The Pittsburgh Steelers had a must-win Week 15 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Despite getting out to a 13-0 lead, Pittsburgh couldn’t stop the Colts’ offense and lost 30-13, with Indianapolis scoring 30 unanswered points. The Steelers are now 7-7 and their playoff hopes are thin.
The Steelers won the toss and chose to receive. RB Godwin Igwebuike returned the opening kickoff to Pittsburgh’s 38-yard line. On first down, RB Najee Harris was stopped for no gain. DL Grover Stewart sacked QB Mitch Trubisky on second down, and the Steelers faced a 3rd and 14. A screen to RB Jaylen Warren on third down was short of the sticks, and the Steelers punted.
The Colts would begin their drive at their own 31 following the punt by Pressley Harvin III. On 3rd and 2, QB Gardner Minshew II hit WR Michael Pittman Jr. for an eight-yard gain and a first down to the Indianapolis 47. Indianapolis got another first down later in the drive on a run by RB Zack Moss on third-and-short, but on 2nd and 7 two plays later, OLB T.J. Watt sacked Minshew for a loss of six. Damontae Kazee laid a big hit on WR Josh Downs on third down, and then K Matt Gay missed from 56 yards.
The Steelers would get the ball back at their own 46. They picked up a first down on 3rd and 3 with a five-yard completion to TE Pat Freiermuth. On 3rd and 6 from the Indianapolis 38, Pittsburgh converted again, with Trubisky hitting WR George Pickens for 15 yards over the middle of the field. Pickens had another 15-yard reception two plays later, and the Steelers had a 1st and goal.
They ended up facing a fourth down on the 1, and while it was initially not ruled a touchdown, it was reversed upon replay. Trubisky looked like he converted on the QB sneak, but the ball was punched out after he appeared to score, but after the review, they gave him the touchdown. Pittsburgh went up 6-0 with 1:12 left in the first quarter, which it remained after Chris Boswell missed the extra point.
The ensuing kickoff was a touchback, so Indy took over at their own 25. The Steelers forced a three-and-out, with a sack by DL Larry Ogunjobi on third down closing out the drive. On the fourth down punt to start the second quarter, TE Connor Heyward blocked the punt, and it was recovered by OLB Nick Herbig at the 1-yard line. On 2nd and goal, Trubisky hit WR Diontae Johnson for a touchdown, and the Steelers went up 13-0 with 14:07 left in the first half after Boswell made the extra point.
On Indianapolis’ next drive, Minshew hit Pittman for a gain of 25 on 2nd and 10. On 3rd and 5 later in the drive, Minshew kept the play alive and found Pittman downfield for a gain of 42 yards. Two plays later, Minshew dumped it off to Moss, who finished the play with a 16-yard touchdown. Gay’s extra point was good, and the Steelers’ lead was cut to 13-7 with 11:21 left in the half.
Another good return by Igwebuike set Pittsburgh up at its own 36, and Harris ran for a 15-yard gain on first down. Defensive holding on second down negated a sack, but then C Mason Cole was called for holding and took away a first-down run by Warren. On the next play, Trubisky was picked off by S Nick Cross, and the Colts took over at their own 29.
On second down, Minshew went deep to Pittman, who was hit helmet-to-helmet by S Damontae Kazee, and Kazee was ejected from the game for the hit. He was also flagged for unnecessary roughness, so the Colts got a new set of downs. Kazee was replaced by S Trenton Thompson. The Colts had a 4th and 1 from the Pittsburgh 32 and converted on a 10-yard run by RB Trey Sermon. The Colts drove to the Pittsburgh 8, and RB Tyler Goodson was initially ruled in on a run, but it was taken off the board so Indianapolis had 3rd and goal from the 1-yard line.
On 3rd and goal, Minshew’s pass was incomplete, and the Colts went for it on fourth down. Minshew was then incomplete on fourth down, and the Steelers held onto their 13-7 lead with 3:23 left in the half. On the first play out of the two-minute warning, Pittsburgh faced a 3rd and 4 from its own 8. The Steelers converted with an 18-yard reception to Johnson, but that would be the team’s last first down of the drive as it would punt with 54 seconds left in the half after an incompletion on third down.
On first down, Minshew found WR D.J. Montgomery open for a 34-yard gain, and the next play CB Joey Porter Jr. was flagged for defensive pass interference, setting up Indianapolis at the Pittsburgh 14. Two plays later, Montgomery caught a 14-yard touchdown, and the Colts took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
The Colts started the second half with the ball, but they went three-and-out on the opening drive of the half. But Pittsburgh’s first play of the ensuing drive from its own 10-yard line was a lost fumble by RB Najee Harris, and the Colts recovered it at the Pittsburgh 18, giving them great field position. On the first play of the drive, Minshew hit TE Mo Alie-Cox for an 18-yard touchdown, and the Colts went up 21-13 with 13:16 left in the third quarter.
Pittsburgh responded with a three-and-out. Harvin’s punt was just 41 yards to the Indianapolis 36, which Josh Downs returned 13 yards to Indy’s own 49. Goodson ran for 33 yards on first down, and the Colts were able to get a field goal on the drive to extend their lead to 24-13.
A 2nd-and-21 run by the Steelers following two holding penalties made it 3rd and 20, but Trubisky was able to hit Johnson for a 26-yard gain. Two plays later, Trubisky went to Pickens for a 17-yard gain down to the Indianapolis 35. But on 3rd and 4 from the Indianapolis 29, the Steelers were backed up due to a holding penalty, and Trubisky incomplete on 3rd and 14. The Steelers opted against bringing out Boswell and sent in Harvin to punt. His punt went just 22 yards to the Indianapolis 17.
On 3rd and 1, Indianapolis converted on a nine-yard run by Sermon, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, 3rd and 2, Sermon ran for 19 yards and a first down to the Indianapolis 43. Goodson picked up another first down two plays later on a 10-yard run, and the Colts kept pounding the ball. On their 11th straight run of the drive, Sermon picked up a first down at the Pittsburgh 17 on a five-yard run. The Steelers were able to hold Indianapolis to a field goal though, but 13 straight runs drained the clock and with 9:20 left, Gay came out for a field goal and hit from 31 yards. With 9:17 left, the Colts held a two-touchdown lead at 27-13.
The Steelers took over at their own 25, and they did pick up a first down but on 2nd and 4 two plays later, Trubisky was sacked. On 3rd and 12, the Steelers were flagged for a false start, pushing them over 100 penalty yards on the night. On 3rd and 17, Trubisky dumped it off to Warren for a seven-yard gain, and on 4th and 10 from their own 36, the Steelers went for it. Trubisky connected with Johnson for a 15-yard gain to keep the game and the season alive. But on the very next play, Trubisky badly missed Pickens and it was intercepted by Julian Blackmon, and the Colts took over with just under six minutes to go.
An eight-yard run by Sermon on second down gave Indianapolis another first down, and on 4th and 1 from the Pittsburgh 25, Gay missed the field goal. Trubisky was replaced by QB Mason Rudolph with 2:08 left. He had two completions, one for negative yards, and on 4th and 7 with 1:48 left, Rudolph was sacked, and the Colts took over.
Pittsburgh decided to use its timeouts, so the Colts hit a 42-yard field goal with 48 seconds left to give them a 30-13 lead. With 48 seconds left, the Steelers offense took the field with nothing to play for except whatever shred of pride it could try and muster. Warren for 11 yards and two yards on back-to-back plays and the game ended.
