Few things really set Pat McAfee off.
In Week 8 of the NFL season, McAfee revealed one of them. In the middle of a huge AFC South matchup between his Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans, second-year Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson checked himself out of the game, which he would later attribute to conditioning issues.
McAfee caught the rare move in real time and was critical of Richardson on X, but doubled down to open The Pat McAfee Show on Monday.
“An NFL quarterback doesn’t tap out of a game. Especially if they’re able to go play, that is kind of part of the position,” McAfee explained. “You’re the face of the franchise. Whenever you’re tapping out, whenever you’re healthy, what message are you sending to everybody in the building, everybody in the locker room, the entire city, the fanbase? I think what it does is it makes people think, get this guy the f*** off of our team. You’re a professional athlete, you’re 22 years old. this is the middle of the season!”
I have NEVER seen an NFL Quarterback tap out of a game before..
I have never seen that before in my life #PMSLive https://t.co/6fyavy8dlR pic.twitter.com/r5lL7xtFMO
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 28, 2024
Richardson went to the sideline before a pivotal third down late in the third quarter. The Colts were down 10 points, and were not able to convert the 3rd and goal while Richardson knelt on the sideline. A field goal on the drive brought Indianapolis within 7 points.
The Colts went on to lose the game, 23-20, in Houston.
To McAfee, the play may not have been the difference in winning or losing the game. But to him, Richardson missed the mark when it comes to the responsibility a quarterback has in an NFL organization.
“This isn’t an overreaction,” McAfee said. “The quarterback position, these dudes are making $60 million a year for a reason. You are the face of the franchise, you are everything that the franchise is supposed to embody … you being the one that everybody’s looking at, I don’t think he understands that either. I don’t think he has a basic understanding of how fragile your job can be in the NFL, how it can end immediately. And also what you signed up to be whenever you decided to be an NFL quarterback.”
Richardson played just four games his rookie season and already missed two weeks this season with a hip injury.
While those actual injuries come with the territory in football, McAfee ripped Richardson for sending a message not only to his teammates but his fans that he was not his job seriously.
“Could you imagine any of these actual jobs in the world, military folks, cops, ambulance, firefighters, teachers, whatever the case … third-and-long, division opponent, let’s count that as massive moment in profession,” McAfee added. “Could you imagine the leader of the group just being like, ‘actually, I’m not ready for it. I’m going to take a break and walk out.’ No, you couldn’t. And they’re not making millions of dollars. Every part of it is bad.”
After the game, Richardson told reporters he tapped out because he was “tired,” while Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner and head coach Shane Steichen defended Richardson while downplaying the moment.
McAfee chooses his battles when it comes to critiquing anyone in the NFL, which he prefers to celebrate on his show. But because it happened in Indy where he lives and was so rare and egregious, McAfee clearly felt Richardson earned the reaming he received on ESPN airwaves following a bummer Week 8 loss.
[The Pat McAfee Show on YouTube]
