Shane Steichen on Michael Pittman, Jr. after the Colts hard-won victory over Tennessee: "Toughest guy I've ever been around."

He only caught three passes for 35 years, but his two massive fourth-quarter plays made all the difference.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There’s tough, there’s really tough, and then there’s Michael Pittman, Jr. This is the kind of player you can count upon in difficult times, the kind of player who wins you games like Sunday’s gritty 20-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans. His sort of toughness – he was supposed to miss not only this game, but several with a back injury until deciding Thursday to play – is the kind that resonates with other players.

Josh Downs, who has himself dealt with an injured toe in recent weeks, put it best.

“When you see what he’s willing to play through, it sends a message to everybody,” said Downs, who had seven catches on nine targets and 66 yards. He also returned four punts for a 16.8 yard average. “You think, if Pitt can play, why can’t I?”

Flacco, whose lofted prayer against zero coverage was answered by Pittman, has learned in short order that his wide receiver is made of sterner stuff. All football players are tough, but Pittman is tough. Like, if there’s a chance he can play, he’s going to play. Period.

“I’ve only been here, what, six weeks and he’s one of the toughest players I’ve played with,” Flacco said. “…I mean, when you have guys like that, you can go a long way. Those are the kinds of guys you need to have to play winning football…Anytime you have a guy like that, it’s like having…that father figure. You don’t want to disappoint them…So you have that expectation like, `Hey, this guy does it. I need to do it.’ ”

It was Pittman’s fourth-quarter touchdown catch, along with a late-game reception that earned the Colts a massive first down on their final clock-killing drive, that made all the difference in a defense-dominant game. The guy with the bad back leaped early and snatched the ball from the sky, snared it from safety L’Jairius Sneed on the touchdown play. Jump ball. My ball.

“So that’s why I had to jump before him (Sneed) because I didn’t really jump that high,” Pittman said with a smile. “I just kind of jumped on him (Sneed) but yeah, like learning to work through it and just kind of cheat a little bit. Because Julian Blackmon kind of did that to me in training camp where he jumped first and kind of put that elbow on me and it made me look really bad.”

Flacco has an ordinary if serviceable game– 22-of-38 for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception-– but made just enough plays to beat a bad Tennessee team that just so happens to have a very stout defense.

Pittman had a quiet afternoon for three-plus quarters, making one catch for nine yards. But he owned the fourth quarter. There was the TD pass on a third-and-9 at the Titans’ 10-yard line, Flacco floating a ball off his back foot that was snared out of the air. Then, on a second-and-10 from the Colts’ 20-yard line, Flacco hit a heavily covered Pittman, who again grabbed the ball from a reaching Sneed. That allowed Indy to milk the clock and Tennessee didn’t get it back until just 17 seconds remained. (Big credit to Rigoberto Sanchez, who dropped a 57-yard punt that acted like a pitching wedge and pulled up at the 3-yard line.)