1. Anthony Richardson was cooking before sustaining a hip injury.

The Colts scored touchdowns on their first two drives Sunday, racking up 14 points against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that entered Week 4 allowing just 8.7 points per game. The underlying numbers on those first two drives showed just how good the Colts' offense was to start the game:

Richardson completed three of four passes for 71 yards, while he and Jonathan Taylor combined for 68 yards on 11 carries. The Steelers struggled to find answers against the Colts' run game, and Richardson was letting things rip through the air in the passing game.

"It felt like we might score 40 because they had to play AR in the pass and run," tight end Mo Alie-Cox said. "JT was going early. And we were just marching don the field every time we had the ball. It felt great as an offense to just start fast. We haven't started fast in any game yet this season, so it was just great to see."

The Colts hadn't scored on their first offensive possession this season before Taylor punched in a two-yard touchdown to cap an 8-play, 70-yard drive sparked by Richardson's game-opening 32-yard strike to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

"(Richardson) was on fire," head coach Shane Steichen said. "He was on fire to start the game. So, obviously, see how the week goes and hopefully get him back and keep that momentum going."

Richardson, of course, exited the game late on the Colts' second possession with a hip injury. The Colts aren't sure if he'll be ready to play next weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium, but the glimpse we saw of Richardson on Sunday was arguably as encouraging a two-drive stretch as the second-year quarterback has had all year. He threw with decisiveness, and while he only attempted four passes, those are something he and the Colts offense feel they can build on moving forward.

"Everybody just trusted it," Richardson said. "I trusted myself spinning the ball, I trusted my wideouts catching the ball, they trusted their routes. The preparation we put in all week, it was for that moment right there. The was us just trying to be on point and execute for the defense."

2. Joe Flacco delivered in key moments.

While the Colts' run game slowed after Richardson exited – in total, the Colts gained 66 yards on 20 carries (3.3 yards/attempt) after he was ruled out – Flacco came off the bench and played well, particularly on third down.

Flacco completed six of eight passes for 72 yards with two touchdowns on third down, and all six of those completions resulted in first downs. The Colts entered Week 4 with three third down conversions through the air all season; Flacco doubled that on Sunday.

"When you work all week to defend Richardson and then you get Flacco it's a little bit different," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "And it probably took us a little too long to adapt and adjust in some areas."

That's one way to look at it. Another way: Flacco, as we saw consistently through training camp, delivered the ball on time to the right pass-catcher based on the coverage in front of him. Wide receiver Josh Downs accounted for four of those six third down conversions, including Flacco's first touchdown in a Colts uniform (he now has 247 career passing touchdowns, tied with Boomer Esiason for 28th in NFL history).

"Joe just trusted me, trusted Pitt, trusted other guys," Downs said. "He's a Hall of Fame quarterback, very good player, makes our job easy."

Flacco finished the afternoon with 16 completions on 26 attempts for 168 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 105.9. He took his shots downfield but didn't connect on three attempts that traveled 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage; in the absence of those explosive plays, he brought the sort of efficiency the Colts needed to hold on to the ball and hold off the Steelers on Sunday.

And moments like this, where the Colts needed Flacco to draw even on the 2024 season with a 2-2 record, are why this team made signing him a priority in free agency back in March.

"Veteran presence – obviously, he's played a lot of football," Steichen said. "Went in there and operated pretty darn good – threw two touchdowns, like you said. Moved the offense up and down the field. Did a nice job for us, for sure."

3. The Colts' plan for T.J. Watt worked – and led to a touchdown.

On Wednesday, Steichen was asked about Watt, the menacing four-time first-team AP All-Pro and 2021 Defensive Player of the Year pass rusher.

"You've got to have a plan," Steichen said. "You've got to have a plan for him for sure."

Watt generated just two pressures on 29 pass rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus. The plan, as it turned out, called for the Colts' tight ends to get their hands on Watt on 14 of those pass rushing snaps.

The result was a muted impact for Watt, who's recorded at least a half-sack in 71 of his 119 career games (60 percent) – and credit to right tackle Braden Smith, who held his own when Watt wasn't chipped. But it meant the Colts' tight ends – Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Will Mallory and Drew Ogletree – didn't expect to get many targets or receptions on Sunday.

That expectation, though, did come with a coaching point.

"We talked about it during the week, we didn't have many plays in this gameplan because we were dealing with T.J. Watt all game, chipping and things like that, just making sure he doesn't impact the game," Alie-Cox said. "... Coach told us all week sometimes when you guys chip, no one covers you guys."

That's exactly what happened on Flacco's touchdown to Ogletree in the fourth quarter.

With the Colts facing a third-and-10 on the Steelers' 15-yard line, Ogletree chipped Watt at the snap, routing him wide before he could attack right Smith. Smith pushed Watt upfield past the pocket as Flacco stepped up, taking him out of the down.

The play was designed to go to Pittman, who ran a crossing route about 10 yards shallower than wide receiver Alec Pierce, who ran an over route to the same side of the field. The Steelers ran a "funky" man/zone combination coverage, Steichen said, and had five defenders in the vicinity of Pittman and Pierce. But linebacker Patrick Queen flowed toward the two receivers instead of toward Ogletree, who was late getting out into his mesh route after chipping Watt.

Ogletree worked into open space between the hashes with no defenders switching to cover him. Flacco tossed him the ball, and Ogletree rumbled 10 yards toward the goal line, diving between Queen and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for the score.

"On that play, it was for Pitt," Alie-Cox said, "but no one covered Tree and it was a wide-open touchdown."

It wasn't just like the Colts drew it up – but it was like the Colts thought could happen at some point on Sunday.

4. Tanor Bortolini held his own at center.

Only six centers ran faster at the NFL Combine than Bortolini, who at 303 pounds clocked a 4.94-second 40-yard dash at Lucas Oil Stadium earlier this year. He might've beat his 40 time on the same field after his first drive as a pro.

At the very least, Sunday's sprint felt faster to Bortolini, the rookie center from Wisconsin.

After Taylor's two-yard touchdown to cap the Colts' opening drive against the Steelers, Bortolini ran – he was hauling – over 60 yards from the goal line to his sideline, slowed only by the high fives of his coaches and teammates.

"It was really cool that the first drive we just ran it down the field and were able to punch it in," Bortolini said. "I just had a lot of energy, a real burst of energy there."

"He was running off like a kid in a candy store on that first touchdown," Steichen said.

The Colts needed Bortolini, a 2024 fourth-round pick, against the Steelers with longtime Pro Bowl starter Ryan Kelly out with a neck injury. And that the Colts emerged from Sunday with a victory, despite starting a rookie center against a fearsome Steelers front featuring three-time first-team AP All-Pro defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, speaks to the strength of Tony Sparano Jr.'s offensive line group.

"That just comes to show that we have some great guys top to bottom in this room," left tackle Bernhard Raimann said. "Great football players but high character guys. They always prepare, they show up every single day and work. And we trusted him today because of the work he's been putting in the last couple months."

Kelly did not practice Thursday and Friday last week and was listed as questionable, then was ruled out when inactives were announces 90 minutes prior to kickoff. After the game, Bortolini gave Kelly – the longest-tenured member of the Colts – plenty of credit in preparing him for such a tough assignment in his NFL debut.

"Ryan was a massive help in getting me ready just in case he wasn't ready to roll in just in kind of getting me in tune with the lingo that the first group uses," Bortolini said. "He's been playing at an extremely high level for a really long time. So to be able to learn anything I can from him was really awesome this week."

Bortolini allowed only one pressure in 35 pass blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

5. E.J. Speed's heads-up play helped seal the Colts' win.

In a three-point game that came down to execution and details, a three-play stretch late in the fourth quarter sealed the Colts' victory.

With 1:43 left in the game, the Steelers had a first-and-10 on their own 42-yard line. At the very least, they were about 20 yards from being in kicker Chris Boswell's range to tie the game; a few explosive plays and the Steelers could've thought about scoring a game-winning touchdown.

Pittsburgh center Zach Frazier, though, snapped the ball before quarterback Justin Fields was ready. The snap doinked off Fields' helmet and careened to the quarterback's left, where he recovered the loose ball for a loss of 12.

On second and 22, Fields escaped the pocket to his left and lofted a deep shot to wide receiver George Pickens. Cornerback Jaylon Jones was one-on-one without safety help over the top and knocked the pass down (he nearly came up with a remarkable one-handed interception), forcing a third-and-22.

Fields smartly did not force a throw to any of his three receivers who ran to the sticks, deciding instead to throw to running back Najee Harris in the flat. When Harris caught the ball, he was about halfway between the numbers and the near sideline with linebacker E.J. Speed the nearest Colts defender about 10 yards away.

Harris got to the 40-yard line and tried to cut back toward the field instead of getting out of bounds to stop the clock. Speed tackled Harris, and although both players landed out of bounds, because Speed's tackle sent Harris backward, the side judge spun his right arm to keep the clock running. The entire Colts' sideline erupted in celebration as the Steelers had to sprint back to get set for a hurried fourth-and-11, which was snapped with 37 seconds on the clock. The play had little chance of success; safety Julian Blackmon dropped an interception that didn't matter as the Steelers turned the ball over on downs.

"That's something we practice all the time, so I was just taking my practice to the field," Speed said. "We practice that every week, two-minute drill and keeping somebody in bounds. ... Just tackle him backwards and they'll run the clock."

Speed finished Week 4 with 13 tackles, and he now has 47 on the season – tied for the NFL lead with teammate Nick Cross. Dating back to 2023, Speed has eight consecutive games with 10 or more tackles, tied with Hall of Famer Zach Thomas for the NFL's longest streak since tackles became an official statistic in 1987. But it was Speed's 13th and final tackle that proved critical in nailing down the Colts' second win of the 2024 season.

"That was a heads up play by EJ just understanding where he was on the sideline," Blackmon said. "Those are things we practice every week. So it was great for him to do that and for him to make the plays we're used to seeing him make."