INDIANAPOLIS — It was just a 10-yard completion, easy to overlook in the wake of a record-setting rushing day and easy to dismiss as one of just 11 pass attempts throughout the Indianapolis Colts’ 38-30 victory Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

But Anthony Richardson’s third-and-8 pass to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. just after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter was pivotal to holding off the visitors’ late rally.

If the Colts were forced to punt in that situation, a defense that had allowed touchdowns on three consecutive drives — of 70, 55 and 71 yards — would be back on the field with tremendous pressure to prevent the game going to overtime.

Richardson was cold and out of rhythm.

He’d been sacked on his most recent pass attempt — on third-and-9 with 6:51 remaining — and he hadn’t gotten a pass off since throwing an incompletion intended for wide receiver Josh Downs at the 11:20 mark.

With the dual-threat quarterback and running back Jonathan Taylor combining for 270 of Indianapolis’ single-game franchise-record 335 rushing yards, Richardson had not completed a pass since the 8:33 mark of the third quarter, and he was just 1-for-2 in the second half.

Still, he was calm and composed on the crucial third down — hitting Pittman on a simple out pattern to move the chains and keep the clock moving. When the Colts finally did punt the ball back to Tennessee, there were only three seconds remaining for the Titans to work with,

It was a forgettable play in the grand scheme of the game, but it was also the most recent evidence of the 22-year-old quarterback’s ability to raise his level of play in the clutch.

He’s 3-2 as a starter since taking the role back from veteran Joe Flacco, and the other two victories featured game-winning touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

“I think that’s a special trait — obviously as a young player — that he doesn’t flinch in those times, to lead those comebacks,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “Obviously, the (New York) Jets, the New England (Patriots) game, I mean, those are big-time drives to go win games.

“You want that out of young players, especially (when) you see the veteran guys do it around the league all the time, but to do it as a young player speaks volumes of the person that he is.”

Despite Richardson’s up-and-down season, Indianapolis has maintained steadfast belief in his potential. Even when he was benched for Flacco, the organization repeatedly stated it was not giving up on the quarterback as its future leader.

There’s still plenty of work to be done.

Richardon has completed just 47.7% of his passes, and he’s thrown 12 interceptions in 11 starts.

His rushing ability again was evident Sunday, and he’s set franchise single-season records for a quarterback with 499 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.

And he has proven his big-play ability with a league-leading 14.4 yards per completion.

The Colts still believe improved consistency will come with increased reps, and they hold out hope the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft can still become the long-term answer at the game’s most important position.

For now, Richardson’s late-game heroics offer the most compelling argument in his favor.

“I think it’s just me just playing all the way until the clock hits zero,” Richardson said of his mindset. “I never think about fourth quarter moments or anything like that. I just try to play until the game’s over. And it just happens sometimes that most of it happens in the fourth quarter. So I just try to play through the whistle and just play through the whole game.”

AWARD WORTHY

After rushing for 218 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans – both the second-highest single-game totals of his career – Taylor has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

It was a major bounce-back performance after Taylor’s unforced fumble just short of the goal line cost the Colts dearly in a pivotal loss against the Denver Broncos a week prior.

“It’s always exciting to see that dude just do what he does,” Richardson said. “It’s fascinating, honestly, just to see him hit a gap and just take it to the house. It’s just amazing, especially thinking about what happened in the Denver game. It honestly like wiped my mind. I wasn’t even thinking about it until people were talking about him coming back and having the game he did.

“It’s like ‘OK, that’s the type of player he is, the type of person he is.’ He always wants to do better for the team and for himself. And just to see him do that and get what he did on Sunday is just a blessing.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Colts officially signed right guard Mark Glowinski to the 53-man roster Tuesday after he’d been called up for game day in each of the past three weeks.

Guard Antonio Mafi was re-signed to the practice squad after being released from the 53-man roster Monday.