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Colts rolled 34-6 by Falcons in Battle of Backups

August 25, 2026

August 25, 2026 – JR McHenry, On-Air Talent/Field Reporter

INDIANAPOLIS — On a pleasant summer day in Indiana’s state capitol, the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons did battle after two days of joint practices earlier in the week prior to the game in Westfield, Indiana. The result of getting in good work from the joint practices meant that many starters from the Colts and Falcons did not play on Saturday, which gave Shane Steichen and Kevin Stefanski an opportunity to see their backups play extensively to evaluate potential members for depth, back end of the roster roles and potential practice squad roles.

One prominent battle this preseason is who will be the number two quarterback backing up starter Daniel Jones. Riley Leonard got the start in this affair leading the Colts for the entire half before giving way to Anthony Richardson Sr. in the second half. In his one half of action, Leonard led the Colts for a total of 6 drives, 92 yards, 4 punts and 2 field goals, while personally going 7 of 14 passing for a total of 62 yards, not bad, but not good either, leaving a lot of meat on the bone, not separating himself from his co-competitor Richardson Sr.

In the postgame press conference, Steichen was asked about the quarterback battle and he was not ready to name victor in this competition and stated that more evaluation was needed in this regard. Richardson Sr. led the Colts for a total of 4 drives, 58 yards, 3 punts and a drive ending in a missed field goal. The stat line for Richardson Sr. is as follows: 3 of 9 passing for a total of 24 yards, he also totaled 3 rushing attempts for 15 yards. This battle will continue into preseason Week 3.

Another battle is who will be the kicker for the Colts come Week 1 when the Baltimore Ravens come to Lucas Oil Stadium to open the season. Spencer Shrader hit two field goals in the first half from 48 yards and 53 yards accounting for all the Colts scoring on the day. Blake Grupe got an opportunity to kick a field goal in the second half and missed that kick. Both of these guys are NFL level starting kickers, but in this competition, the feeling internally in and around the team is that Shrader will ultimately win this competition.

Offensively the trio of Running Back Seth McGowan, Running Back Anderson Castle and Wide Receiver Coleman Owen showed some flashes for the Colts on a day when the offense was outgained 461 to 164 in total yards while only possessing the ball for 21 minutes and 19 seconds to the Falcons having the ball for a total of 38 minutes and 41 seconds. Being dominated in time of possession combined with leaving the Falcons short fields led to the defense being on the field too long allowing the Falcons to execute with more precision with their 3rd and 4th string quarterbacks under center running Stefanski’s offense. There was some flash shown on the defense by Linebacker Austin Ajiake on this day where the defense didn’t play the best, this is a guy I expect to be on the 53-man roster once all the upcoming cuts are made.

The Colts will use the upcoming practice week to clean up some things from all 3 phases. As Steichen mentioned in his comments after the game, the Colts did not play up to “their standard”, this will be an emphasis as they work in preseason Week 3 to face another NFC foe, the Detroit Lions on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. This is an important week for those on the roster bubble to have one final interview to remain with this organization or put good film out there in the event they are released that they get picked up by another organization. We will see how this week plays out on the field and ultimately who the front office and coaching keeps after the roster churn from trimming the rosters down to 53 from 90, then look ahead to opening day on September 13th against the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s postgame video and sound from the Colts loss to the Falcons: