The Steelers took another step toward righting the ship Thursday when they beat the Colts comfortably. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.
The Steelers put together a pretty commanding performance in Indianapolis that brought their record back into winning territory. Both Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown had great games. Ladarius Green showed what he can do. The defense had sacks and takeaways, not to mention a pair of goal line stops. Good showing from Pittsburgh.
1st Quarter
The Steelers began with a forced fumble from a blitzing William Gay sacking the QB. The Colts recoverd by the way. They ended up punting anyway. The Steelers took a stark difference. Le’Veon Bell ran for a first down. Then Eli Rogers pulled in a 30 yard pass. Bell finished it off with a 5 yard touchdown run. Pittsburgh up 7-0.
The Colts answered with a strong drive. Tolzien, who was in for Luck this week, threw to Allen for 13 yards. Shortly after that, another deep pass to T.Y. Hilton for 18 yards. Another pass to Allen got them within a yard of a first down at the Pittsburgh 29 but James Harrison had a sack and the Colts had to kick. They missed the kick.
The Steelers had the ball back and Le’Veon Bell, in a few plays, brought them to the Colts 25 yard line. Finally, Brown got the six when he brought in a 25 yard touchdown pass. Pittsburgh up 14-0.
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2nd Quarter
Following a 43 yard kick return by Todman the Colts stalled out. They were resurrected though by a fake punt where punter McAfee completed a 35 yard pass. Tolzien threw it to Moncrief in the endzone and the Colts were on the board. Pittsburgh up 14-7.
The Steelers now were chipping away up the field when an offensive pass interference call pushed them back. But Ladarius Green saved the drive with a 32 yard catch. Brown again finished the drive with a 33 yard touchdown catch along the sideline. Pittsburgh up 21-7.
The Colts took it back and went three and out. Then the Steelers, again getting penalized, went three and out as well.
With the ball back in their hands the Colts put together a first down. Then a roughing the passer call pushed them further up the field for another. A deep pass to T.Y. Hilton brought them to the Steelers 2 yard line, however Hilton was injured and left the game. Gore was stuffed twice. Then Tolzien once. Finally an incomplete pass led to turnover on downs and a goal line stop for Pittsburgh.
3rd Quarter
The Steelers started off with the ball and a combination of runs and short passes, most involving Le’Veon Bell, got them to mid-field. They ended up having to punt though.
The Colts chipped away until they got a first down. Then young Javon Hargrave got a sack. But a 16 yard pass to Dorsett saved the drive. Gore and Turbin pushed it up the field another 25 yards on the ground. Then Tolzien took over with short and mid-range passes, culminating in a 12 yard pass to Allen that got them to the 6 yard line. But again, 3 stuffed runs plus 1 incomplete pass equals a goal line stop.
4th Quarter
With the Steelers leading by two scores and being on their own 1 yard line they turned to Le’Veon Bell to pull them out. He ran until they were out to the 24 and then penalty, leading to a punt. The Colts didn’t have it for long though. After moving the ball 30 yards on passes to Doyle and Moncrief Tolzien threw it a little short and into the hand of a plays named Mike Mitchell. Steelers ball.
Ladarius Green again pulled in a long pass for 35 yards. Then a couple Le’Veon Bell runs just for fun and Antonio Brown for his third touchdown off a 22 yard pass. Pittsburgh up 28-7.
The Colts took over with five and a half minutes to score 3 touchdowns. While they did make a couple 3rd down conversions on Moncrief and Dorsett catches, it ended with a William Gay interception. The Steelers ate up most of what was left on the clock and the time ran out with the Colts holding the ball.
Next: Steelers at Colts: Five Questions with the Enemy
As Le’Veon Bell said after the game, “We’ve been playing a lot better.” Coming off their second win in 5 days after enduring 4 straight losses, a few to middling opponents at best, the Steelers are starting to look good again. They’re back over .500 and they play the Giants in New York next and have plenty of time to prepare.
All stats via NFL.com