, well, the rest of the NFL for that matter, have never seen a quarterback similar to 6-foot-4, 244-pound Anthony Richardson.
“You’re going to have the threat of him running the ball on first and second downs, so you have to be aware of that,” the Green Bay defensive coordinator said Thursday. “And then he can throw the ball as far as any quarterback I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Richardson can throw the ball farther than the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts. And that could be an issue, especially after Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 67-yard touchdown pass last week in Brazil. Brown beat cornerback Jaire Alexander on a double-move down the right sideline early in the second half. Hurts also hit three more passes of 20-or-more yards to help the Eagles put up 17 points in the second quarter. He finished with 278 yards and two touchdowns, along with 33 yards rushing.
But the Packers also picked off Hurts twice — one by Alexander — and recovered his fumble to set up a first-quarter touchdown. In fact, Hafley said they could’ve had even more takeaways. Similar to their approach with Hurts, Hafley said they have to understand that Richardson on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX) is much more than a mobile quarterback.
In last week’s loss to Houston, Richardson completed just nine passes for 212 yards, becoming the first player since Cleveland’s Brian Hoyer in 2014 to throw for at least 210 yards with single-digit completions. No Colts player had done that since Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas in 1960.
“You saw what he did on those nine completions last week,” Hafley said. “It brought them back and almost won them the game. He’s got some serious arm talent. Hasn’t played in very many games, so he’s just going to get better and better with his touch and his accuracy and, I’m sure, with his timing and rhythm with the wideouts that he’s playing with.”