The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) continued their playoff push with a 30-13 win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) on Saturday.
It wasn’t pretty in the first half, especially as the Colts were down 13-0 early on after a missed field goal, a touchdown drive allowed and then a blocked punt that led to another Pittsburgh touchdown.
But the Colts were able to prevail thanks to some big plays by the passing offense after Gardner Minshew gave Indianapolis their first lead as they took a 14-13 halftime lead.
From there, the Colts outscored Pittsburgh 16-0 in the second half as they cruised to a convincing 30-13 victory.
Here’s a look at the studs and duds from the Week 15 win:
STUD: Running game
After back-to-back weeks of struggling to get the running game going, the Colts were able to pound the rock against the Steelers. In total, Indianapolis rushed for 170 yards between Zack Moss, Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson.
After Moss left early on in the game, the Colts heavily leaned on Sermon and Goodson in the second half. Sermon rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries while Goodson added 69 yards on 11 carries.
In total, it was a nice bounce-back for Indianapolis’ rushing attack.
DUD: Special Teams
It was another sub-par performance for the Indianapolis special teams as it was clearly the liability of the three phases.
Indianapolis had multiple blunders from two missed Matt Gay field goals, a punt blocked and multiple lapses in kick coverage.
While Rigoberto Sanchez had a nice day, the special teams had plenty of issues to warrant being on the list for a dud performance.
STUD: Defensive line
A game after struggling to get pressure on the quarterback, the Indianapolis Colts defensive line came through when it mattered most.
In total, the Colts sacked the Steelers four times on Saturday.
Dayo Odeyingbo and Samson Ebukam had strong performances, recording 1.5 sacks and routinely harassing Mitchell Trubisky all game long. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart each added 0.5 sacks each as well.
Ebukam and Odeyingbo continue to have breakout seasons with Indianapolis and now have 9.5 and 8.0 sacks on the season, respectively.
STUD: LB E.J. Speed
Linebacker E.J. Speed had his best performance of the season, recording 10 tackles and a forced fumble against the Steelers.
From snap one, Speed was flying all over the field and making plays on the defense.
It was clear a week ago how much Indianapolis missed its starting linebacker and Speed proved his value and playmaking ability.
Overall, Speed continues to step up in the second linebacker role for Indianapolis in 2023.
