Week 9

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the five win Indianapolis Colts in the second of three consecutive home games for the Steelers. Pittsburgh was coming off of a dominant win over the Miami Dolphins the Monday before, while Indianapolis was looking to prove themselves as a playoff contender after surviving a close scare to the, at the time, one win Broncos. As the gates closed in Heinz Field on the early November Sunday afternoon, the Steelers notched another shaky W in the win column. With this victory, Pittsburgh moves up to 4-4 on the season and 4-1 in their last five games.

Going into the game, Coach Mike Tomlin felt that this was a great opportunity to get a win over a quality team. The Colts are just a game back in the AFC South, still on the bubble as a strong playoff candidate. However, the Steelers suffered a strong blow to their confidence prior to kickoff, as running back James Conner was announced inactive due to a shoulder injury suffered late in last week’s win against Miami. Conner, who was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after the game due to his stellar performance, has started to fill his feature back role well; the Steelers will have their hands full without him in the backfield. Mike Tomlin felt optimistic about Conner’s return to play this weekend and, and although he made no full promises, the Steelers would struggle to win without him.

After the opening kickoff, both offenses got off to a slow start. Pittsburgh looked especially shaky, with Mason Rudolph throwing an interception (his only of the game!) on their first drive. Fortunately, the increasingly dominant defense was able to hold the Colts to a field goal, the only three points they allowed in the first quarter. As the clock wound down at the end of the first, Pittsburgh had advanced the ball all the way up to Indianapolis’s one yard line; unfortunately, they were unable to punch it in for the score, and had to settle for a field goal and go into the second quarter tied at three. As the second quarter got underway, the Colts wasted no time in jumping out to a 10-3 lead after marching down the field fairly handily. After Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs, the Colts put together another quality drive and moved the ball down towards another touchdown. However, Indianapolis quarterback Brain Hoyer’s touchdown pass was intercepted by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who returned the ball for 96 yards and a Steelers touchdown. On the next drive, the Colts strung together another impressive collection of plays to redeem their last mistake, regaining a 16-10 lead (the Steelers blocked the PAT attempt) by scoring another touchdown. As time ticked down in the half, Chris Boswell was able to nail a 51 yard field goal, bringing the score to 16-13 at the break.

After a rough second quarter, the Steelers defense started off the third by forcing another turnover, this time a fumble at Pittsburgh’s 35 yard line. The offense was able to capitalize on this, marching down field and capping the drive off with a 7 yard touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to tight end Vance McDonald, putting the Steelers in front for the first time in the game, 20-16. The Steelers held on to the lead for much of the rest of the game, and although they were able to pull out the win, the remainder of the game was a bit messy. After the defense forced the Colts to punt, Mason Rudolph fumbled in Pittsburgh’s endzone, recovered by Alejandro Villanueva but still causing a safety.  After two Pittsburgh field goals, an Indianapolis touchdown, and fumbles by both teams, Pittsburgh remained ahead 26-24 with just over a minute left. However, the Colts were lined up to kick the potentially game-winning field goal from 41 yards out. Adam Vinatieri, widely recognized one of the greatest kickers of all time, lined up for the Colts. At 46 years old, Vinatieri has begun to struggle this season; his kick was wide left, giving the Steelers the ball back with almost no time left. With that missed field goal, the Steelers moved up to 4-4 and narrowly escaped a loss at the hands of the Colts.

With the win, the Steelers separated themselves even more from the Bengals and the Browns, both of whom lost and fell further behind in the divisional standings. The Baltimore Ravens hosted the undefeated New England Patriots on Sunday night, and many fans felt that after Pittsburgh’s win they should be able to pull closer to the Ravens. However, Baltimore was able to solve New England’s stellar defense as quarterback Lamar Jackson racked up 224 total yards and 3 touchdowns. With the win, Baltimore remains 2 games ahead of Pittsburgh in the standings, as well as continue their dominant 4 game win streak. However, the Steelers have been handling business recently and are nowhere close from being ignored as a contender in the AFC North. When Pittsburgh travels to Baltimore at the end of the year, the game may determine who ends up winning the division title. Until then, the Steelers have quite a bit of work to do, starting this weekend against the Rams at 4:25 PM. Make sure to tune in!