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INDIANAPOLIS — It was just a 10-yard completion, easy to overlook in the wake of a record-setting rushing day and easy to dismiss as one of just 11 pass attempts throughout the Indianapolis Colts’ 38-30 victory Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. But Anthony Richardson’s third-and-8 pass to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. just after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter was pivotal to holding off the visitors’ late rally. If the Colts were forced to punt in that situation, a defense that had allowed touchdowns on three consecutive drives — of 70, 55 and 71 yards — would be back on the field with tremendous pressure to prevent the game going to overtime. Richardson was cold and out of rhythm. He’d been sacked on his most recent pass attempt — on third-and-9 with 6:51 remaining — and he hadn’t gotten a pass off since throwing an incompletion intended for wide receiver Josh Downs at the 11:20 mark. With the dual-threat quarterback and running back Jonathan Taylor combining for 270 of Indianapolis’ single-game franchise-record 335 rushing yards, Richardson had not completed a pass since the 8:33 mark of the third quarter, and he was just 1-for-2 in the second half. Still, he was calm and composed on the crucial third down — hitting Pittman on a simple out pattern to move the chains and keep the clock moving. When the Colts finally did punt the ball back to Tennessee, there were only three seconds remaining for the Titans to work with, It was a forgettable play in the grand scheme of the game, but it was also the most recent evidence of the 22-year-old quarterback’s ability to raise his level of play in the clutch. He’s 3-2 as a starter since taking the role back from veteran Joe Flacco, and the other two victories featured game-winning touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. “I think that’s a special trait — obviously as a young player — that he doesn’t flinch in those times, to lead those comebacks,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “Obviously, the (New York) Jets, the New England (Patriots) game, I mean, those are big-time drives to go win games. “You want that out of young players, especially (when) you see the veteran guys do it around the league all the time, but to do it as a young player speaks volumes of the person that he is.” Despite Richardson’s up-and-down season, Indianapolis has maintained steadfast belief in his potential. Even when he was benched for Flacco, the organization repeatedly stated it was not giving up on the quarterback as its future leader. There’s still plenty of work to be done. Richardon has completed just 47.7% of his passes, and he’s thrown 12 interceptions in 11 starts. His rushing ability again was evident Sunday, and he’s set franchise single-season records for a quarterback with 499 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. And he has proven his big-play ability with a league-leading 14.4 yards per completion. The Colts still believe improved consistency will come with increased reps, and they hold out hope the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft can still become the long-term answer at the game’s most important position. For now, Richardson’s late-game heroics offer the most compelling argument in his favor. “I think it’s just me just playing all the way until the clock hits zero,” Richardson said of his mindset. “I never think about fourth quarter moments or anything like that. I just try to play until the game’s over. And it just happens sometimes that most of it happens in the fourth quarter. So I just try to play through the whistle and just play through the whole game.” After rushing for 218 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans – both the second-highest single-game totals of his career – Taylor has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. It was a major bounce-back performance after Taylor’s unforced fumble just short of the goal line cost the Colts dearly in a pivotal loss against the Denver Broncos a week prior. “It’s always exciting to see that dude just do what he does,” Richardson said. “It’s fascinating, honestly, just to see him hit a gap and just take it to the house. It’s just amazing, especially thinking about what happened in the Denver game. It honestly like wiped my mind. I wasn’t even thinking about it until people were talking about him coming back and having the game he did. “It’s like ‘OK, that’s the type of player he is, the type of person he is.’ He always wants to do better for the team and for himself. And just to see him do that and get what he did on Sunday is just a blessing.” The Colts officially signed right guard Mark Glowinski to the 53-man roster Tuesday after he’d been called up for game day in each of the past three weeks. Guard Antonio Mafi was re-signed to the practice squad after being released from the 53-man roster Monday.Even with access to blockbuster obesity drugs, some people don't lose weight
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WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about one hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,447 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 28 flights canceled. Aviation analytics company Cirium said Dallas-Fort Worth and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw the greatest number of delays. Washington, New York, Chicago and Miami experienced considerably fewer delays. Significant rain and snow was expected in the Pacific Northwest at least into Christmas Day. Showers and thunderstorms were developing in the South. Freezing rain was reported in the Mid-Atlantic region near Baltimore and Washington, and snow was falling in New York. Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. And any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions. That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have “interline agreements” that let them put stranded customers on another carrier’s flights. This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them. Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. That’s because finding a last-minute flight on another airline tends to be expensive. Just before 7 a.m. Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported technical trouble affecting its entire system. American said in an email that the problem was caused by a vendor technology issue that “impacted systems needed to release flights.” An airline spokesperson said Tuesday was not a peak travel day for the airline — with about 2,000 fewer flights than the busiest days — so the airline has somewhat of a buffer to manage the delays. Cirium said American had 3,320 domestic flights scheduled for Tuesday, and 581 international departures from or returning to the U.S. from abroad. The groundings happened as millions of travelers were expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers through Jan. 2. Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up. About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA. “Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday,” AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state. Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation’s highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic. Boston, New York City, Seattle and Washington are the metropolitan areas primed for the greatest delays, according to the company. —— Associated Press writers David Koenig, Mae Anderson and Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.
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