FOXBOROUGH, Ma. – All offseason, whenever you'd ask someone within the walls of the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center why they believed in second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, the conversation inevitably would steer toward Week 4 of the 2023 No. 4 overall pick's rookie year.

Did you see that Rams game?

Richardson erased a 23-point deficit in the second half, throwing for two touchdowns, running in another and hitting a pair of two-point conversions to send that game to overtime. The Rams eventually won. But the impression Richardson left from that game was indelible: As long as No. 5 is out there, we have a chance to win no matter the circumstances.

Maybe the start of the 2024 season was rockier than expected. But since returning from his two-game benching, Richardson has proven what he did against the Rams as a rookie was no fluke. He's now led a pair of last-second game-winning drives in the fourth quarter of road games against the New York Jets and, on Sunday, the New England Patriots. Both times, he's used his six-foot-4, 244 pound frame to punish opposing defenders as he crossed the goal line.

There would be no denying Richardson on his game-winning touchdown run against the Jets or his game-winning two-point plunge against the Patriots. And there's no denying how the Colts' locker room feels about their starting quarterback as they hit their bye week following Sunday's 25-24 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

"To be able to go into the bye with a win, with Anthony playing outstanding, that's encouraging," linebacker Zaire Franklin said."When you know you got a guy at quarterback, you always got a chance. And I think Anthony's showing us that, and I think we just gotta continue to grow and keep getting better as a team."

Week 13 may not have been Richardson's best game as a pro from start to finish. He had two turnovers in another box score Rorschach test, at least for those who only formulate takes off the box score: 12/24, 109 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and nine carries for 48 yards with another touchdown. Digging a little deeper: He had to work through a handful of dropped passes, and he still hasn't been sacked since early in the third quarter of Week 11 – a span of 28 dropbacks when he's been under pressure, per Pro Football Focus.

But the collective mistakes of an offense fall on the quarterback. It's Richardson's responsibility to be resilient through them. Against the Jets, and then against the Patriots, he absolutely was.

"I think just to his credit, even thinking back to last year, even if he struggled throughout the game on different things, when we've gotten in those moments where we need to put together quick drives at the end of games and different things like that, I think he's excelled in those moments," tight end Mo Alie-Cox said. "He did a good job literally that whole drive — I mean, we dropped two passes and he still came back, didn't get down, led us the rest of the drive and we finished it out."

Even facing three do-or-die fourth downs on that 19-play drive – which came after Richardson threw his second interception – teammates noticed Richardson's poise, the kind of thing that the other 10 players on the field need to feel when they break the huddle.

"I think just his confidence – it's up and down but he never wavers, his confidence in the huddle," center Danny Pinter said. "You always know that next play could be the one. And it's just that next play mentality, and that's contagious to everyone and everyone just has confidence in the huddle."

The Colts' first two fourth quarter drives ended with a three-and-out punt and an interception, with the Patriots taking the lead in between them. Yet Richardson was still able to find a way to manufacture the game-winning drive over about five minutes and 19 critical plays.

"I think it shows the resiliency that he has even through some of those situations," head coach Shane Steichen said. "A 19-play drive, holy smokes, that's big time to go down there and score with little to no time on the clock to get the victory."

Richardson's resiliency, poise and toughness aren't just noticed by the Colts' offense. Team leaders on a veteran-laden defense see it, too, and are drawing motivation from it.

"He's willing to put it all on the line for his team, for his teammates," defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. "If QB1 can do that, why can't everybody else?"

Steichen echoed Buckner's sentiment.

"It kinda sends a message to everyone — the toughness, the resilience he's playing with has been phenomenal," Steichen said. "So we gotta keep that thing going. We got a four-game season coming up."

Over that four-game season, the Colts will learn if they have what it takes to not only make the playoffs, but be a legitimate contender in January. There's plenty of work to do after Week 14's bye. But when the Colts do get back to work, they'll do so believing Richardson can absolutely be a driver of this team's success going forward.

"When you got one at quarterback, you got a shot," Franklin said, pausing for a beat before finishing his point.

"We got a shot."