The Pittsburgh Steelers were back in primetime on Monday night. They traveled west to take on the Indianapolis Colts. Steeler Nation was in full force as plenty of terrible towels were being waved throughout the game. Pittsburgh jumped out to a comfortable lead by halftime, but Indianapolis battled back to take the lead. The Steelers would score the only points in the fourth quarter, which would be enough to earn the win.
The only points scored in the first quarter came off the foot of Pittsburgh kicker Matthew Wright. His first of three field goals on the night would be good from 45yds out. Wright would also get the scoring started in the second with a 52yd field goal less than a minute into the quarter. Less than seven minutes later, Najee Harris would rush for a 6yd touchdown to put his team up thirteen. The Colts collected three points on a Chase McLaughlin 51yd FG, that was answered by Wright who booted a 25yd field goal.
The third quarter was all Indianapolis, as it looked like they would make a run to take this game. Jonathan Taylor scored on a 2yd run to cut the Steelers lead to six. The Colts took the lead prior to the quarter ending when Matt Ryan threw a 6yd touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr. Pittsburgh struck in the fourth quarter on a 2yd run by Benny Snell Jr. A two-point conversion pass from Kenny Pickett to George Pickens made it a seven-point difference.
This was a matchup of two bad teams, which is why it was a fairly close game. Pickett managed to go 20-28 on the night, but for just 174yds. Snell was the leading rusher for the Steelers with 62yds. Harris left the game with an abdominal injury and was limited to just 35yds rushing. Pickens had 57yd receiving to lead the team on the night. Diontae Johnson caught five passes for 49yds, but had a key drop in the endzone.
On the defensive side of the ball Arthur Maulet, Terrell Edmunds, and Alex Highsmith each collected a sack, with Maulet leading the team with ten total tackles. The defense also created two turnovers that were key to victory.
A win is always good, but nothing from this game showed any signs of improvement moving forward, aside from no turnovers. The offense is still predictable, with a shotty run game and less than stellar passing attack. The defense had a “bend, but don’t break” mentality for three quarters, but were gashed heavily in the third. Which is when Indianapolis did their most damage. Next week is another road game, this time with the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta has a 5-7 record, so this could be another close game. Let’s hope that Pittsburgh is on the right side of that one as well.
Overall Record 4-7
