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With the Steelers falling for the fourth consecutive loss and all the usual factors at stake – lost passes, short yards and little offense in the first half – a Christmas miracle happened on Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field.
Losing 17 points and looking as lifeless as a Christmas tree without water, the Steelers used three touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger in the 18 minutes and 16 seconds to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 28-24.
The win not only yielded three consecutive losing games, it also secured the AFC North title and at least third place in the conference for the Steelers heading towards the end of the season next weekend in Cleveland.
It was the fourth time in the franchise’s history that the Steelers overcame a 17-point deficit. They also came back from a deficit of 18 points once and a deficit of 21 points on three occasions in the franchise’s history.
The Steelers lost 24-7 in the third quarter and failed to convert a first and a Colts 1 goal into the first possession in the second half.
On the second shot, Roethlisberger immediately attacked with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson, and the Steelers’ attack suddenly came to life. Roethlisberger followed up with touchdown passes to Eric Ebron and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the next two series, giving the Steelers the first advantage with 7:38 left.
After dropping three touchdowns for the Colts and 39-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers in the first half, the Steelers defense gave in and did not give up any points after a field goal in the Indianapolis opening series of the third quarter.
Roethlisberger completed 34 of 49 passes for 342 yards. Smith-Schuster had nine receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Johnson had eight receptions for 75 yards and a score.
Rivers finished 22 from 35 to 270 yards, a touchdown and two turnovers – an interception and a fumble.
The Colts kicked off in the second half and went 65 yards in 10 moves to take the lead 24-7 over Rodrigo Blankenship’s 28-yard field goal.
As in the previous week in Cincinnati, when the Steelers showed some fire in the second half, they went from 20 to Colts 1, where they had a first and a goal. A run by Benny Snell lost a meter. A pass to Ebron at the back of the end zone was dropped. Chase Claypool made a pass on the goal line on the third down, and cornerback TJ Carrie deflected a pass in the end zone away from James Washington.
The Steelers forced a punt and recovered the ball at Colts 39. Roethlisberger kicked the end zone on the first move, and Johnson made the reception to pull the Steelers within 24-14 with 3:16 remaining in the fourth.
Ebron’s 5-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the first quarter made 24-21 and completed a 74-yard drive that was aided by two pass interference penalties against the Colts. Ebron’s touchdown came immediately after a 21-yard penalty on TJ Carrie for interfering with Johnson.
A Cameron Heyward sack forced a punt, and the Steelers moved 84 yards in 10 moves to take a 28-24 lead on Roethlisberger’s pass for 25-yard touchdown to Smith-Schuster with 7:38 to play. Roethlisberger completed 6 of 8 passes for 69 yards on the drive.
Indianapolis was in 47 when Rivers made a deep pass with 6:05 to go. He took down all but Mike Hilton, who intercepted him at Steelers.
The Steelers had a couple of first runs and kicked the ball back to the Colts, who took over at 15 with 2:16 remaining. Steve Nelson was called in for pass interference on a 5-to-5 pass, giving the Colts a first run down Indianapolis 40 with 1:50 left. A third-run finish for TY Hilton won 21 yards, but the Colts came no closer than the Steelers 33 and turned the ball downhill with 1:14 left.
The Colts made 217 yards and three touchdowns in the first half – two on drives over 70 yards – to take a 21-7 lead into the locker room. The Steelers had 51 yards in the break until three passes in the final 14 seconds increased the total to 93. This included seven runs for four yards.
This happened a week after the Steelers had 40 yards and two first takedowns in the first half in Cincinnati.
Made 25 yards and two first runs in the first quarter, the Steelers needed to go just three yards for a touchdown that tied the score 7-7 with 13:47 remaining in the second period.
TJ Watt’s strip sack in Rivers forced a fumble that Hilton picked up at Indianapolis 24 and was returned 21 yards.
It took three cracks, plus a penalty, for the Steelers to find the end zone in James Conner’s 1-yard run.
The Colts responded with a 12-game, 85-yard touchdown attempt that consumed 7:12 and ended with Jonathan Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown run.
After three more e-outs, the Colts took over at Steelers 43 after a 22-yard punt return and a 10-yard penalty. This time, only two moves were needed for the Colts to increase their lead to 21-7.
Rivers advanced in his pocket to avoid the passing race and launched in the middle for an open Zach Pascal. Joe Haden was late in covering the 42-yard touchdown.
Taylor’s first touchdown came in a 6-yard burst in the middle in the opening bid for Indianapolis and marked the first time the Steelers defense gave up a touchdown in their first possession this season.
Joe Rutter is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Joe by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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