At one point Sunday afternoon, the directive for the Colts became clear: If we're going to win, we're going to win ugly.

The Colts went three-and-out on half of their dozen possessions. They converted just four of 13 third down attempts. Quarterback Anthony Richardson, in his first start since Week 4, completed 10 of 24 passes.

And the Colts still won, 16-10, on Sunday over the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium, improving to 4-3 and setting up a critical AFC South game next weekend against the Houston Texans (5-2) at NRG Stadium.

"The games the last two weeks haven't been pretty, but you can see the growth in our team," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "You can see the resiliency in our team on both sides of the ball, and I think that's what it takes to win."

In 2023, the Colts learned how to win ugly over sub-par competition – think in Weeks 9 and 10 against the Carolina Panthers (27-13) and New England Patriots (10-6) – before going finding their groove in November and going on a run that nearly ended with an AFC South title. Style points don't matter in the NFL; they certainly don't matter while a team develops its identity in the first half of a season. The goal for the Colts is to coalesce as a team and start playing their best football in November, December and January.

Through that lens, wins like the one the Colts had against the Dolphins matter now for how it looked, but for, above all else, the result.

"At the end of the day, you look back at the end of the season and you say, 'Oh, we won the game.' Whatever, 16-10, you found a way to win," head coach Shane Steichen said. "That's what was most important."

The Colts know there's plenty they, collectively, need to do better moving forward to develop into a legit playoff contender in the AFC. But the point here is, at 4-3, the Colts have a chance to not only improve, but make those improvements count. Not every team can say that at this point in a season – and things would be a lot different for the Colts if they were 2-5 at this point.

"The season's still early," Franklin said. "I still don't think we know who the good and bad teams is yet. It's a week by week league, we just gotta keep making plays to help us win games."

On Sunday, those plays largely came from the Colts' defense.

Linebacker Segun Olubi's recovery of his own forced fumble, and an ensuing 18-yard, Tecmo Bowl-esque dash after it, set up a short field for the Colts to knock in a game-tying touchdown on a Tyler Goodson rush in the third quarter. Later in the third quarter, Franklin knocked the ball out of running back Raheem Mostert's grasp deep in Colts territory, keeping Miami off the scoreboard in a critical moment.

Defensive tackles Grover Stewart and Taven Bryan, the latter of whom recovered Franklin's forced fumble, came up with massive plays as the afternoon went on. Bryan stuffed fullback Alec Ingold on a third-and-one with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter; kicker Jason Sanders' game-tying field goal attempt doinked off the left upright from 54 yards out.

Less noticeable but just as important was the work the Colts' secondary did against Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and the Dolphins' passing attack. Hill did not record a reception until Miami's final drive – an eight-yard gain – and he and Waddle combined for two catches for 19 yards. The Dolphins, even while digging deep into their quarterback depth chart with Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle, were either unwilling or unable to force the ball to two of the league's most dynamic receivers in critical moments.

For Hill, his one catch for eight yards represented his lowest output since joining the Dolphins in 2022; it was Waddle's second-worst game of his career, barely edging out a one-catch, nine-yard showing against the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.

"Credit to Gus (Bradley) and the defense for not allowing the big explosives to those guys because those guys are as explosive as they get," Steichen said. "So, great job by our defense."

On offense, Richardson completed four of his five pass attempts in the fourth quarter and rushed five times for 10 yards, including a gain of eight on a high leverage third-and-four from the Dolphins' 30-yard line (wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. helped open the hole for Richardson by digging out edge rusher Chop Robinson, Miami's first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft). Running back Trey Sermon, earlier in the fourth quarter, was hit in the backfield by Robinson, slipped past the rookie and turned what could've been a loss of a couple yards into an 11-yard gain.

Plays like those were all the Colts needed to hold off Miami on Sunday. This team also understands 16 points likely won't cut it as they hit a gauntlet stretch of their 2024 schedule: Week 8 at Houston (5-2), Week 9 at Minnesota (5-1), Week 10 vs. Buffalo (5-2), Week 11 at New York (2-4, but with Davante Adams and Haason Reddick) and Week 12 vs. Detroit (5-1).

For now, though, Sunday's effort was good enough. It'll have to improve against these next five opponents, who have a combined record of 22-10. But the Colts, at 4-3, have a chance to play better and then make that better play count as a part of the AFC playoff race.

"Shoot, we've got to be better, I've got to be better," Steichen said. "But we found a way to win the game and that's what matters.

"There's room to grow. That's the good sign, is that we haven't played our best ball yet. We haven't put the whole complete package together. But again, like I said into October, we've got to start hitting our strides here coming up."