COIN TOSS: Indianapolis wins the toss and elects to defer. Steelers get the ball first.
1:04 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out. All three plays were quick slant passes. The first was low to Diontae Johnson. The second was low to JuJu Smith-Schuster. The third was wide to Johnson. After the punt, the Colts took over at their 30-yard line.
1:12 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Colts needed just nine plays to march 70 yards and take a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor on third-and-goal. The Colts converted a third-and-8 on the third play of the drive when Philip Rivers hit Michael Pittman with a short pass, and he turned it into a 26-yard gain. The next three plays were all 10-plus-yard gains by the Colts. On second-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Terrell Edmunds had his hands on a possible interception in the end zone, but Jack Doyle stripped the ball away. On the next play, Taylor scored. It was 7-0 with 9:48 left in the first quarter.
1:20 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers managed one first down when Ben Roethlisberger converted a third-and-4 with a 9-yard pass to Diontae Johnson, but on the subsequent third down – a third-and-1 – Benny Snell was dumped for a 2-yard loss when Justin Houston defeated Alejandra Villanueva and made the tackle in the backfield. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the Steelers had two possessions, one first down, and two punts.
1:32 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers went three-and-out for the second time in the first quarter when a 9-yard sack by safety Khari Willis set up a third-and-17. Willis came in clean, and either Benny Snell didn't pick up the blitz or Chuks Okorafor should've moved to his right a bit to pick him up.
1:40 p.m. – What Went Right: It began with a strip sack by T.J. Watt that Mike Hilton scooped at the Colts 16-yard line and ran to the 3-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Ben Roethlisberger drew the Colts offside with a hard count, but on the free play JuJu Smith-Schuster couldn't hold onto a pass in the end zone. On the next play, James Conner powered into the end zone. It was 7-7 with 13:47 left in the second quarter.
1:55 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Colts' first touchdown came on a 75-yard drive. They took a 14-7 lead with a touchdown drive that covered 85 yards in 12 plays. Seven of the 12 plays were runs, all were between the tackles, and on none was the Colts back stopped by one defender. The drive consumed over seven minutes, and with 6:35 remaining, the Colts led, 14-7.
2:06 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Indianapolis put together two long drives fir their first two touchdowns, and then the Colts his a big pass play for a third in the first half. On a blitz, Jonathan Taylor stepped up and picked up a pass rusher long enough for Philip Rivers to throw a perfect pass to wide receiver Zach Pascal, who got behind Joe Haden, for a 42-yard touchdown. The Colts led, 21-7, with 4:02 left in the first half.
HALFTIME: Colts 21, Steelers 7
2:47 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Colts took the second half kickoff and extended their lead to 24-7 on a 10-play drive that covered 65 yards and ended with a 28-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship. The big plays on the drive were a 20-yard pass to tight end Mo Alie-Cox and an 18-yard run by Jonathan Taylor.
2:57 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Starting at their 20-yard line, the Steelers moved to a first-and-goal at the Colts 4-yard line with the help of three completions to Chase Claypool for 53 yards. After a pass interference penalty, the Steelers had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. A run to Benny Snell lost 1 yard, and after an incomplete pass, Claypool dropped a slant that might have been a touchdown. On fourth down, T.J. Carrie broke up a pass for James Washington at the goal line.
3:09 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers defense held the Colts without a first down, and following the punt, the ball was on the Colts 39-yard line. On the first play, Diontae Johnson used a double-move to get behind the cornerback and then he made a diving catch of the Ben Roethlisberger pass for the touchdown. It was 24-14 with 3:16 left in the third quarter.
THIRD QUARTER: Colts 24, Steelers 14
3:26 p.m. – What Went Right: After the defense forced a punt after a three-and-out highlighted by an Avery Williamson sack, the Steelers drive 74 yards on five plays to make it 24-21 on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Eric Ebron with 14:52 left in the fourth quarter. Sixty-one of the yards came on to pass interference calls, the first on Kenny Moore and the second on T.J. Carrie.
3:34 p.m. – What Went Right: A third-down sack by Cam Heyward forced a Colts punt, and the Steelers got the ball at their 15-yard line with 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a game Indianapolis led, 24-21.
3:47 p.m. – What Went Right: Ben Roethlisberger threw his third touchdown pass in 10:30 of game time to cap a 10-play, 84-yard drive with a 25-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that gave the Steelers a 28-24 lead with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter. James Conner reasserted himself with two carries for 15 yards and two catches for 19 yards.
4:11 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers failed to kill the clock with their offense, and so the Colts got the ball on their 15-yard line with 2:18 left and no timeouts. A pass interference penalty on Steven Nelson converted one third down for Indianapolis. But on a subsequent fourth down, Alex Highsmith used a spin move to put pressure on Philip Rivers and force an errant throw that sent the Steelers into victory formation.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 28, Colts 24
