The good news: Anthony Richardson played. The bad news: Richardson didn't do much of anything in two series. The good news matters more

The Colts quarterback hasn't taken a live snap since last October. And, well, it showed.

The retractable roof wouldn’t retract, and that’s not the only thing that didn’t work in the Colts’ 34-30 preseason-opening loss to the AFC West basement-bound Denver Broncos. The roof issue was mechanical; the football issue was something else entirely. While it was great to see Anthony Richardson back out on the field for a semi-real game for the first time in around 300 days, he didn’t do a whole heck of a lot. Like, two series, seven plays, one first down and, well, that’s all I’ve got for you.

This doesn’t mean Richardson isn’t ready for his second NFL season or that he’s doomed to mediocrity, but if we’re going to honest, there wasn’t much to recommend his performance or the performance of the first-team offense. In a word, it was…meh.

There was the one nice, 19-yard pass to Mo Alie-Cox and I’d say we were all thrilled to see Richardson scoot out of bounds on a scramble when, in the past, he might have taken on a tackler, but beyond that, nothing much stood out. Two-of-four passing for 25 yards. A forced throw or two under pressure. Threw late to Kylen Granson. He wasn’t sharp, as you might expect from somebody who hasn’t thrown a game-day pass since October.

But yeah, it was nice to see him back on the new turf at Lucas Oil Stadium, healthy and happy and playing the game he loves.

Before the game, Richardson stood by himself on the field and pointed skyward.

“That’s something I do every chance I get to step on the field,” Richardson said. “That’s just me thanking God for the opportunity again. Everybody doesn’t get this opportunity to be on the field. Everybody doesn’t get the chance to be in the NFL. So I’ve just got to make sure I’m appreciating and taking it day by day.”

“…It just felt good being out there again.”

It was a small sample size.

So there are no hard-and-fast conclusions to be drawn.