The reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated. Michael Pittman wasn’t Mark Twain on Sunday, but he did rewrite his midweek narrative by catching a go-ahead touchdown pass from Joe Flacco in the Colts’ 20-17 win at Tennessee.
“He just showed up,” said head coach Shane Steichen after the game. “Like I said, the toughest guy I’ve ever been around and when we needed a play, he made the big-time play there on third down.”
That big-time play wasn’t Pittman’s 10-yard jump-ball touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter. It was a clutch, 16-yard catch with 2:12 remaining in the game. The first down allowed the Colts to run the ball on the next play and force the Titans (1-4) to take their final timeout.
“We were in the situation where we had to throw the ball there,” Steichen said, “because of the two-minute warning and obviously we had to play a little bit there and to hit him on the little crossing route there on the little naked play, coming up big. And just a credit to him and his toughness.”
His toughness that produced those fourth-quarter catches followed reports earlier in the week that Pittman would miss multiple games with a back injury. But Pittman made the trip after returning to practice this week and pushed the Colts to 3-3, two games behind the first-place Texans (5-1) in the AFC South.
And the Colts’ win was even more significant because it was a division game. Tennessee entered looking for a street fight and held serve most of the game, especially after Tony Pollard’s 23-yard touchdown run gave the Titans a 17-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.
But Flacco, making his second straight start for an injured Anthony Richardson (oblique), guided the Colts to 10 fourth-quarter points and the Indianapolis defense played complementary football. With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Will Levis held the ball too long, allowing Colts free safety Julian Blackmon the time needed to intercept a deep pass. Levis leads the NFL with 10 turnovers.
Flacco has played remarkably well over the last three games in relief of Richardson. The savvy veteran has compiled a 102.2 passer rating over that stretch, with 716 passing yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception.
Indianapolis hosts Miami (2-3) next week.
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