Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves. No interpretation necessary.
The numbers painted an ugly picture for the Steelers on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, starting at 30-13, which happened to be the final score, their third straight loss, and that was what dropped their record to 7-7. In addition to 30-13, there were other numbers that told the story of that score – first downs (19-13), total yards (372-216), rushing yards (170-74), penalties (8-101; 2 – 10), turnover rate (minus-3), time of possession (33:20-26:40).
Week 15 of this 2023 NFL regular season began with five AFC teams sporting a record of 7-6, and with none of those teams leading their respective divisions, they all eyed the three available wild card spots as a way to compete to qualify for the playoffs. But after looking at the details of the Steelers' loss in Indianapolis — in addition to back-to-back home losses to the 2-10 Cardinals and the 2-10 Patriots — any notion of the playoffs for them feels like an illusion right now.
And the details of 30-13 on these Colts were final, as they could not be attributed to a slow start in a hostile environment or any of the other common factors noted in the losses leading up to this game.
The Steelers built a 13-0 lead within the first 16 minutes of the game. Likely to show confidence in an offense that has struggled all season and would be playing with its backup quarterback on Saturday, coach Mike Tomlin opted to receive the opening kickoff rather than delay it. The offense rewarded that confidence with a three-pointer and a disappointing 31-yard net punt from special teams.
Indianapolis' entry into the “Battle of the Backups” was Gardner Minshew, who converted a few third downs to give the Colts a 32-yard lead to the Steelers' 37-yard line. But then TJ Watt made a play and his first of two sacks turned a second-and-7 into a third-and-13, and Matt Gay missed a 56-yard field goal attempt.
The Steelers took advantage of the field position, and then backup Mitch Trubisky converted – it was a 5-yard hookup to Pat Freiermuth on third-and-3, a 15-yard strike to George Pickens on third-and-6, and then a another 15-yarder for Pickens on second-and-9 – it became first-and-goal at the 7. Tomlin showed confidence in his offense for a second time in the game by going on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Trubisky destroyed the aircraft in a sneak attempt, which upon further review became a touchdown. But before a good mood could even set in, Chris Boswell's extra point attempt failed at the right post, and 6-0 just doesn't inspire confidence like 7-0 would have.
But hey, the Steelers responded with a shot of complementary football. The defense recorded a three-and-out, and Larry Ogunjobi's sack on third down stalled Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez inside the 15-yard line. Connor Heyward broke through and got the ball in his hands, and the replay eventually determined that Nick Herbig was down from contact inside the 1-yard line after recovering the block.
Before the ugliness of Najee Harris being stuffed on a run up the middle for a 3-yard loss and what that would mean for the second half could ruin the mood, Trubisky threw a perfectly placed pass to Diontae Johnson, who was on A well-executed scratch by Allen Robinson, and this time Boswell converted the PAT to make it 13-0, just 15 minutes into the game.
Then the switch was flipped, and it stayed flipped until the NFL Network broadcast team signed off and sent viewers to the Lions vs. Broncos game, which served as the finale of this three-game NFL Football Saturday.
Michael Pittman came into the game as the Colts' No. 1 wide receiver, but he had climbed that ladder through volume rather than liveliness. That has changed dramatically. A 21-yard chunk to Pittman on second-and-10 and a 42-yard chunk on third-and-5 set up a quick first-and-goal at the 7. Watt picked up his second sack of the game and brought Blake Freeland caught the rookie at the right time for a false start on the very next snap, setting up a second-and-goal from the 16-yard line, but then running back Zack Moss used Mychal Walker to cover for a 16-yard Catch-and-run for a touchdown.
In the back-and-forth that took place over the next few possessions, the middle of the Steelers defense was eviscerated over the course of consecutive plays, as Damontae Kazee was thrown off the field after hitting Pittman and Minkah Fitzpatrick injured his knee defending a deep one Pass to wide receiver Alec Pierce. Kazee isn't the type of guy who had malicious intent on the play that hit Pittman, but the NFL is committed to eliminating such hits from the game and isn't afraid to make an example of someone in the process. And officers on the field are in immediate communication with NFL law enforcement, which monitors every game from league headquarters. The reality is that players will be forced to adapt or risk paying a fortune in cash.
The immediate tactical impact of losing Kazee and Fitzpatrick was that the Steelers defense was suddenly looking for key snaps for Trent Thompson at safety to line up alongside Walker or Mark Robinson at inside linebacker alongside Elandon Roberts. By the end of the first half, Minshew had completed 67 percent for 185 yards, with 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a rating of 126.1 (158.3 is perfect). A game that began with the Steelers leading 13-0 ended with the Colts leading 14-13 at halftime.
However, the Steelers' play early in the second half showed they were not discouraged. The defense forced a three-pointer after kickoff in the second half, but Najee Harris' fumble on the first play after the punt put the Colts in prime position to extend their lead. That's exactly what happened when tight end Mo Alie-Cox beat Robinson on the next play and caught an 18-yard pass for a touchdown that put a pin in the balloon. Pop, 21-13.
Then penalties became an issue: three of the Steelers' starting offensive linemen were cautioned for holding, plus four sacks highlighted the way Indianapolis' defensive front thrived in those matchups. But that proved minor compared to what the Colts' offensive line did during an 8-minute, 57-second possession that ended with a field goal and a 27-13 Indianapolis lead.
That drive covered 70 yards in 15 plays, the first 13 of which were runs. Twelve achieved positive mileage; the other attempt lost 1 yard. At that point, Moss, the starter, was injured and out of the game, but Trey Sermon (No. 3 on Saturday's depth chart) and practice squad nominee Tyler Goodson combined for 28 carries for 157 yards behind the Colts' offensive line to win battles everywhere on the front lines.
“All right, let’s be honest,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We are a fundamentally bad football team at the moment. We play football that gets lost. I take responsibility for that. When we lose football, I mean we just don't do basic things well enough. We don't do that. That’s what we do.” Turn the ball over. We'll get a big fine. We don't play well in certain situations. So I'll just admit it. I don't necessarily have the answers as we sit here. If I had the answers, we would have played differently today.
“But I admit that things will not continue as they are. We will not continue to do the same things we have been doing and expect or hope for a different result. And so we have a seven- We'll see what these seven days have in store for us. But I just recognize right now that we're playing on a losing basis, and I own that. Not a good day.”