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The Steelers have lost three in a row and drop to 7-7. The Colts are 8-6.
The Indianapolis Colts captured one of their best wins of the season on Saturday night, coming back from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 30-13. The win gives Indy at least temporary playoff position heading into the stretch run of the season -- something that would have been nearly unthinkable when the Colts lost starting quarterback Anthony Richardson two months ago, let alone when Jonathan Taylor went down again a few weeks ago.
The Colts fought back from a dreadful start and scored 30 consecutive points, holding the Steelers scoreless over the final 44 minutes and 4 seconds of the game. Gardner Minshew was fantastic throughout the evening, completing 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns -- each to a different pass-catcher, with Zack Moss, D.J. Montgomery, and Mo Alie-Cox finding the end zone. And Minshew did it despite losing both Moss and star wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to injuries in the second quarter. (Pittman was concussed on a dirty hit by Steelers safety Damontae Kazee, who was ejected from the contest.)
Journeyman Trey Sermon and practice-squad call-up Tyler Goodson combined to rush for 157 yards on 28 carries in relief of Moss, with 70 of them coming on a 15-play, 70-yard drive that took 8 minutes and 57 seconds off the clock spanning the third and fourth quarters and essentially put the game away. Indy's defense was both stout and opportunistic, holding Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren to just 3.3 yards per carry, forcing Harris to cough up a fumble, and intercepting Mitchell Trubisky twice. (The Steelers eventually benched him in favor of Mason Rudolph for their final drive.)
Indianapolis showed incredibly resilience in overcoming both a sizable deficit and meaningful injuries, while Pittsburgh crumbled when presented with an opportunity to put its foot down when an opponent was wobbling on the brink of a disastrous defeat. In the end, that's why the Colts were able to come back and score themselves a massive win.
Here are a few more things to know about this game.
Why the Colts won
They overcame a ton of adversity and put together a quality performance against a good defense while working seriously short-handed. The Colts came into this game without both running back Jonathan Taylor and right tackle Braden Smith. They lost Zack Moss early in the second quarter and Michael Pittman minutes later.
But Gardner Minshew, running backs Tyler Goodson and Trey Sermon, and pass-catchers like Mo Alie-Cox, D.J. Montgomery, Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce stepped up. Indy averaged 6.0 yards per play against Pittsburgh, and scored on six of its final nine drives after starting the game with a missed field goal and a blocked punt. Meanwhile, the defense totally shut down Pittsburgh's attempts to do anything offensively, strangling the run game, pressuring Mitchell Trubisky, and forcing three turnovers.
Why the Steelers lost
With the exception of one drive, they got absolutely nothing going offensively, and even when they got near or over midfield, they undermined themselves with mistakes. Pittsburgh's first touchdown drive went 54 yards on 12 plays. Its second touchdown drive was 1 yard long. On their nine other possessions, the Steelers ran 37 plays, gained 148 yards, did not score, turned it over three times, and curiously declined an opportunity for a field goal that would have cut Indianapolis' lead to one possession and which led to the Colts taking more than 8 minutes off the clock on their next drive.
Turning point
With their backs against the wall, down 13-0 and having just given up two touchdowns in 2 minutes and 2 seconds sandwiched around a blocked punt, the Colts marched 75 yards on 7 plays and found the end zone from 16 yards out, with Gardner Minshew swinging a pass into the flat for Zack Moss, who dragged a defender across the goal line despite being horse-collar tackled at the end of the play.
That score cut into Pittsburgh's lead and kept the Colts in the game, which seemed like it was in danger of spiraling out of control. That possession also appeared to get Minshew into a rhythm, which he maintained throughout most of the rest of the evening as he led the Colts to their comeback victory.
Highlight play
If that possession was the turning point, this was the biggest play of the night. Facing third-and-5 from just across the 50-yard line, the Colts desperately needed to keep their drive alive. Minshew scrambled away from pressure and rolled out to his right, buying as much time as possible before spotting Michael Pittman in open space, directing him down the field, and lofting a pass over the top of the defense.
Two plays later, Moss found the end zone, and the Colts were off to the races on their comeback attempt.
What's next
The Colts are now 8-6 and at least temporarily hold one of the AFC wild card spots. They travel to Atlanta (6-7) next week, then play home games against the Raiders (6-8) and Texans (7-6) in the final two weeks of the season.
The Steelers are 7-7 and at least temporarily on the outside of the AFC playoff picture, looking in. They host the Bengals (8-6) in a monumental game next week, then travel to Seattle (6-7) and Baltimore (10-3) for their final two games of the year.
