Colts Collapse in Crushing Defeat to Fall Outside Looking in for AFC Playoff Spot
Almost everything had seemed to go according to plan when the Indianapolis Colts had a 24-7 lead in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But then a Colts defense that had allowed just two touchdowns in the second half of the past six games came unglued as Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes to lead the Steelers to a 28-24 victory on Sunday at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger hit JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 7:38 remaining for the winning points.
"In the second half, we just didn't have any answers," Colts head coach Frank Reich said.
JuJu Smith-Schuster catches a game-winning, 25-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.
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The Steelers (12-3) clinched the AFC North Division title with their seventh consecutive series win against the Colts (10-5), who now are on the outside looking in for an AFC playoff spot.
The Colts had won five of six to improve to the sixth AFC seed, but the loss drops them to eighth because they don’t have tiebreaker advantages against the Cleveland Browns (10-5), Miami Dolphins (10-5), and Baltimore Ravens (10-5). That means the Colts need to win at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-14) and get help from another contender losing in the final week to qualify for the AFC playoffs.
The Steelers had lost three in a row and failed to score 20 points in four consecutive games before they woke up in the second half.
A Colts offensive line missing starting tackles Anthony Castonzo and Braden Smith allowed five sacks against the NFL's sack leader. League leader T.J. Watt boosted his season total to 15 with a couple, including a forced fumble that the Steelers returned to the Colts' 3 to set up their first score in the second quarter.
The Colts had dominated the first half as rookie running back Jonathan Taylor ran for two touchdowns and Philip Rivers threw a 42-yard TD pass to Zach Pascal for a 21-7 halftime lead.
But the Colts were unable to run the ball effectively after the first series in the third quarter resulted in a field goal and a 24-7 lead. Taylor finished with 74 yards on 18 carries, but just 25 yards on five carries in the second half.
Back came the Steelers as Roethlisberger threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson to cut the deficit to 10. The Colts’ third pass-interference penalty provided another opportunity as Roethlisberger hit former Colts tight end Eric Ebron on a 5-yard TD pass to make it 24-21 with 14:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Diontae Johnson hauls in a 39-yard TD pass to start the Steelers comeback.
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Roethlisberger pump-faked once to freeze safety Tavon Wilson, then found Smith-Schuster wide open down the middle for the game-winning score with 7:38 remaining. Safety Julian Blackmon arrived too late to break it up.
Rivers threw an interception, then the Colts turned the ball over on downs in Steelers territory on their final possession.
