In what ended up becoming a back-and-forth game in the fourth quarter, the Indianapolis Colts were able to come up with some key scoring drives in the fourth quarter and the defense made a big stop at the end to secure the win.
As always, with the game having just wrapped up, here are our instant takeaways from the Colts’ performance.
– Anthony Richardson exited early in the game with a hip injury and did not return. The Colts offense was rolling before Richardson exited the game, with the Colts leaning on the run game while also generating some explosive pass plays as well.
– Joe Flacco came in and gave the Colts the type of performance you need in these situations. He was fairly efficient, took care of the football, and the Colts were able to sustain some drives.
– As expected against this Steelers defense, it was tough sledding in the run game for Jonathan Taylor and rushing the ball became even more difficult without Richardson. The Steelers defensive ends became much more aggressive when they didn’t have to worry about a running quarterback.
– Taylor exited the game late with an ankle injury. There are no further updates at this time.
– Michael Pittman had easily his best performance of the season, eclipsing the 100 yard mark, with two receptions of at least 25 yards. Josh Downs in his second game back helped provide some stability to the passing game, particularly in the short area of the field and was a go-to target for Flacco.
– Once again, credit to the Colts offensive line for holding up well against a very good opponent.
– A huge key to this game was the Colts’ ability to keep the time of possession battle close. They entered this game ranked 32nd in time of possession while the Steelers ranked second. In the previous three games, losing this battle by so much resulted in the Colts’ opponent running way more plays on offense than Indianapolis, and that’s a tough way to win games.
– Two quick scores were also huge for the Colts in this game. There’s the obvious in that it gave the Colts an early lead, but it forced a Steelers offense that came into the game averaging just 3.6 yards per rush and 6.9 yards per pass to play from behind.
– As they do, the Steelers stuck with the run game, but the Colts held up well once again. With injuries to Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson at running back, Fields shouldered some of the run game workload in this one.
– The improved play the last two weeks against the run has been a collective effort. The linebacker play has been greatly improved, Raekwon Davis continues to play well, the defensive ends are holding up well on the edge, and of course, Grover Stewart is playing at a high level.
– Playing from behind, however, did force the Steelers to lean on the pass game, especially in the second half and Fields did find success against the Colts secondary. He was efficient and moved the ball at a good rate, averaging just under 10.0 yards per attempt.
– Those were some big time late scoring drives led by Flacco late in the second half. With the Steelers continuing to make it a one score game, Flacco led a touchdown drive, with some key third-down conversions, a field goal drive.
– The Colts again won the all important turnover battle. Unfortunately, the offense didn’t turn any of those takeaways into points, but it still took away scoring opportunities from the Steelers offense.
– There’s several injuries that the Colts are dealing with on defense, but they got some key contributions from Sam Womack, Isaiah Land, and Chris Lammons. Laiatu Latu also made more noise in an increased role with Kwity Paye out, and it was a good day for Dayo Odeyingbo as well.
– Nick Cross is playing some good football early on this season.
– Another missed field goal from Matt Gay, who is now 0-for-3 from 50 plus yards this season.
