Everything was looking perfect for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
A 24-7 lead. A victory was in sight. A step closer to the playoffs. Even potentially going into Week 17 with a chance to win the AFC South.
But things fell apart like nothing they had experienced this season. The defense couldn’t stop Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The offensive line couldn’t protect Philip Rivers. And the defense wasn’t disciplined enough to avoid penalties.
All in the second half.
And when it was over, the Colts dropped another game to the Steelers, losing 28-24, and now their playoff future is out of their hands.
Sunday was a perfect opportunity for the Colts to get their first victory over the Steelers since 2008 because a playoff spot would have almost been a guarantee.
Now?
The Colts must beat the Jaguars in Week 17 and have either the Ravens, Browns or Dolphins lose to have a chance to make the playoffs for just the second time since 2014.
It’s hard enough to stop Roethlisberger when he’s rolling — he had 342 yards passing — and it’s almost impossible when the defense is called for four penalties in the second half when Pittsburgh was making its comeback.
Rivers attempted to get his 37th come-from-behind victory when the Colts got the ball with 2:25 remaining and down 28-24.
The Colts dinked and dunked to get down to Pittsburgh’s 37-yard line before Rivers’ pass to Zach Pascal on fourth-and-7 sailed wide on him to officially make the road to the playoffs difficult for Indianapolis.
Hurry back, Castonzo and Smith: The Colts knew they were going to have their hands full with a Pittsburgh defense that went into Sunday leading the NFL in sacks (47) without starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo (ankle) and right tackle Braden Smith (COVID-19 list).
That turned into giving up a season-high five sacks against the Steelers. Not all the problems were because of right tackle Chaz Green and left tackle Will Holden. The Steelers brought pressure on the edge and up the middle against Rivers. Steelers pass-rusher T.J. Watt even stripped the ball from Rivers in the first quarter to give Pittsburgh the ball in the Colts’ red zone.
The Colts took another hit along the line when Holden left the game early in the fourth quarter. They were forced to use J’Marcus Webb, who was just brought up off the practice squad, at left tackle.
Taylor keeps scoring: Colts rookie running back Jonathan Taylor‘s late-season surge continued when he scored two touchdowns to bring his total to nine. What has been even more impressive is that Taylor has scored a touchdown in four straight games. That ties the longest streak by a Colts rookie in the past 40 seasons. The longest streak (seven games) was set by Curtis Dickey in 1980 when the team was still in Baltimore.