1. Anthony Richardson and the Colts' offense can learn plenty from the film.

Richardson completed seven of eight passes for 65 yards with a touchdown on the Colts' game-opening drive, but over his final four possessions he went one-of-six for 21 yards with a pick six and fumble.

Neither Richardson nor head coach Shane Steichen, though, sounded particularly worried about those final four drives being indicative of anything beyond some fixable mistakes.

"Offensively, that first drive was awesome," Steichen said. "... I'll go back and look at the tape. Some stuff to teach off those next couple drives, but it was great to get everyone out there and get them running around."

The Colts have 16 days to learn from the good and bad of their entire preseason, which began four weeks ago at Grand Park in Westfield, before opening the 2024 regular season against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. And let's not forget why there's a preseason in the first place: It's an opportunity to test things out, learn from mistakes and get on the same page as your teammates before a touchdown or a pick-six has an outcome on a game that matters.

"It has been great to see his growth more than anything," Steichen said of Richardson. "Getting in the OTAs, going into training camp, getting that series in the first preseason game, then getting out there and playing a good amount tonight — it was great. Again, excited. We're 17 days away from Houston, so we've got some work to do before we get there, but we're fired up for it.

"... He's played what, four-and-a-half games? To get out there and be his first full season, which we're looking forward to, I just go back to his playmaking ability. He'll make some huge plays for us this year. I think it's going to be awesome and fun to watch."

2. Alec Pierce, again, put some good things on tape.

Pierce caught two passes for 31 yards to cap an impressive preseason, and not just for the explosive, flashy plays he made at times in practice. The third-year wide receiver started camp strong and never faded, which was not a coincidence for a player whose goal was to be consistent in the lead-up to the 2024 regular season.

"I think I've had a good training camp," Pierce said. "I've tried to be working on my consistency, basically to kind of bring up the level of the bad days — like never truly have a day where it was like, 'ah, he wasn't great today.'

"I know my type of game, I know I'm going to have good days where I make big plays but other days might not make the big play, but trying to bring that up and not have a, 'oh, I had a good day today,' and then kind of lose a little focus. I was trying to always be consistent, wipe the last day from my memory and attack each day like a new day."

Early in camp, Pierce said he had a few good days before going into a practice feeling like he was a little banged up. But instead of downshifting and looking forward to the next day's off day, he kept his focus on the present and making the most of every opportunity he had.

That consistency then showed in Pierce making plays on more than deep shots and 50/50 jump balls throughout camp. On Thursday, he created separation with a fluid cut over the middle to generate a 19-yard reception on Colts' first offensive play; later, he quickly turned for the ball when Richardson replaced a blitz and flipped a short pass into a 13-yard gain on third-and-10.

3. Laiatu Latu rushing next to DeForest Buckner should be fun to see in the regular season.

There's a caveat here, of course, that the Colts' first-team defense was going against a bunch of Bengals backups. But with Cincinnati facing a third-and-nine on their first possession, Buckner lined up over the left guard and Latu over the left tackle. At the snap, both went to work.

Buckner quickly gained leverage and collapsed the interior of the pocket around quarterback Logan Woodside, who was unable to step up. Latu hit a cross-chop on tackle Cody Ford and bent toward Woodside at the top of his rush. The Bengals' quarterback had nowhere to go, and Buckner and Latu both swiped at Woodside as he crumpled to the turf.

Latu was credited with the sack, his first as a professional.

"It's hard to block 9-9 himself," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "And you throw Latu out there, and then obviously with the other guys — Dayo (Odeyingbo), Kwity (Paye), Ty Lew (Tyquan Lewis), that front seven is something serious."

Seeing mauling pressure generated by the Colts' defensive line is nothing new – that's been consistent throughout training camp – but there've only been limited opportunities for those guys to get a real sack (instead of the whistle blowing in practice to protect the quarterback). Seeing it come to fruition on Thursday, even against second-stringers, was a nice marker ahead of the 2024 season.

4. Two quick thoughts on offense.

• A week after exclusively playing on the right side of the Colts' offensive line, rookie tackle Matt Goncalves and rookie guard Dalton Tucker played on the left side Thursday. Both did some good things in the run game, while second-year tackle Blake Freeland didn't allow a pressure in 27 pass-blocking snaps on the right side.
• Running back Evan Hull rushed for four first downs on nine carries, while running back Tyler Goodson ran the ball 13 times for 57 yards. We'll find out next Tuesday if Hull and/or Goodson are on the initial 53-man roster. "There will be some tough decisions to be made," Steichen said, "especially at running back."

5. Two quick thoughts on defense.

• Nick Cross primarily played deep free safety with Julian Blackmon at strong safety when the two were on the field together, and Cross got an extra series at strong safety when Blackmon exited the game. Maybe more important than defining a strong/free safety role for either is the versatility both players bring to the back end of Gus Bradley's defense, which could help vary and disguise more coverages this year. "If you're in a single-high safety look, you might have a motion where someone rotates back to the middle and becomes the free," Steichen said this week. "That's within the scheme of the defense. So those guys got to be ready to play in the box and play in the deep third."
• Rookie Jaylon Carlies was the Colts' third linebacker with their first-team defense on the field, notable given the fifth-round pick from Mizzou missed a chunk of training camp with an injury. The Colts aren't in base (three linebackers, four defensive backs) a whole lot, but Carlies clearly has done some good things to get a shot at being that third linebacker on Thursday.