HEAD COACH SHANE STEICHEN
Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, August 13, 2026
SS: All right, I'll start with just injuries. Jaylon Jones, he's being evaluated for concussion, and [Luke] Tenuta had a knee. I thought overall, just the week in general, I thought we got some really good work in this week, obviously the joint practice. And then today, I was pleased with our guys' effort out there. There's some good, but a lot to clean up as well. So, ready when you guys are.
Q: Shane, what happened with Brian [Mason] there at the end of the game?
SS: He got rolled up right on the sideline on that last play. So, we'll see. He's getting evaluated for his knee right now.
Q: Shane, your thoughts on what you saw from AR [Anthony Richardson] early on in the game?
SS: He did some good things. Obviously, we're moving the ball efficiently. Obviously, the turnovers hurt us there, the fumble down there. We had two fumbles in the red zone, an INT with your two picks, it's hard to maintain drives when you're turning the ball over. But overall, I thought he did a lot of good things.
Q: His ability to bounce back after that kind of rough first series, just what did that show you about him in this today?
SS: Yeah, it was huge. I think even the two-minute drive at the end of the half was big to get us down there. So, he did a lot of good things. He threw it well. I think he had a good completion percentage. He was going to the right spots with the ball.
Q: The [Seth] McGowan fumble, did you think he got in? It felt like they let that play go away.
SS: Yeah, it looked like it, but I'm not the official.
Q: So how, for a guy like Seth, who's competing for that number two spot, how do you evaluate that? Do you still have to hold all the way through the play?
SS: Yeah, it's not a have to have it situation. So, we have to hold on to the ball in that situation.
Q: What did it mean for Spencer [Shrader] to get that kick there at the end?
SS: It was big. Obviously, we wanted to work on some kicking with those two guys battling, and so for him to kick that long field goal was huge.
Q: Your thoughts on Caden Curry, what he was able to do? He was active throughout the night.
SS: Yeah, I think defensively, a lot of rookies, Caden Curry made a ton of plays. I was really pleased with him. Bryce Boettcher was flying around. [George] Gumbs [Jr.] made some plays. So, it was really good to see the young guys defensively, especially with the sudden change and the turnovers that we had offensively, to stop those guys was big.
Q: What did you think you saw from Riley [Leonard]? It felt like maybe, he's talked about needing to speed up the decision making. It felt like maybe he held it a little too long.
SS: Yeah, we'll go back. I think we had some batted balls on a few of those. And obviously, when you go back and evaluate the tape, just looking at the coverages, and they were covered or not covered. He did some good things, but things we need to clean up as well.
QUARTERBACK ANTHONY RICHARDSON
Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Q: Anthony, tough start early on, but you were able to bounce back. Take us through just how good it feels to be out there and your ability to be able to bounce back there?
AR: Feels good, honestly. These past few months, just of my life, have been a little weird, especially coming back from the eye injury, and then not playing football in a long time. So, getting back into my groove, it was a little rocky start for me in the beginning, but the guys on the sideline were just telling me, "Just take the next play, and just go next play after that." And we found a way to move the ball and put some points up.
Q: Do you feel like being able to settle in after the turnovers is something you can do now because of the adversity you faced a little earlier in your career? Do you think that you'd be able to turn around like the way you did today, maybe a couple years ago, had you not had the injuries, other things you've dealt with?
AR: I mean, I feel like I've done a decent job of focusing on the next play throughout my career. Good plays are going to happen, bad plays are going to happen. But you can't get too high or too low on yourself. You just got to stay even keel and just execute. And that's all I was trying to think about today, just execute my next play and put the guys in the best position that's going to put points up.
Q: It's been a little bit since you've got that extended run. I mean, what did it feel like out there for you today?
AR: It kind of felt like my rookie year again. Just coming out here, getting into the game atmosphere again. The stadium got a little loud at times, not too loud, but they created some noise for us. So, it really just felt like rookie year, just getting back in the groove and finding my pace back in the game.
Q: Did you feel like you proved something by playing as well as you did tonight?
AR: I don't even think I played that well, honestly. Fumble, interception early. I got limited turnovers. You can't win games with multiple turnovers. So, I don't think I played that well today. It was decent. We moved the ball a little bit, but I think we can definitely improve.
Q: That one sideline ball you had to Will [Mallory], where you fit it between those two defenders, what did you see on that play?
AR: It's kind of like a flood concept a little bit. I just saw the guys out flanking. I saw the backer getting ready to drive the running back. I really thought he was going to fall off a little bit, but he ended up slipping through, and I just found a spot to put the ball in there and led Will right there to catch it.
Q: Do you think there's something about your game that you get to show in a game situation? You get to run in practice as well, but it usually gets blown dead before you can...
AR: Yeah, I feel like in games, since it's live, I have more of a chance of putting pressure on the defense and getting a chance to move the ball whenever certain things aren't going our way. I had a fumble today, so I don't think I did that great when it came to running the ball, but I did get us in a decent position at times.
ADDITIONAL COLTS PLAYERS
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