What will decide Colts’ Anthony Richardson-Daniel Jones QB battle

The Colts’ quarterback battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones is going to come down to one thing: consistency.

That’s according to head coach Shane Steichen, who said Saturday the deciding factor will boil down to which of the former first-round picks can produce a stable body of work in both play and decision-making.

“I think it’s the most consistent guy,” Steichen said, according to the Indy Star. “I really do, because at the end of the day, you’ve got to be able to move the football consistently up and down the field, and making good decisions. You know what I mean? I mean, at the end of the day, you can have splash plays, but if you’re doing that sparingly and up and down. … I think it’s got to be on a consistent basis, to get to where we want to go.”

Richardson, the Colts’ fourth overall pick in 2023, went 6-for-11 for 73 yards in the team’s 23-19 preseason loss to the Packers Saturday night, one week removed from a pinkie injury.

Meanwhile, the former Giant Jones completed 7 of 11 attempts for 101 yards.

Jones played two possessions against the Packers on Saturday night, leading the team to a field goal on the second one.

Richardson replaced him and led the team to a 12-play, 90-yard touchdown drive and then a field goal on his second possession. Richardson’s third and final possession was a three-and-out.

Steichen, now in his third season as Colts coach, has told reporters he is “very close” to naming the team’s QB1.

“You’ve got two first-round draft picks,” he said. “When they both came in, I made it very clear that this is going to be a battle, and they’re going to compete for the job. And like I said, I’m going to make the decision I feel is best for the football team.”

The battle between Richardson, 23, and Jones, 28, got off to a bumpy start at training camp last month, with The New York Times reporting how they struggled “to find a rhythm.”

That said, Jones has completed 68.8 percent of his throws across three weeks of practices versus the 59.1 percent tossed by Richardson, the Indy Star noted via unofficial count.

With one preseason game remaining — Saturday on the road against the Bengals — Steichen will also take into account “the operation, the communication in the huddle, the checks, getting guys on the same page” before naming the starter for their season opener next month.

“The consistency of all that, obviously, is going to play a big factor in this,” he said.

Jones is coming off a five-and-a-half-season rollercoaster with the Giants, who selected him sixth overall out of Duke in 2019.

He reached the playoffs once in his Giants tenure (2022) and has thrown 78 touchdowns against 54 interceptions in 80 regular-season appearances.

The Giants released Jones last November after a poor 2-8 start. He linked up with the Vikings for the season before signing a one-year deal with the Colts in March.

Richardson, who missed much of his rookie season after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in October 2023, started in 11 games for the Colts last year with the team finishing at 8-9.

His time under center wasn’t without controversy, as he infamously pulled himself out of a Week 8 loss to the Texans last season because he “needed a break.”

Although the Colts benched Richardson in the aftermath, the team reversed course a short time later.

The Colts host the Dolphins in Week 1.