INDIANAPOLIS -on a night in which both offenses struggled to keep momentum going however, it was Pittsburgh Steelers’ 11-play, 75-yard scoring run that spanned the final third quarter before the beginning of the fourth quarter that resulted in a 24-17 victory against Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
Pittsburgh rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett and the Steelers their ground game, and the Colts ineffective offensive play resulted in the 16-3 Steelers halftime lead. And even though the Colts made a comeback that briefly gave them a slight advantage but it wasn’t enough.
The Steelers (4-7) have won two of their last three games and they are the Colts (4-7-1) are down two games in the last three with interim head coach Jeff Saturday.
Pittsburgh Steelers
In the 2nd week in succession, the Steelers added points to the board in the early going and then watched their lead rapidly disappear with an uncharacteristic performance at half-time. However, this time the Steelers kept their cool to take the win. Before the game it was the case that Steelers were 0-6 at the end of their fourth quarter. The only team with more losses is they Rams (0-7) are losing more and no wins in the third quarter after trailing for three quarters of the season.
The Steelers lost their lead at halftime, after the defense surrendered the Colts 152 yards in the third quarter. Matt Ryan and the Colts as the Steelers did not play the ball. The same problems that caused problems for Steelers throughout the season also afflicted Steelers throughout the year cropped during the game red zone effectiveness, giving up large plays. However, this time it was the Steelers were able to hold off the Colts on fourth-and-3 to force the Colts to make a mistake in the downs area with just thirty seconds left to secure the victory.
QB breakdown: While Pickett was still having issues with his accuracy, missing an free George Pickens in the end zone, and didn’t get a touchdown at the end of the quarter in third, the rookie put into his most impressive performance, helping his team Steelers to a comeback in the fourth quarter. Pickett finished 20 of his 28 passes for 174 yards. In addition, he fired several lasers at crucial moments, such as on a two-point conversion for Pickens for a Steelers an advantage of 24-17. He also hit Diontae Johnson for an eight-yard gain on the second down, as the Colts were pursuing an attack, but remained calm during the stress. On the subsequent play was when he smacked Pat Freiermuth on the sideline for a 17-yard gain, allowing him to make third-and-six. The Steelers scored two moments later on Benny’s touchdown to extend their lead.
A troubling trend: After racking up the 232 yards and 16 first downs within the opening half, leading 16-3 and a 16-3 lead, the Steelers played just eight offenses in the final quarter, and only gained 18 yards. The Steelers did not get an initial down during the 3rd quarter but they were able to convert a third down through a massive pass by Pickett for George Pickens over the middle in the opening third quarter play. The offense slowed down and the defense, which was able to hold the Colts to just a few yards in the first quarter became tired losing the advantagealmost giving two touchdowns if were not for the Colts ball that was thrown close to the end line.
Silver lining: Leading running back Najee Harris with his third score in just two games during the first quarter, did not take part in the second quarter due to an abdominal injury sustained during the 2nd quarter. In the second quarter, the Steelers weren’t without reserves back Jaylen Warren who was out of action because of a hamstring strain, however, the running backs has stepped up Monday night. Anthony McFarland, active for the first time since the start of the season long, had 30 yards and six carries. Benny Snell Jr., typically a special-teams player, racked up 62 yards, and his score for the first time since season of 2020 with 12 runs. The Steelers had a total of 172 rushing yards, and averaged 4.8 yards per run -and have recorded two touchdowns on the rushing line in three consecutive games, the longest streak since their start in 2018. — Brooke Pryor
The stat that is not on the radar: Pickett has gone three consecutive games with no turnovers after committing nine turnovers in the initial five games.
Next game: Falcons on Sunday
Indianapolis Colts
A terrible first half and some baffling late-game clock management were the most lasting impressions for the Colts during this game. Indianapolis’s slow start was awe-inspiring. This was only the third occasion in a row that a team has been held to a mere or fewer yards during an first quarter of the season, with two of those incidents that involved Colts. Colts (they also had to do it in the game against The Patriots during Week 9). When the Colts were awake from their sleep they were in an 8-3 halftime deficit.
However, they rallied to grab an early lead of 17-16, but fell to pieces late. There will be some doubts about the Colts their approach to the final minute. They were faced with a fourth down against their Pittsburgh 37 with just two minutes left — which they converted , however they took 36 seconds to complete their second and first down plays. They had to make an unplanned third down, before having a timeout with just thirty seconds left. The Colts were held at fourth and.
The troubling thing is that even though the quarterback Matt Ryan was charged with the fumble, it appeared to be the running back Jonathan Taylor who erred on their mistake near the goal line at the end of the quarter. It’s part of Taylor’s problems with ball security this season. Taylor has a history of fumbling dating back to his days playing at University of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin, but this season, he’s had three fumbles across nine games. Taylor recorded four fumbles during 2021, however that was after a high of 332 carries. Taylor is on track to have more fumbles in 2022.
Breakdown of QB: Ryan faced constant stress during the first quarter and the Steelers pushing him to complete 53 percent on his drops. The result was that Ryan finished 5-13 passes, which accounted for 36 yards. The pressure diminished when the line of offense settled slightly in the second quarter which allowed Ryan to finish a total of 17 of 21 passes following the break. The Colts also managed to make some downfield passes by completing two 29-yard passes Michael Pittman Jr. and Jelani Woods.
Big game Big play Colts’ offensive struggles in the first quarter gave the impression that Indianapolis could be heading for an easy loss However, the backup defense back Dallis Flowers played his part by reversing the kickoff from the second quarter to 89 yards. This set the stage for the Taylor touchdown after four plays, but more important it was the boost that the Colts required on a night where yards were difficult to find. Flowers’ touchdown return was greater yards than Colts total yardage during their first quarter (71 yards). — Stephen Holder
The stats that are under the radar The Steelers have won eight consecutive games against. the Colts this is the second longest win streak of any team against. their Colts. They are second only to the Dolphins who have were able to win 14 straight games between 1980 and 1987.
Next game: Cowboys on Sunday
