The Indianapolis Colts haven’t won in Pittsburgh since 2008, and after another lackluster showing in ‘The Steel City on Sunday, the franchise’s surprising losing streak just continued—as the Horseshoe fell 34-22 as their last-ditch comeback attempts fell apart.
Offensively, the Steelers again bottled up Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor and the Indy ground game, as Taylor was held to just 45 total rushing yards on 15 carries (3.0 ypc. avg.).
Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones and the Colts passing didn’t have a big afternoon on the other end, as despite Jones throwing the ball 44 times, it only totaled 267 total passing yards and 0 passing touchdowns. Jones didn’t win the Colts a game (obviously) with 0 passing touchdowns, but he also didn’t lose a game with 0 turnovers. His ball security improved on the tour, even in another losing effort on the road by Pittsburgh.
That said, Colts fans have been spoiled in the past by having starting quarterbacks like franchise greats Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck elevate their teammates offensively and cover up glaring roster deficiencies, and right now, Jones is only available as an average starting NFL quarterback. Nothing more, nothing less. He might have been above average to great on one of his better passing days, but he’s not carrying Indy offensively in any way right now.
Perhaps most ‘dooming’ for the Colts’ offense was their inability to fully capitalize on their long or promising scoring drives, while placekicker Spencer Shrader was individually excellent in this one, kicking (and making) five field goal attempts. It doesn’t take a mathematician here to know that 3 points is less than 7 points, especially when multiplied several times over the course of a game.
If there was a bright spot for the Indianapolis offense, it was tight end Tyler Warren, who led them with 7 receptions for a total of 83 receiving yards, as well as adding a 1-yard rushing touchdown midway through the 2nd quarter.
Defensively, the Colts secondary really struggled, particularly when it came to the coverage of its linebackers in the middle of the field. Rodgers was perfect on his first 10 passing attemptsbecause Indianapolis allowed the long-time veteran quarterback to get into an initial rhythm and really dissect them surgically early. On the afternoon, Rodgers completed 22 of his 31 passing attempts for 235 total passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.
He was complemented well by Steelers running back Jaylen Warren, who had a big afternoon against the Colts front seven, averaging a whopping 6.7 yards per carry on his 15 total carries and just shy of 100 yards.
Right now, the Colts seem like a mediocre football team, which has been the status quo for a while here.
Indianapolis will beat the teams they should on their schedule due to the home/away matchup and lose to the NFL teams they should respectively. The Colts fall back below .500 at 2-3, but with an opportunistic home matchup against the winless Tennessee Titans next weekend (0-5), they have a good chance to reach .500 status again for at least another week (before traveling to the currently undefeated 5-0 Minnesota Vikings)