Flawed Steelers’ Playoff Hopes Continue to Rest on Ben, Bell and Brown

In a 28-7 Thanksgiving night victory over the depleted, struggling Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers made two things plainly clear to even a tryptophan-plagued, half-awake football audience 

First, the Steelers showed us that they remain genuinely flawed. The defense allowed backup Colts quarterback Scott Tolzien to extend far too many drives and was bailed out by questionable Indy goal-line play calls as well as two ugly fourth-quarter throws that resulted in easy Pittsburgh interceptions. 

Second, they confirmed that those flaws might not matter so long as the three B’s are healthy and productive. Because the Steelers weren’t really on their game in Indianapolis, and yet they still won by a three-score margin on the road thanks almost entirely to stellar performances from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. 

With Colts franchise quarterback Andrew Luck trapped in concussion protocol, Tolzien made just his third career start. He entered Thursday’s game with one touchdown and five interceptions on 91 career passes, and yet for at least three quarters a vulnerable Steelers secondary made the 29-year-old undrafted journeyman look like a decent starter. You wouldn’t have mistook him for Tom Brady or Drew Brees, but we’ve seen a lot worse in NFL backfields this season. 

During the first three quarters, Tolzien completed all but nine of his 24 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Pittsburgh failed to register a takeaway. The Steelers led 21-7 due mainly to the fact the Colts came away with zero points on the goal line on two separate occasions.

And while Pittbsurgh’s defensive front deserves some credit for those stops, the Colts made it easier on them.

How so? By forcing Tolzien—who unfortunately only resembles Brady when it comes to footspeed—to lumber on a play-action roll-out on a third-and-goal from the one-yard line (it didn’t end well) before emptying the backfield with Tolzien in shotgun on the fourth-down play that screamed “we’re going to throw the ball!” (it ended just as poorly).

Later, the Colts …

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