Steelers

Steelers fall to Colts, 30-13

The Steelers weren't shy about proclaiming Saturday's game against the Colts was a playoff-type situation.

With the Steelers and Colts both sitting at 7-6 and holding the 6th and 7th spots in the AFC playoff race, the winner was going to position itself well moving forward, while the loser, while not completely out of it in a jumbled conference, was going to be on life support.

The Steelers jumped out to a 13-0 lead, only to see the Colts score 30 unanswered points, rushing for 170 yards and getting three touchdown passes from Gardner Minshew in a 30-13 win over Pittsburgh here at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The defeat drops the Steelers to 7-7 and out of a playoff spot as they lost their third game in a row and fourth game in their past five outings. With Cincinnati's overtime win earlier in the day against the Vikings, the Steelers now fall into last place in the AFC North, one game behind the Bengals, who visit Acrisure Stadium next Saturday.

"Let's be honest. We're a fundamentally poor football team right now," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, whose team turned the ball over three times and had eight penalties for 101 yards compared to two for 10 yards for the Colts.

"We're playing losing football. I take responsibility for that. By losing football, I mean we're not doing fundamental things good enough. We're turning the ball over. We're highly penalized. We don't play good in situations. ... Things won't continue the way they are. We won't continue doing the same things we're doing and expect or hope for a different result."

The Colts, meanwhile, improve to 8-6, and now control their own playoff fate.

The Steelers struck first in the game, after the Colts missed a 56-yard field goal on their opening possession. Mitch Trubisky connected with George Pickens for a pair of 15-yard receptions, then scored from the 1 on a fourth-down sneak.

He was initially ruled to have fumbled the ball, which Najee Harris scooped up and took into the end zone, but an offensive player is not permitted to advance the ball in that situation. Upon replay, it was ruled Trubisky had broken the plane of the goal to score the touchdown for the Steelers.

But Chris Boswell, who had been perfect on PATs this season, missed the ensuing one, giving the Steelers a 6-0 lead.

Indianapolis went three-and-out on its next possession and as the Colts attempted to punt, Connor Heyward broke through the line and blocked the kick. Nick Herbig recovered the loose ball at the Indianapolis 1. Two plays later, Trubisky tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson to give the Steelers a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Colts answered with a touchdown drive of their own, going 75 yards to score on a 16-yard catch by running back Zack Moss. Michael Pittman caught a 42-yard pass on a broken play on which Minshew rolled to his right, broke toward the line of scrimmage and then dropped back and lofted the ball down the sideline to Pittman.

Moss, however, suffered an arm injury as he was brought to the ground at the end of the play by Mykal Walker, who was penalized for a horse collar tackle on the play.

With Moss out of the game, backup running backs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson combined for 28 carries for 157 yards.

The Steelers were driving on their next possession, but Trubisky took a deep shot to Pickens in the middle of the field and safety Nick Cross jumped over the wide receiver to intercept the ball at the Indianapolis 11 and return it out to the 29.

On the second play from scrimmage, Mishew lofted a pass downfield for Pittman and as he turned to catch the ball, safety Damontae Kazee came up and hit him as Pittman dove for the pass, making helmet-to-helmet contact.

Pittman suffered a concussion and Kazee was ejected from the game.

That would prove troublesome for the Steelers, as on the next play, Minkah Fitzpatrick injured his knee while breaking up a pass when cornerback Patrick Peterson landed on him while also going for the ball.

The Colts would drive to the Pittsburgh 1, but Minshew's fourth-down pass to D.J. Montgomery fell incomplete, turning Indianapolis away.

The Steelers moved the ball out to their own 33 before punting with 44 seconds remaining in the half, but the Colts, taking advantage of Pittsburgh's injuries at safety, hit a pass to Montgomery for 34 yards down the middle of the field. Rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was then called for pass interference on Alec Pierce at the Pittsburgh 14.

"I thought if your head is back and you're looking for the ball, it shouldn't be a flag," said Porter. "But they called it. We'll go back to the drawing board. I've just got to do better. That's all you can do."

Two plays later, Minshew threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Montgomery to give Indianapolis a 14-13 lead at the half.

Things continued to spiral badly when, after getting a three-and-out stop to open the second half and force an Indianapolis punt, the Steelers lost the ball on a Harris fumble, with the Colts recovering the ball at the 18.

One play later, Minshew tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mo Allie Cox for a 21-13 Indianapolis lead.

The Steelers went three-and-out on their next possession, and Pressley Harvin's 41-yard punt was returned 13 yards to the Indianapolis 49 to help set up a 29-yard field goal by Matt Gay with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter and give the Colts a 24-13 lead.

To make matters even worse, safety Trenton Thompson was injured while making a tackle during the drive, leaving the Steelers without their top three players at the position coming into this game.

The Steelers had a promising drive going on their next possession, including converting a third-and-20 with a 26-yard catch by Johnson after a pair of holding penalties, but after driving to the Indianapolis 29, another holding penalty pushed them out of field goal range and they were forced to punt.

The Colts then put together a 15-play, 70-yard field goal drive during which they ran the ball 13 consecutive times before sending Gay out to kick a 31-yard field goal that extended their lead to 27-13. The drive took nearly nine minutes off the clock and came with 9:17 remaining in the game.

The Colts then intercepted Trubisky on the next possession, again intended for Pickens, running the game clock down to just before the two-minute warning before Gay missed a 43-yard field goal.

Trubisky completed 16 of 23 passes for 169 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions before giving way to Mason Rudolph for the Steelers' final possession.

Minshew completed 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns.

"We just played poorly," said Tomlin. "I'm not going to try to explain it or make excuses for it. We didn't play well in really, any area.

Thoughts: Leading the failures was the run defense

  With three losses in a row and four in their past five games, the Steelers are foundering. They're taking on water, and obviously can't continue to do the things they've done recently and expect different results.

"We're not going to keep doing the same things that we're doing and expect or hope for a different result," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin after the team's latest loss, a 30-13 defeat here at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"And so, we've got a seven-day turn around. We'll see what those seven days holds for us."

To Tomlin's point, you can't turn the ball over three times and force none of your own. You can't lose the penalty battle 101 yards to 10. You can't allow a team to run the ball for 170 yards largely without its top two running backs.

With star Jonathan Taylor sidelined with a thumb injury, his backup, Zack Moss, left early in the second quarter with an arm injury after scoring Indianapolis' first touchdown.

That left third-stringer Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson, who was called up from the practice squad, to handle the running back duties for Indianapolis.

Sermon, who himself was brought up off the practice squad earlier this season, rushed 17 times for 88 yards. Goodson had 11 carries for 69 yards and two receptions for another 10.

Worse yet, they combined to run 13 times for 70 yards on a field goal drive that ate nearly nine minutes off the clock at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, as Indianapolis pushed its lead to 27-13.

Talk about deflating.

"It is," said Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith. "As a defense, we pride ourselves in stopping the run. To do that, it's unacceptable. I'm tired of feeling like this after games. We've got three opportunities left. We have to do whatever it takes to turn it around."

The Steelers were missing players, as well. Inside linebackers Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander have been out for weeks. Then, in this game, safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee were lost.

But that's no excuse for not being able to do the most fundamental thing for a football team to do – stop the run.

Certainly playing without two starting safeties – and a third considering Keanu Neal has been out a month, as well – affects how you play pass defense. But if players are doing what they're supposed to be doing, a team shouldn't just run the ball down your throat with third- and fourth-string running backs.

"They just continued to smash the run against us and we weren't able to stop it," said Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt of the Colts, who rushed for 170 yards in this game. "They were able to continue to dictate what they wanted to do. And when you're not able to stop something, they're going to continue to do it."

Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Takes Veiled Shot At Mason Rudolph After Disastrous Collapse To Colts

The Pittsburgh Steelers felt as though they couldn't sink any lower following two brutal losses in Weeks 13 and 14 of 2023; both to teams that only had two wins entering their respective games. Apparently, Pittsburgh was able to drop even further after yet another epic collapse against the Indianapolis Colts. Across the board, starting early in the second quarter, nothing went right for the Steelers, and it led to a rare Mason Rudolph sighting. Ben Roethlisberger was doing another livestream during the Steelers' Week 15 game, and the former Steelers quarterback vented a bit of bitterness from his playing days with Rudolph as the target.

Steelers Roethlisberger Quite Sure Of Himself, Even In Retirement

It isn't a secret that from the moment the Steelers selected Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 draft, his relationship with Roethlisberger was never what anyone would call close. At best, it seemed like Roethlisberger tolerated Rudolph, but the future Hall of Fame passer did everything in his power to make sure it was him under center rather than Rudolph.

In what has become a 2023 tradition, Roethlisberger took to his Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger podcast to livestream the Steelers' Week 15 matchup against the Colts. As the final minutes of the disappointing game ticked down, Rudolph began warming up on the sidelines ahead of what would be his first regular-season action since 2021. Roethlisberger noticed the backup quarterback preparing on the sidelines, and while his response initially seemed positive, it became further proof that even in retirement, there is a prickly relationship between the two quarterbacks.

"Mason's warming up! Mason's always warming up. He always warms up, he used to warm up when I was playing. Mason, you're not going in when I'm there!"

Immediately after he said that, it was obvious that Roethlisberger realized he had just let something slip that probably should have remained as an inner thought. His co-host Spencer Te'o didn't waste any time jumping in to try and diffuse the situation by reminding Roethlisberger not to give the media ammunition, but the comment was already said. Granted, few people would be surprised to know that Rudolph and Roethlisberger aren't close friends or buddies by any stretch, but it was still one of the moments where the former quarterback probably shouldn't have said anything at all.

Steelers May Try To Win With Rudolph Going Forward

After the Steelers' Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke highly of Mitch Trubisky and made it clear that he would be the starter against the Colts. That bubble burst pretty quickly, with Trubisky's poor play leading to Rudolph being thrown to wolves in the waning moments of Saturday's contest.

It was Trubisky's second interception of the night that led to his late-game benching, something the Steelers are not accustomed to despite their embattled 2023 season. Even though they have struggled to produce any kind of consistent offense, they have protected the ball well, but the wheels came off that bus against the Colts with three turnovers. 

While Kenny Pickett may not have lit the field on fire with his passing, one thing he didn't do is throw interceptions, something that Trusbisky has now done three times in the last two games. For a team that can't afford a single misstep, having a quarterback who is unable to take care of the football is simply unacceptable.

In his postgame comments following the miserable loss to the Colts, Tomlin was noncommital in his comments about which quarterback would be at the helm moving forward. Considering that, despite the loss to the Patriots, Trubisky had Tomlin's support after the Week 14 failure, it says something that Tomlin wouldn't do the same after another subpar performance.

The reality is that even with Pickett, the Steelers were unsure about their quarterback situation. Now, with their choices being Rudolph or Trubisky, the prospect of clawing a postseason spot back with the traffic jam of teams in the AFC race is slim at best. Thanks to the lack of passing, the Steelers have been unable to get the ground game going either, leading to a total lack of offensive firepower.

The sad truth of the 2023 season is that no one is afraid to play the Steelers; in fact, somewhere along the way, Pittsburgh became the team that is used to bounce back. If that isn't falling well below the standard, then there's nowhere lower to fall, and wholesale change is the only option.

Who should quarterback the 2023 Steelers until Kenny Pickett returns?

Rudolph or Trubisky? Steelers Mike Tomlin Doesn’t Announce Week 16 Starter

INDIANAPOLIS — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin promised to do things differently going forward after his team’s 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, and that could include the quarterback position.

A week prior, after losing to the New England Patriots, Tomlin was steadfast that Mitch Trubisky would get the opportunity to make his second consecutive start. Late in the game against the Colts, after Trubisky threw his second interception, Tomlin went to Mason Rudolph at quarterback for the final two minutes.This time, he made no proclamations about who will be his starter in one week’s time against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I don’t have answers as I sit here right now,” Tomlin said. “I know that we’d better do some things differently. We’d better approach some things differently. We’re not going to roll that ball out there like that next week.”

Asked specifically about the play of Trubisky, Tomlin said “none of us were good enough, starting first and foremost with myself.”

Tomlin hasn’t benched a quarterback in-game at any point this season. He gave a minimal explanation for doing so at such a late hour in this contest.

“We didn’t do enough of anything well today,” he said.

Tomlin doubled down on promising changes, though he continued to be vague on what kind of changes those might be.

“We’re not going to keep doing the same things that we’re doing and expect or hope for a different result,” he said. “We’ve got a seven-day turnaround. We’ll see what those seven days hold for us. … Everything is on the table at this juncture. We can’t play football like that.”

Both Rudolph and Trubisky said they don’t know what’s going to happen next.

“Go back to work,” Trubisky said. “See what they want to do.”

“We’ll see,” Rudolph said. “That’s a coaching decision. … We’ll see what happens. That’s out of my hands.”

Of course, Tomlin might not be choosing just between Trubisky and Rudolph. Steelers starter Kenny Pickett is apparently pushing to make a Week 16 return in what will likely be a must-win game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Pickett missed the last two games with a high ankle sprain that required surgery in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Steelers LB Alex Highsmith’s fiery message after ‘unacceptable’ loss to Colts

It’s another rough loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they drop their third straight game with their latest loss to the Indianapolis Colts. They loss by the widest margin since Week 4 of this season, by 17 points to the Colts. Even when they’ve lost, they’ve usually kept games close within one or two possessions. However, things got out of hands for the Steelers in this one.

What’s most unusual about this loss is the Steelers defense lost control of the game. The Pittsburgh offense has struggled all year — particularly with Mitchell Trubisky replacing Kenny Pickett the past few games — but normally their defense bails them out. As of late, the Steelers defense is unable to do all the work while the offense slumps. That led to Pittsburgh giving up 30 unanswered points to Indianapolis.

After the loss, linebacker Alex Highsmith spoke out. Highsmith returned from a concussion this week and put up four tackles in the loss, which he deemed ‘unacceptable.’

“Our performance is unacceptable,” Alex Highsmith said. “We all got to take a look at the man in the mirror. It ain’t about pointing fingers. It ain’t about blaming (each other). It’s about looking at yourself and demanding better of yourself,” via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.

The Colts went on to accumulate 372 total yards with 170 rushing yards helping them control the tempo of the game and wear out the Steelers defense. Even without their starting quarterback and running back, Indianapolis came through with a dominant win. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has fallen off without their starter. They’ll have to adjust in the coming weeks if they want any shot at the playoffs.