The Pittsburgh Steelers ended their three-game losing streak and clinched the AFC North title with a 17-point second-half comeback that carried them to a 28-24 victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Heinz Field.
The Steelers (12-3) trailed, 24-7, early in the third quarter, but the offense that was so pathetic in the first half came to life behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
The defense held the Colts (10-5) to a field goal and eight first downs after falling behind, 21-7, at halftime. They got a big interception from nickel back Mike Hilton on a deep pass from Philip Rivers with just over six minutes remaining and stopped the Colts on downs at the Steelers 33 with 1:14 remaining.
The go-ahead score came with 7:38 remaining when Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster behind safety Justin Blackmon in the end zone, capping a 10-play, 84-yard drive. Roethlisberger completed 6 of 8 passes for 69 yards on the drive.
Even when the offense finally showed some sign on life, everything fell apart as quickly as it started.
After the Colts padded their lead to 24-7 with a 28-yard field goal on their first possession of the second half, Roethlisberger completed five passes in a row for 74 yards to get to the Colts 4. The drive included a 34-yard completion to Chase Claypool on a deep slant to the Colts 14. But, even after a pass interference penalty in the end zone gave them a first down at the 1, they failed to come away with any points.
Snell was stopped for a 1-yard loss on first down and Roethlisberger threw three consecutive incompletions to end the drive, though Claypool dropped what would have been a touchdown on third down.
But, the Steelers came back on the ensuing series after a short punt by Rigoberto Sanchez gave them possession at the Colts 39. One play later, Roethlisberger threw a 39-yard touchdown to Diontae Johnson, who got behind cornerback Rock Ya-Sin down the right sideline, to make it 24-14.
It started to get interesting when the Steelers scored on their next possession, going 74 yards in five plays to make it 24-21 on a 5-yard touchdown from Roethlisberger to tight end Eric Ebron. Roethlisberger completed his last four attempts on the drive for 30 yards, but was the benefactor of a debatable 20-yard pass interference penalty against cornerback T.J. Carrie that gave the Steelers a first down at the Colts 5.
The Steelers put on another pathetic first-half performance and trailed 21-7 at halftime. They had just six first downs, 95 yards offense and managed only a touchdown because their defense set them up at the Colts 3 after a strip sack by T.J. Watt.
Roethlisberger continued to struggle, completing 11 of 20 passes for 98 yards, but 39 of the yards came on the final two plays of the first half when the Colts were playing a soft prevent defense.
James Conner had the only touchdown on a 1-yard run, but the running game was non-existent, gaining just 4 yards on seven carries. They also failed to convert a third-and-1 for the sixth consecutive time.
Meantime, Rivers was 9 of 12 for 153 yards and a touchdown and had a 68-yard catch-and-run by running back Nyheim Hines negated by an illegal block penalty.
Unlike the Steelers, who started with another three-and-out on their opening possession, the Colts took a 7-0 lead the first time they touched the ball. They capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by rookie Jonathan Taylor, one play after safety Terrell Edmunds dropped an interception in the end zone.
The Colts kept the drive alive with a 26-yard catch-and-run by rookie receiver Michael Pittman on third-and-8 from their own 32. Then, on the next two plays, the Steelers had Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and T.J. Watt off the field because of their rotation system – even though the series was only four plays old. The Colts gained 10 and 17 yards on those plays to push the ball to the Steelers 11.
The Steelers managed to tie the game at 7-7, only because their defense set up the offense at the Colts 3 on the Watts strip sack. Mike Hilton recovered the fumble and returned it 13 yards. After two failed plays and an offside penalty against the Colts, James Conner scored on a 1-yard run on third down with 13:47 remaining in the half.
But the Colts responded with a 12-play, 85-yard drive that included completions of 25 yards and 14 yards from Rivers to T.Y. Hilton to move the ball to the Steelers 28. Taylor then rushed five more times, finally scoring on a 1-yard run in which he broke four tackles to make it 14-7.
Indianapolis made it 21-7 on their next possession when Rivers hit receiver Zach Pascal for a 42-yard touchdown after he got behind cornerback Joe Haden. The touchdown was set up with a 21-yard punt return by Hines and a 15-yard penalty against cornerback Justin Layne that gave the Colts possession at the Steelers 43.
And it could have been worse. Rivers’ checkdown pass to Hines two plays into their next possession went 68 yards to the Steelers 8, but guard Mark Glowinski was penalized for a block in the back, negating the long play.
