Indianapolis, Indiana (PSF) — The boys in blue continued their home stand this week as they hosted the 3-7 Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. The Steelers came into the game leading the all-time series 26-6, and had also won the last seven matchups dating back to 2011, but the Colts were favored in this one by 2.5 points. 

The Colts lost this one 24-17. After receiving the opening kickoff, Pittsburgh quickly threatened to score, but were held to a 45-yard field goal. The Colts got off to a typical slow start, as Matt Ryan threw an interception on the second play of the first drive, then after forcing a punt, the Colts went 3-and-out. The Steelers responded with a long field goal that banked in off the upright, then the Colts went 3-and-out again. Pittsburgh finally were the first team to get into the end zone, as they drove 79 yards, helped by a long reception by George Pickens. Indianapolis finally got on the board with a 51-yard field goal, but the Steelers came right back with a chip shot of their own. With under a minute left in the first half, the Colts got into field goal position, but a 59-yard attempt was blocked as time expired. 

Dallis Flowers came out of the locker room and delivered exactly what the Colts needed: a spark. His 89-yard kickoff return set his squad up for Jonathan Taylor to punch it in a few plays later. After a Steelers punt and a long drive by the Colts, all the momentum was for the home team, but a mistake with the handoff to Jonathan Taylor at the goal line turned the ball over and seemed to deflate them. The defense came through with a 3-and-out, however, and Michael Pittman, Jr. caught a touchdown pass to give his team the lead. An 11-play drive by Pittsburgh negated it with a touchdown of their own, and the two teams traded punts before the Colts tried to embark on their game-tying drive. In enemy territory, Pittman, Jr. came through with a big reception on 4th-and-3. Four plays later, when faced with the same situation, the Colts couldn’t come through again and the Steelers got away with a 24-17 win. 

Matt Ryan had an atrocious first half, but got going in the second half in terms of efficiency, and ended with a 22/34 line for 199 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Jonathan Taylor got 20 carries but only 86 yards and a touchdown, and left a bit to be desired for Colts fans. TE Jelani Woods was the game’s leading receiver with 8 catches for 98 yards. For the Steelers, Kenny Pickett threw 20/28 for 174 yards, while Benny Snell Jr. gained 62 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, with Najee Harris leaving the game in the first half. 

Final: PIT 24-17 IND

Analysis 

In a must-win game, the Colts fell just short to a team among the worst in the league. The offense was poor for most of the game, and while they picked it up toward the end, it was too little, too late. The defense wasn’t terrible and got some key stops at times, but didn’t come anywhere close to forcing a turnover, as a team that has thrived on winning the turnover battle in the past. Jeff Saturday’s squad, which had looked fired up and significantly improved under the new leadership the previous two weeks, hit a brick wall tonight and couldn’t put it all together to get the win in one of the biggest games of the year. In terms of reasons for optimism, the bright spots tonight were the kick return game and the tight ends. The Colts’ two young TEs, Jelani Woods and Mo Alie-Cox, combined for 10 catches and 112 yards, and their increased workload is a good sign for an offense that is always looking to become more multidimensional. The kick returners were dangerous and provided an important spark for Indianapolis, as Dallis Flowers had returns of 89 and 29, and Isaiah Rodgers had 3 returns for an average of 35.7 yards. Despite these so-called “bright spots”, Monday Night Football proved to be a crushing loss for the Colts, as they fall further and further away from playoff contention. 

Around the Division

The Colts need all the help they can get to have any chance at the playoffs at this point in the season, and they got their wish this week, as the Titans fell to the Bengals 20-16. With competition so stiff in the AFC Wild Card race, winning the division might be the only feasible option for Indianapolis, but at 4-7-1, they still sit well behind the 7-4 Titans. The Jaguars won a thriller against the Ravens 28-27 to move to 4-7 and sit just behind the Colts, who are now at risk of being overtaken for second in the AFC South. The Texans started Kyle Allen this week and lost to the Dolphins 30-15 to move to 1-9-1.

Looking Ahead

Indianapolis will head south to the Lone Star State this week, as they will find themselves on primetime once again, this time against the Cowboys in Dallas. The Cowboys, who sit at 8-3, are coming off of back-to-back wins against the Vikings and Giants, and have a few extra days to prepare after playing on Thanksgiving. Dallas is unsurprisingly the heavy favorite, and they open the week as 9.5-point favorites. One could call this week a must-win game, but the Colts dropped the last two “must win” games, and face potentially their toughest task yet.

Image: Robert Scheer/IndyStar