Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson saw his preseason outing end much earlier than expected after he got injured on a sack during Thursday's opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
On the Colts' second offensive drive of the night, Richardson got rocked by Ravens linebacker David Ojabo, who sent him to the turf after running unblocked past the Colts' O-line. Richardson was ruled out for the rest of the game and diagnosed with a dislocated right pinky.
In light of Richardson's latest injury, former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel took to social media to clear up some public misconceptions about the play. Daniel explained that the blame wasn't on the Colts' offensive line or the running back—it was solely on Richardson.
"First of all, the running back is free-releasing," said Daniel. "It's called scat protection, five-man protection. This is the protection that's called. Second of all, the center is going to the left, and because it's a five-man pressure, you see a linebacker blitz. So 90 [Ojabo] is left free.
"People are like, 'Why didn't the right tackle stay on 90?' It's called sifting. You're supposed to sift as a right tackle to the most dangerous guy. ... This is completely on Anthony Richardson. First of all, throw into the hot, we've talked about this multiple times. This is Day 1 install. I know there's a left defensive end dropping up top, throw the back, you're gonna get hit, this is what happened, you're looking at the wrong side. This is not on the running back, this is not on the offensive line."
Let me explain why this is 100% on Anthony Richardson & not on the Line or RB. https://t.co/LwYA8dbB9f pic.twitter.com/M6u9RXKotF
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 8, 2025
Daniel made clear that he thought Richardson should have just thrown hot to his running back on the right side, which would have likely kept him upright.
Richardson, for his part, told reporters after the game that it was a "tricky" play and took some ownership for his sack, saying he should have reacted to the blitz better and be on his "Ps and Qs." Hopefully, Richardson makes a full recovery as well as learns from his mistakes the next time around.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ex-NFL QB Blames Anthony Richardson for His Own Sack in Colts’ First Preseason Game.
