Colts Need Not Think About History With Steelers

The knee-jerk reaction to analyzing the Indianapolis Colts’ history against the Pittsburgh Steelers entering Sunday’s game at Heinz Field is to suggest that the visitors not pay any attention to the past.

Yeah, it’s been rather one-sided.

The Steelers have won 24 of 30 all-time meetings as well as all five playoff games.

The Colts (5-2), who lead the AFC South Division, were modest one-point favorites early in the week against the Steelers (3-4), but that changed with Friday’s announcement that Colts four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton has been ruled out with a calf injury that could keep him sidelined for a month. Now the Steelers are modest 1.5-point favorites.

Any way you slice it, regardless of who suits up and who doesn’t — need anyone be reminded that Colts killer Ben Roethlisberger is out for the year as Steelers quarterback — this game was going to be a challenge for the Colts.

The last time the Colts defeated the Steelers was 24-20 on Nov. 9, 2008. In other words, it’s been a while since Peyton Manning threw a deciding 17-yard TD pass to running back Dominic Rhodes at Heinz Field.

When thinking Colts-Steelers, the most recent memories are of “Big Ben” shredding the Colts defense for record passing numbers. But, again, he’s not playing.

One game stands alone as most memorable — and, again, it happened before everyone but Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri was in the league. The underdog Steelers stunned the top-seeded Colts 21-18 in an AFC Divisional playoff game on Jan. 15, 2006.

The Steelers pulled off the upset in what goes down as one of if not the most bitter Colts playoff loss in franchise history. Some could argue for other disappointments, but that Colts team was poised to win the Super Bowl. For 13 weeks of the regular season, they won each game by at least a touchdown. They were that good.

But tragedy intervened with the suicide of the son of Colts head coach Tony Dungy, and the Colts weren’t the same team after James Dungy died. Tony said years later he didn’t think it factored into the team’s one-and-done postseason performance, but players and coaches politely disagreed. Instead of being focused on an upcoming playoff run and finishing what they had started as the NFL’s obvious team to beat, the Colts were shuffling into a church for a funeral.

They didn’t play a meaningful game for about one month, and when the time came to show up, the Colts faltered and the Steelers seized the opportunity.

The Colts still could have won, too, after Gary Brackett caused a Jerome Bettis fumble at the end. Cornerback Nick Harper scooped up the ball and had a chance to score, but was tripped up by a diving Roethlisberger. The play would be immortalized on a T-shirt as “The Immaculate Tackle.”

We remember how it ended from there. Mike Vanderjagt badly missed wide right on a field goal that could have forced overtime in the final minute. The Colts kicker slammed his helmet to the ground in disgust as a shocked stadium tried to accept how the home favorites had somehow come up short.

As fans exited the stadium, they were understandably upset and angry. This was supposed to be the Colts’ year. Instead, Bettis got to celebrate a Super Bowl win in his final NFL season.

Although the Colts would rebound the next year to win Super Bowl XLI, in the years after, many who were on both Colts teams pointed back to the 2006 loss and that team as the best during those glory years.

Alas, that’s all history. Nothing can be done to change it.

The Colts are just trying to win on Sunday. The best they can do is start a more triumphant trend.

Again, it’s wise to just forget about what’s happened in the past.

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