WESTFIELD, Ind. — Anthony Richardson struggled to pass the ball against the Bears in Thursday night’s practice.

The rookie quarterback looked to his right in the low red zone during 7 on 7s. Michael Pittman lined up inside the numbers and Jaylon Johnson was pressed up in coverage. The 6-foot-4, 223-pound wide receiver tried to use his physicality to push off the 6-foot, 196-pound cornerback, but Johnson stood his ground.

Pittman failed to create any separation, which forced Richardson to just throw the ball in the ground. Richardson and the offense technically didn’t get into the end zone. There were several Colts called for ineligible downfield penalties throughout the practice, which negated some touchdowns.

For Thursday’s practice, I changed my focus from the offense to the defense. Make sure to check out my practice recap notes from Wednesday’s practice.

Here are my top observations from the second joint practice between the Bears and Colts.

1 on 1s

• Gervon Dexter won his rep against Dakoda Shepley. The rookie defensive lineman used a nice rip through move to beat Shepley.
• Dominique Robinson showed off his rip through move against Dan Skipper. Robinson has been showing off his ability to get to the inside throughout camp.
• Braden Smith threw down Trevis Gipson in his one-on-one rep. Gipson didn’t like how Smith ended the play and had some words for him.
• While the Bears’ defensive lineman were going against the Colts’ offensive linemen, the Bears’ defensive backs faced the Colts’ wide receivers. One rep I was able to watch was Kyler Gordon against Josh Downs. Gordon had perfect coverage on an out route in the back part of the end zone, and Gordon snagged the ball from Downs.

11 on 11s

• Richardson had a run up the middle of the Bears defense for a decent gain.
• The Colts had a touchdown reception negated because of an ineligible man downfield penalty.
• Richardson got into the end zone off of a touchdown run on the left side.
• The Colts offense had another touchdown taken off the board due to an ineligible man downfield penalty.
• During the 25-minute long team period towards the end of practice, Richardson had an opportunity to hit Pierce on a decent gain over the middle of the field. But Richard’s pass was too high. Jaylon Johnson was in coverage on the play.
• Andrew Billings had a nice run stop in the middle of the defense.

DeMarcus Walker and Pharaoh Brown had to be separated during team drills. Looked like someone grabbed Walker's helmet while he was on the ground. Offense and defense from both sides met in the low red zone.

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) August 17, 2023

• On the last play for Richardson, he broke the pocket and got loose in the middle of the Bears’ defense. He got to the second level and a Bears defender knocked the ball out of Richardson’s hands, and Elijah Hicks recovered the ball.

We’re onto more 11-on-11s. #Bears Defense held Anthony Richardson to one completion in 10 plays.

On the final play, Richardson had a good gain on a run and the #Bears punched the ball out at whistle.

— Will DeWitt (@Wi11DeWitt) August 17, 2023

• Gervon Dexter got in the backfield and got himself a tackle for loss on the running back. Dexter yelled out and flexed after the play.

7 on 7s

• Richardson ran the ball towards the left side and got into the end zone. It’s hard to gauge if Richardson would’ve had that lane if there were defensive linemen.
• Elijah Hicks broke up a pass intended for Michael Pittman in the back of the end zone. Jaquan Brisker was watching the rep from outside of the end zone, and Brisker was there to congratulate his teammate. Also worth noting that Brisker was watching a lot of the plays from the back of the end zone and calling out things to his teammates.
• Richardson completed a pass to the flat, and Noah Sewell was right there and put his shoulder pad into the receiver.
• Alec Pierce caught a ball on the right side of the field, but T.J. Edwards was in perfect position to lay out the receiver.
• In the low red zone, Dylan Cole broke up a pass that was intended for Pharaoh Brown.
• The Bears defense made it difficult for the rookie quarterback to find easy completions throughout the entire period.