All of a sudden, Philip Rivers is throwing deep!

Philip Rivers had been one of the NFL’s more risk-averse quarterbacks this season, but he’s starting to turn it loose.

In the Colts’ 27-20 win over the Texans last week, the highlight play for Indianapolis quarterback Philip Rivers was a 41-yard deep pass to receiver T.Y. Hilton.

Why was this play notable? Because coming into that game, Rivers had been more risk-averse than at any other time in his career.

Through the first nine weeks of the season, only Derek Carr, Lamar Jackson, and Jared Goff had fewer deep passing attempts (20-plus air yards) than Philip Rivers in his first season with the Colts. Rivers was playing mostly quick game in Frank Reich’s offense, and he’d completed just 13 of 27 deep attempts for 372 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.1.

From Weeks 10-14, Rivers tied with Goff for the NFL’s fewest deep attempts with just 14, completing seven of those passes for 205 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 105.7. So, a bit better in quality, but about the same in quantity. And as Rivers averaged 2.30 seconds from snap to throw, per Pro Football Focus (only Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady have released the ball more quickly per attempt), you could say that the Reich-Rivers combination has been fairly reductive when it comes to the deep passing game.

As Rivers said after the Houston game, it was less a physical than a mental issue, as much as everyone wanted to throw dirt on his ability to create velocity.

“We’ve had him running down the middle a few times,” Rivers said after the game, regarding the connections downfield to Hilton. “One that comes to mind is against the Jets or Bengals that I didn’t throw just because there was a little uncertainty. I can say yes but not necessarily, but yeah. I think just each rep, each day that builds you build more and more comfortable together, all of us. That was obviously a huge play after getting backed up there. That was a big-time drive. Everybody contributed.”

Against the Steelers on Sunday, Rivers was confident enough to turn it loose in more constrained coverage than the Texans presented when they assigned linebacker Tyrell Williams to cover Hilton (one of the NFL’s fastest receivers) 40 yards downfield. On this 42-yard touchdown to receiver Zach Pascal, Rivers used his quick release and impressive juice on the ball to sink the ball over the head of Pittsburgh cornerback Joe Haden.

If the deep ball remains a key cog in Indianapolis’ offense, it’s tough to pinpoint a discernible weakness on this team heading into the postseason. They have a 21-7 lead on the Steelers at the half.