INDIANAPOLIS – From nearly the moment Anthony Richardson’s perfectly placed pass nestled into the hands of wide receiver Alec Pierce for a 60-yard touchdown in the season opener against the Houston Texans, opponents have been hyper focused on taking the deep throw away from the Indianapolis Colts.

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins added a new wrinkle to the evergreen shell coverage game plan.

Using a variety of blitzes and disguises, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver generated pressure on 60% of Richardson’s 24 drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats.

That’s a career-high pressure percentage for Richardson, and he was under “quick pressure” – defined as pressure arriving under 2.5 seconds – on 40% of his drop backs.

The 22-year-old quarterback struggled to find his targets during the chaos, completing just 10 of 24 passes for 129 yards and a 59.2 rating.

But he wasn’t sacked and somehow was only hit four times inside the pocket.

“Look, they were coming off a bye week, and so they had – we saw one unscouted look that they brought that they got us on,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said during his weekly Monday video conference call. “But I think Anthony did a hell of a job not taking the sacks. I think that kind of goes unnoticed a lot of times.”

The pressure can’t explain away all of Richardson’s struggles against Miami.

His 50.6% completion rate entering the game was the lowest among NFL starters, and he was just 4-of-9 for 48 yards against the Dolphins when Next Gen Stats deemed he was passing from a clean pocket.

Those numbers must improve significantly for Indianapolis (4-3) to have any hope of moving the chains consistently.

But there were flashes of Richardson’s rare potential.

He evaded the pressure long enough on one first-quarter play – that didn’t count in the final tally – to launch a jump ball Pierce caught for a 27-yard gain at Miami’s 1-yard line.

But the play was nullified by off-setting penalties – illegal formation against the offense and defensive pass interference despite Pierce’s toe-tap grab.

Richardson also rushed 14 times for 56 yards – setting a season high for carries and tying a season high for yards – including a 22-yard gain to convert on third-and-10 in the first quarter.

“I think it just gets everybody fired up,” left tackle Bernhard Raimann said of the quarterback’s rushing ability. “I mean, we’ve known this … ever since he got here, but it just shows up on the field over and over again that he cares so much about this team, about winning football games.

“… It just gets you fired up more to get your blocks better just because Anthony is going to make the most out of it. Even if he has a tiny gap to squeeze through or something, he’s going to make it, and he’s going to give it his all.”

BLOCK PARTY

Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. didn’t make a game-winning touchdown catch for the second straight week, but he did have the game’s longest gain with a 33-yard reception to help set up a Matt Gay field goal just before halftime.

Pittman – still playing with a significant back injury – finished with three catches for 63 yards, but one of his largest contributions won’t show up in the box score.

With the Colts facing third-and-4 at Miami’s 30-yard line with 3:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, Pittman dug out 6-foot-3, 254-pound linebacker Chop Robinson to help spring Richardson for an 8-yard gain.

The first down allowed Indianapolis to drain nearly two additional minutes off the clock before kicking a field goal for the final margin of victory.

“It was the block of the game,” Steichen said. “(Offensive coordinator) Jim Bob (Cooter) showed it in the offensive team meeting this morning. It was a unique look because we motioned the back out and then (Robinson) widened out, and I was like – we’re on the sideline, I’m like, ‘This ain’t going to be good.’

“And then all of a sudden, he came back into his spot that he needed to be at, somewhat needed to be at, and then Pitt got him pinned to get around the edge. I mean, it was a big-time play by Pitt to get that thing sealed, to get that third-and-4 for sure.”

FLEX SCHEDULE

Indianapolis’ Nov. 3 road game against the Minnesota Vikings has been flexed to an 8:20 p.m. kickoff and will be broadcast on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”

ROSTER MOVE

The Colts again re-signed kicker Spencer Shrader to the practice squad Monday and released running back Trent Pennix from the practice squad.

INJURY REPORT

Steichen said rookie linebacker Jaylon Carlies (ankle) “is going to miss some time” after being injured in Sunday’s victory.

The head coach is “optimistic” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (ankle) – who has been on injured reserve for five weeks – will be able to return to practice this week and “very optimistic” running back Jonathan Taylor (ankle) will be able to practice after a three-week absence.