INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Pinter never had much doubt about what would happen next prior to the Indianapolis Colts’ game-winning two-point conversion Sunday against the New England Patriots.

“I mean when the play call came in, we knew it was an option,” the 28-year-old center said. “It was either going to JT (running back Jonathan Taylor) or AR (quarterback Anthony Richardson). They lined up how we thought they’d line up, and we just knew it was about executing our blocks.

“We kind of figured AR would probably be the main ball carrier there. So I think, collectively, we were all pretty fired up to have the ball in his hands. We knew we had a good shot with that.”

Richardson rumbled into the end zone with 12 seconds remaining — running behind pulling left guard Quenton Nelson, Pinter and right guard Mark Glowinski — and the Colts secured a 25-24 victory minutes later when New England kicker Joey Slye’s 68-yard field goal attempt fell just short.

It was the second game-winning drive in the closing moments for Richardson in the three weeks since he returned to the starting lineup. And it came behind an offensive line with three players either starting for the first time this season or starting at a new position.

Pinter was filling in for starter Ryan Kelly (injured reserve) and backup Tanor Bortolini (concussion). Glowinski made his first start for Indianapolis since 2021 in place of undrafted rookie Dalton Tucker (coach’s decision). And rookie Matt Goncalves moved to right tackle in place of Braden Smith (personal matter) after starting three of the previous four weeks at left tackle for an injured Bernhard Raimann.

The makeshift line allowed no sacks and paved the way for a run game that tallied 144 yards.

“It was huge,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “Credit to those guys — Danny stepping up, Glow stepping up, Matt obviously being at the right tackle position. I mean, those guys stepped up big time. They were into it all week (in) practice, preparing the right way, and then had their opportunity and made the most of it.

“So credit to those guys, and credit to (offensive line coach) Tony (Sparano Jr.). Just a hell of an effort by all those guys.”

The win kept Indianapolis’ playoff hopes on life support heading into this week’s bye and set up a Dec. 15 showdown on the road against the Denver Broncos that could determine the fate of the season.

The Colts (6-7) trail Denver (8-5) by two games for the seventh and final postseason berth in the AFC. A win after the bye pulls Indianapolis within just one game with three weeks remaining in the regular season and gives it an all-important tie-breaker advantage. A loss gives the Broncos a three-game lead and the tie-breaker, meaning the Colts could not surpass them.

Richardson has displayed a clutch gene recently that inspires the kind of confidence Pinter expressed late in games.

On Nov. 17 against the New York Jets, he was 8-of-10 for 129 yards in the fourth quarter while leading two touchdown drives to overcome an eight-point deficit in a 28-27 victory.

Sunday, Richardson led a 19-play, 80-yard drive for the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion.

After throwing an interception on the previous drive, Richardson was 6-of-11 for 46 yards and ran three times for 12 yards in addition to running in the two-point conversion with the game on the line.

He was 2-for-2 on fourth down, completing an 11-yard pass to tight end Mo Alie-Cox and fourth-and-3 from Indianapolis’ 40-yard line with 3:21 remaining and a 3-yard touchdown to wide receiver Alec Pierce on fourth-and-goal. Richardson also ran for 6 yards on fourth-and-2 at New England’s 41-yard line with 1:57 to play.

It’s the kind of performance that displays the growth the 22-year-old has made in just 13 NFL starts and hints at possibilities to come.

“(A)ny time you can have two touchdown game-winning drives in three weeks for a young quarterback is huge,” Steichen said. “The way that he can avoid the pressure and avoid the sacks is big time. You don’t want to get yourselves behind the chains. He does a hell of a job of getting out of those pressure looks and creating.

“I know we talked about it (Sunday) — the fourth-down play to Mo. He had pressure off the edge, and he was able to avoid and create the big play there in a clutch situation to keep the drive going. So that part has been tremendous, and we’ve got to keep that part going.”

What the Colts need now from the offense is a little more consistency.

It’s been outstanding in the fourth quarter each of the past two road games. But penalties, drops and missed opportunities cost Indianapolis earlier in both those games and throughout a 24-6 home loss against the Detroit Lions in between.

Richardson is remarkable when he’s able to set his feet and unleash his cannon arm. But when he rushes his mechanics, it often leads to overthrows and interceptions.

That’s part of the growing process. So is the two-point conversion run.

Steichen hopes that play can be the impetus for a strong finish as Indianapolis hopes for a long-shot wild-card berth and its first postseason appearance since 2020.

“Any time you go for two for the win and you get it, obviously, it’s great, right?” Steichen said. “It adds confidence to everyone going into the rest of the season. To get a win like that on the road was huge. So, yeah, hopefully, it pays big dividends for us coming up here.”