Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves. No interpretation necessary.
The numbers painted an ugly picture for the Steelers on Saturday inside Lucas Oil Stadium, starting with 30-13, which happened to be the final score, their third straight loss, and it was what dropped their record to 7-7. In addition to 30-13, there were other numbers that told the story about that score – first downs (19-13), total yards (372-216), rushing yards (170-74), penalties (8-101; 2-10), turnover ratio (minus-3), time of possession (33:20-26:40).
Week 15 of this 2023 NFL regular season began with 5 AFC teams owning 7-6 records, and since none of those teams were leading their respective divisions, all of them were eye-balling the three Wild Card berths available as the way to qualify for the playoffs. But to have watched the particulars of the Steelers' defeat in Indianapolis – added to those back-to-back home losses to the 2-10 Cardinals and the 2-10 Patriots – any suggestion of the playoffs for them right now feels delusional.
And the specifics of 30-13 to these Colts had a finality, because it couldn't be attributed to a slow start in a hostile environment, or any of the other common factors that had been found in the losses leading up to this one.
The Steelers built a 13-0 lead within the opening 16 minutes of the game. Likely an effort to show confidence in an offense that had struggled all season and would be playing with its backup quarterback on Saturday, Coach Mike Tomlin opted to receive the opening kickoff rather than defer. The offense repaid that confidence with a three-and-out, and then a disappointing net punt of 31 yards was the special teams' contribution.
Indianapolis' entry into the "Battle of the Backups" was Gardner Minshew, and he converted a couple of third downs to allow the Colts to move 32 yards to the Steelers 37-yard line. But then T.J. 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 with backup Mitch Trubisky converting – it was a 5-yard hookup with Pat Freiermuth on third-and-3, a 15-yard strike to George Pickens on third-and-6, and then another 15-yarder to Pickens on second-and-9 – it became first-and-goal at the 7. Tomlin showed confidence in his offense a second time in the game by going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Trubisky broke the plane on a sneak that became a touchdown after further review. But before the feel-good even had a chance to settle in, Chris Boswell boinked the extra-point attempt off the right upright, and 6-0 just doesn't stoke the confidence embers like 7-0 would have.
But, hey, the Steelers responded with a burst of complementary football. The defense recorded a three-and-out, and Larry Ogunjobi's sack on third down had Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez standing inside the 15-yard line. Connor Heyward broke through and got a hand on the ball, and replay ultimately determined that Nick Herbig was down by contact inside the 1-yard line after recovering the block.
Before the ugliness of having Najee Harris stuffed for a 3-yard loss on a run up the middle and what that would portend for the second half could ruin the vibe, Trubisky threw a perfectly placed pass to Diontae Johnson, who was schemed open on a nicely executed rub-route by Allen Robinson, and this time Boswell converted the PAT to make it 13-0 just 15-minutes-and-change into the game.
Then the switch was flipped, and it stayed flipped until the NFL Network broadcast team was signing off and sending viewers to the Lions vs. Broncos matchup that served as the finale of this three-game Saturday of NFL football.
Michael Pittman came into the game as the Colts' No. 1 wide receiver, but he had climbed that ladder on the strength of volume rather than splash. That changed dramatically. A 21-yard chunk to Pittman on a second-and-10 plus a 42-yard chunk on third-and-5 created a quick first-and-goal at the 7. Watt got his second sack of the game and induced rookie right tackle Blake Freeland to false start on the very next snap to set up a second-and-goal from the 16, but then running back Zack Moss exploited Mychal Walker in coverage for a 16-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.
In the back-and-forth that took place during the next few possessions, the middle of the Steelers defense was gutted over the course of back-to-back plays when Damontae Kazee was ejected for a hit on Pittman and Minkah Fitzpatrick injured a knee defending a deep pass to wide receiver Alec Pierce. Kazee isn't the kind to have had malicious intent on the play that concussed Pittman, but the NFL is intent on taking those kinds of hits out of the game and it's not afraid to make an example of someone in the process. And on-field officials are in instant communication with the NFL's enforcement arm that's tracking every game from league headquarters. The reality is that players will be forced to adapt or risk being assessed a fortune in fine money.
The immediate tactical impact of losing Kazee and Fitzpatrick was that the Steelers defense was suddenly looking at significant snaps for Trent Thompson at safety to go along with Walker or Mark Robinson alongside Elandon Roberts at inside linebacker. 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 holding a 13-0 lead got to the halfway point with the Colts leading, 14-13.
The Steelers' play to open the second half showed they weren't dispirited, though. The defense forced a three-and-out following the second half kickoff, but Najee Harris' fumble on the first play after the punt put the Colts in prime position to extend their lead. Which is exactly what happened when tight end Mo Alie-Cox bested Robinson on the next play and caught an 18-yard pass for a touchdown that stuck a pin in the balloon. Pop, 21-13.
Penalties then became an issue: three of the Steelers' starting offensive linemen being flagged for holding plus four sacks turned a spotlight on the way Indianapolis' defensive front was having success in those matchups. But that turned out to be 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 gained positive yardage; the other attempt lost 1 yard. By this time, Moss, the starter, was injured and out of the game, but Trey Sermon (No. 3 on Saturday's depth chart) and practice squad call-up Tyler Goodson combined for 28 carries for 157 yards behind a Colts' offensive line that was winning battles all over the front.
"All right let's be honest," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "We're a fundamentally poor football group right now. We're playing losing football. I take responsibility for that. By losing football, I mean we're just not doing fundamental things well enough. We're not. We're turning the ball over. We're highly penalized. We don't play well in situations. And so, I'm just acknowledging that. I don't necessarily have the answers as we sit here. If I had the answers, we would have played differently today.
"But I will acknowledge things won't continue the way that they are. We're not going to keep doing the same things that we're doing and expect or hope for a different result. And so we've got a seven-day turnaround, and we'll see what those seven days hold for us. But I'm just acknowledging right now that we're playing losing football, and I own that. Not a good day."
The numbers don't lie.
