'If the guy's open, throw it to him': How Joe Flacco stepped in at quarterback for Colts

INDIANAPOLIS -- His nickname is Joe Cool . He's an 18-year NFL veteran and a Super Bowl champion.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco has experienced everything a quarterback can see on the field, first as a starter with the Baltimore Ravens and then as a backup with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns.

Big moments won’t rattled him, but even Flacco isn't immune to the burst of adrenaline a backup receives when the starter limps off the field as Anthony Richardson did in the first quarter Sunday.

"I'm glad I'm not wearing some kind of heart rate monitor," Flacco said with a smirk. "I would not want you guys to see what happens to it in that situation."

If Flacco's heart was beating out his chest, he certainly appeared cool and collected to the naked eye. In his first regular season action with the Colts , Flacco steadied the Colts passing attack. The veteran signal caller finished 16-of-26 for 168 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Backups receive little if any practice reps during the week. Flacco said he's able to succeed coming off the bench by keeping things simple: See the open guy and throw it to him.

"You can't overthink it," Flacco said. "It's football, and I think everybody's personality is a little bit different. Some guys love to think about every little thing and everything that can go right, everything that can go wrong, and that's how they play best. That's how they stay locked in.

"I think my personality probably lends itself decent to this type of situation, because it's like, don't overthink it. Don't overdo it. It's just a game of football. Go out there if the guy’s open, throw it to him and hit him."

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Flacco's first completion of the game was a short pass to Jonathan Taylor for 10 yards. After a 6-yard Taylor run, Richardson re-entered the game for two plays and left again with a hip injury. Flacco is a steady experienced presence, but playing in the red zone is the hardest place for a non-mobile quarterback to operate. Without the threat of keeping the ball on a read-option play, the Steelers swarmed to Taylor stuffing him for 1 yard, setting up a 3rd and goal from the 4-yard line.

Without the benefit of practice reps, Flacco looked calm in the pocket, staring down the Steelers rush and firing a sidearm pass to Josh Downs with perfect timing just as he broke inside on his route for a touchdown. Flacco's second touchdown pass iced the game.

From just outside the red zone early in the fourth quarter, Flacco once again stood strong in the pocket as the Steelers barreled toward him. He showed just enough mobility to step up in the pocket, buying time to find a wide-open Drew Ogletree for a 15-yard score.

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"He's a veteran presence," Colts coach Shane Steichen said. "Obviously, he's played a lot of football, went in there and operated pretty darn good and threw two touchdowns. (He) moved the offense up and down the field and did a nice job for us."

Flacco showed a strong rapport with Downs. Downs finished with eight catches for 82 yards and a score. The second-year wideout did well finding holes in the Pittsburgh defense and Flacco put the ball in his chest. Michael Pittman Jr. produced his first 100-yard game of the season catching six passes for 113 yards. More than 50 of those yards come on two completions from Richardson, but Flacco also peppered Pittman with passes on the perimeter.

In a perfect world, Flacco doesn't see the field again this season. But in a contact sport like football, his services will probably be needed again. At this point in his career Flacco is the complete opposite of Richardson stylistically, but he's proving to be the perfect fit to enter in relief and pull out a W.

"I think everybody came up big. That's what you've got to do," Flacco said. "When you're me and you kind of come in and you get thrown into a situation, you just trust your guys to do the right thing and see what happens in the end."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'If the guy's open, throw it to him': How Joe Flacco stepped in at quarterback for Colts