1. Anthony Richardson's ability to avoid sacks showed up again – and again, and again.

Facing a fourth-and-three with about three minutes left, Anthony Richardson was immediately pressured at the snap by safety Jabril Peppers, who came unblocked off the right edge toward the Colts' quarterback.

A sack or an incompletion in that moment would've effectively ended the game – a turnover on downs in Colts territory would've set the Patriots up for a field goal to increase their lead to 10 points, a likely insurmountable lead that late in the game. Richardson knew the Colts were in a gotta-have-it moment. And he did the thing he's consistently shown he can do in the nascent stages of his NFL career: He didn't get sacked, and he got a throw off that allowed a teammate – in this case, tight end Mo Alie-Cox – to go make a play.

Richardson, while rolling to his right and keeping Peppers at bay, flipped a pass to Alie-Cox for an 11-yard gain, giving the Colts a fresh set of downs and another chance to win the game.

"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," head coach Shane Steichen said.

Richardson has not been sacked since early in the third quarter of Week 11, his first game back after a two-week benching. He's avoided a sack on his last 28 dropbacks under pressure, and over his last three games in total he has one of the lowest pressure-to-sack rates in the NFL:

Quarterbacks on average this season have been sacked on 19.7 percent of dropbacks under pressure – so about one in every five times a defense generates pressure, they convert it into a sack. Against Richardson lately, defenses are converting pressure into a sack on one in every 18 dropbacks. That's a huge difference, and it's a big reason why the Richardson has been able to put together clutch, late-game drives to beat the New York Jets and New England Patriots.

And those last-ditch, game-winning drives Richardson has engineered are representative of the significant strides the 22-year-old has made recently.

"Any time you got a young player that can lead your team down to a game-winning touchdown in this league, it comes down to a lot of those in this league, and that's huge growth," Steichen said. "That's huge confidence for him, that's huge confidence for our team that he can get those things done."

2. There are other areas where Anthony Richardson has improved since returning in Week 11.

So that's one thing Richardson has done well when he's been pressured. But let's flip this around: How about when he's not pressured?

Since returning from his two-week benching in Week 11 against the Jets, Richardson has Pro Football Focus' highest passing grade (93.3) on dropbacks without pressure. Some before-and-after splits when Richardson was not pressured:

This is tangible progress for Richardson when he drops back to pass. He's also made strides with the ball in his hands as a runner: In Weeks 11-13, Richardson leads all quarterbacks on designed runs (read options + QB runs, or alternatively non-scrambles) in:

• Rushing attempts (26)
• Rushing yards (125)
• Rushing touchdowns (3)
• First downs (10)
• Missed tackles forced (5)
• 10+ yard rushes (5)

The only player close to him over the last three weeks is Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has 24 designed rushing attempts for 65 yards with two touchdowns, seven first downs, four missed tackles and one explosive rush.

3. Some context on the Colts' 19-play game-winning drive and ensuing two-point conversion.

No team since at least 2001 (which is as far back as Stathead's drive database goes) has had more plays on a go-ahead game-winning fourth quarter drive than the Colts had on Sunday. The previous long was an 18-play, 99-yard drive by the Tennessee Titans to beat the Arizona Cardinals, 20-17, on Nov. 29, 2009.

Entering Week 13, there had been 28 instances of a team going for two when down by one point with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter since 1994. Fourteen tries were successful and 14 failed. The Colts' go-ahead two-point try was the second of the season and 29th in that span; most recently, the Cincinnati Bengals lost, 35-34, to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10 when a Joe Burrow two-point pass fell incomplete with 38 seconds left.

A handful of those 29 attempts have come in the final moments of a season-ending game that didn't have playoff implications in an effort to avoid overtime – the Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals on one to end the 2023 season, and the Colts lost to the Texans to finish the 2022 season when Houston converted a two-point try when down one.

The flip side is teams kicked the game-tying PAT in the same situation 106 times – and have a 41-60-5 record in those games. Teams that went for two in those situations are 13-16 (two teams – the 2021 Detroit Lions and 2019 Denver Broncos – lost on walk-off field goals despite successful two-point tries with under 40 seconds left).

The short version: Teams have a .396 winning percentage when kicking the game-tying PAT and a .448 winning percentage when going for two.

"It's just awesome to see we go for the win," left tackle Bernhard Raimann said. "We don't go for ties. We don't leave it up to chance. We make it happen. That's just a great atmosphere within the team and a great part of our culture."

4. Mark Glowinski and Danny Pinter weren't just capable fill-ins – they were straight-up good.

Before the Colts took the field on Sunday, center Danny Pinter made a comment to right guard Mark Glowinski: "It's like 2021 all over again."

Pinter and Glowinski last started next to each other on Christmas Day in 2021. Since then, Glowinski signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 2022, was released in 2024 and joined the Colts' practice squad two weeks ago. Pinter last started a regular season game on Sept. 25, 2022; he sustained a season-ending ankle injury in the Colts' final preseason game in 2023, re-signed as a free agent this offseason and played only on special teams prior to Sunday.

And yet, despite the layoff, both players were as good as you might've remembered them being three years ago.

Pinter's 83.1 Pro Football Focus offense grade was the second-highest among centers in Week 13; Glowinski earned a solid 67.5 grade as the Colts frequently ran behind him on the right side of their offensive line, where rookie Matt Goncalves started at right tackle as well.

"Credit to those guys," Steichen said. "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."

Glowinski, of course, started at right guard for the Colts from 2018-2021 and played with current teammates Pinter, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith during his first stint in Indianapolis. The familiarity he had with several members of the offensive line – he also was with Sparano, then the New York Giants' assistant offensive line coach, in 2022 – helped him get up to speed quickly enough to start about a week and a half after being signed to the Colts' practice squad.

"I felt really good with communication and learning some concepts and different stuff that may have changed since the last time I was here, or the plays and how they're called, stuff like that," Glowinski said. "But having guys I've worked with before helped me get the cheat code and go fast through the week."

Colts ball-carriers averaged 2.0 yards before contact per attempt, tied for the sixth-highest average in Week 13, and when the game was on the line Steichen didn't just put his faith in Richardson – he put it in his offensive line. On Richardson's game-winning two-point plunge, Glowinski helped seal off defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, with Richardson running behind him and into the end zone.

"Danny, Glow, Matt Gonz over there on the right side, they just did a tremendous job stepping in on short notice," Raimann said. "I mean, Glow just got here and he worked his (butt) off to learn everything. Danny has been working his (butt) off the last years and every time he gets his opportunity, he makes the most out of it."

Goncalves, too, had a solid game at right tackle after starting three games in place of Raimann at left tackle.

"He's been tremendous these last couple weeks," Raimann said. "I mean, he steps in on the left side, he steps in on the right side — he never blinks, he never complains, he does what he's asked to, he leaves it all out there. You just love to see that. He's a rookie and I know how hard it is to get thrown into the fire like that, but he never flinches. He works his butt off and gets better every single time."

5. The Colts' defense wants to be better, but did come up when it needed to.

In the visiting locker room on Sunday, as players were still celebrating and digesting their win, linebacker Zaire Franklin was asked what he wanted he and his teammates to accomplish over the Colts' bye week.

"Take our time off. Enjoy your family, enjoy your rest," Franklin said. "When we get back, defensively, we gotta step our game up. If 5 (Richardson) gonna play like that, we gotta be better than this. We appreciate it — a win is a win, but at the same time, we got work to do when we get back."

The Patriots set a new season high in yards (422) and had their second-highest point total (24) in 2024; New England entered Week 13 averaging 4.6 yards per play (28th in the NFL) and averaged 6.5 yards per play (fifth-highest in Week 13) on Sunday.

New England's offense was powered by an efficient passing game (quarterback Drake Maye completed 80 percent of his passes) and an impactful run game. The Patriots' 200 rushing yards were the most allowed by the Colts since the start of the season, when the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers rushed for 213 and 261 yards in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively.

"It was one of those things that came up yesterday that we've been struggling with, probably all year, and that was stopping the run," cornerback Kenny Moore II said. "We let the run out of the first level of the defense. We made Julian (Blackmon) have to make some tough tackles and honestly, just took all of us trying to tackle the ball before it got to the second level. So, I think we can be more disciplined. We can be sharper. We can be smoother around the edges as far as stopping the run. And it'll take all of us. It'll take all of us. We have to brighten the chemistry, brighten up the camaraderie – as far as stopping the runs, it takes all of us just like it does in the pass game. And as far as the pass game, I feel like the secondary, we did a smooth job as far as trying to limit the shots and explosives. But we let the quarterback circle the defense. We let him out of the pocket. We let him out of the well to create yardage and create opportunity for the offense."

All seven of the Patriots' first seven possessions reached Colts territory, and six of those made it into the red zone. The Patriots converted only two of those trips inside the 20 into touchdowns, though, with Blackmon wrestling an interception away from tight end Hunter Henry to end one drive. New England was flagged for three holding penalties inside the Colts' 15-yard line, too, and kicker Joey Slye missed a 25-yard field goal after the last of those flags.

Still, when the Patriots had made it into Colts territory on every one of their possessions and hadn't punted all game, the Colts' defense delivered when it needed to the most. New England began its eighth possession of the game at its own 48-yard line; after running back Rhamondre Stevenson gained two yards on first down to push the ball to midfield, defensive tackle Taven Bryan blew up a Stevenson rush for a loss of three. On third and 11, Maye hitched in the pocket and was hurried into stepping up by a confluence of defensive ends Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu. With nowhere to throw the ball and safety Nick Cross closing fast, Maye slid to the ground for a sack.

The Patriots punted, the Colts took over on their own 20-yard line, and the rest is history.