After a full day of food and football, many of us lived our own personal Utopias. The Pittsburgh Steelers found their utopia against the ailing Indianapolis Colts on Thursday evening, crushing them by a score of 28-7.
The game began with a bang, as William Gay’s strip sack, although recovered by the Colts, was indicative of how the game would play out. After forcing a 3-and-out, Ben Roethlisberger and company wasted no time, as they strung together a 6 play, 50 yard drive that was capped off by a 5 yard Le’Veon Bell run. A key reception by the shifty Eli Rogers allowed the team to enter the red zone, ultimately grabbing an early lead to the tune of 7-0.
The following Pittsburgh offensive drive ended in a similar fashion, as the 7 play, 58 yard drive resulted in a 25 yard Ben-to-Antonio Brown touchdown reception. This wouldn’t be the last time the two would connect for six, either. Pittsburgh looked like they were charging early, jumping to a 14-0 lead.
As the Colts’ offense struggled to find any form of success, it would be the special teams that would attempt to spark a positive flame; a 35 yard fake punt pass by Pat McAfee to Erik Swoop gave the dead-end drive a second life. Scott Tolzien would eventually build on that positivity, finding Donte Moncrief for the 5 yard touchdown reception infront of Sean Davis and Artie Burns. The lead was cut to 14-7.
Ladarius Green would also get in on the fun; his 32 yard reception along the sideline on a crucial 3rd and 13 would propel the drive and allow Roethlisberger to find Brown for his second touchdown reception of the game against the struggling Vontae Davis, this time for 33 yards. Vontae would leave the game with an injured ankle (AB’s route-running was a bit too crisp this fine evening), as this capped a 7 play, 85 yard drive that lasted just under 4 minutes. Lead once again grew, this time to 21-7.
The defense was also building momentum after their mind-boggling performance last week against the Cleveland Browns, as a 32 yard reception by TY Hilton brought the ball near the goal line. A 3rd down play action roll-out by Tolzien was stopped short of the end zone by an individual effort from Sean Davis– this was followed up by a 4th down stop by Mike Mitchell, who dislodged the ball from a would-be receiver. The Steelers owned the first half, as it was clear that the Colts were having difficulty on both sides of the ball.
The third quarter started slow, but it would be the Tolzien-led Colts who would string together the first lengthy drive- as astonishing 19 play, 95 yard drive would stall within the final 5 yards. The tout red zone defense would deploy a goal line stand, forcing yet another turnover on downs within their own 5 yard line.
Steelers fans would be treated with a defensive back interception, by the polarizing Mike Mitchell no less. A 30 yard pass by Tolzien would be swooped up by Mitchell, taking it back 28 yards to the their own 38 yard line.
They would turn that into points, as Ben would connect with AB on a 22 yard strike for their 3rd touchdown hookup of the game, capping a quick 4 play, 64 yard drive- Ladarius Green also had a vital 35 yard reception to begin the possession. The Steelers put the final dagger into the Colts, as the lead became 28-7.
The Steelers beat the Colts 28-7; Ben finished the day with 221 yard & 3 touchdowns, Brown with 91 yards & 3 touchdowns, and Bell with 142 total yards and a score. The trifecta look to be on the same page, which spells trouble for opposing teams. The defense also added 3 more sacks and 2 interceptions, as the Steelers look to extend their newly minted winning streak against the New York Giants at Heinz Field next week.
