Colts vs. Steelers 2015 final score: 3 things we learned from Pittsburgh’s 45-10 beatdown

The Pittsburgh Steelers put a beating on the Indianapolis Colts with a 45-10 win at Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh moves to 7-5 on the season, while the Colts drop to 6-6 and are now tied with the Houston Texans for first place in their division.

The game opened up with a comedy of errors. Jacoby Jones fumbled away the opening kickoff, leading to a short field for the Colts, but Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception to Jarvis Jones. On the Steelers’ ensuing possession, DeAngelo Williams had a fumble of his own, the game’s third turnover in less than three minutes.

After both teams traded field goals, the Steelers took advantage of Hasselbeck’s second interception of the night to take a 6-3 lead. The Colts eventually got back into the red zone and became the first team to score a touchdown in this game when Hasselbeck hit Frank Gore from 9 yards out.

The Steelers answered right back on their next drive, with Ben Roethlisberger hooking up with Antonio Brown. As per usual, Pittsburgh went for two points and got it, going up 14-10 on Indianapolis. The Colts were forced to punt the ball away again and the Steelers made them pay, marching down the field in the final minues of the second quarter. Roethlisberger found Markus Wheaton with 10 seconds left in the half and the Steelers went into the locker room with a 21-10 lead.

Whatever momentum the Colts were hoping to build up in the second half, that rapidly disappeared in the third quarter. Indianapolis started the half with the ball but had another three-and-out, and on the next drive Roethlisberger hit Martavis Bryant for a 68-yard touchdown to essentially ice the game. A missed field goal by Chris Boswell was about the only blemish in a quarter where the Steelers used Williams to grind down the clock.

Pittsburgh kept piling it on in the fourth quarter when Brown scored his second touchdown of the night. Brown put the icing on the cake with this punt return touchdown and wild celebration.

Three things we learned
1. Get well soon, Andrew Luck
Hasselbeck has been playing reasonably well while Andrew Luck recovers from a lacerated kidney, but against Pittsburgh’s lethal air attack, this was the kind of game that called for stretching the field and challenging the Steelers’ suspect secondary, and the 40-year-old’s arm simply wasn’t up to the task. Hasselbeck finished the game with 16-of-26 passing for 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, losing a fumble and averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt.

Luck is tentatively expected to return in Week 15, when the Colts face the Houston Texans in a game that could decide the AFC South. Despite Luck’s struggles this season, Indianapolis needs him back under center if it wants to make any noise in January.

2. Pittsburgh’s offense is unreal
That’s not exactly a new thing we learned, but when Roethlisberger is healthy and dealing, few quarterbacks in the league are more unstoppable. Big Ben threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns on 24-of-39 passing, finding Brown for two of those scores. Pittsburgh’s receivers got open at will and Roethlisberger had little trouble hitting them for repeated chunk yards. It was an impeccable performance from the veteran quarterback.

It wasn’t all the passing game, either. Williams ran for 134 yards on 26 carries and played a key role in closing out the game in the second half. If the Steelers make the playoffs, they will be a team nobody wants to play.

That’s still an “if,” though, because ...

3. The Steelers still have work to do in the playoff race
Pittsburgh improved to 7-5, but is still on the outside of the AFC Wild Card picture. The Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets have the same record, but both are ahead of the Steelers with better conference records. With their next two games coming up against the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos, the Steeelrs are facing possibly their toughest stretch of the year. What they do in those games could make or break their playoff hopes.

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