Head-Shaking Statistics (Colts vs. Steelers)
The Colts were without their leader Andrew Luck this past weekend against the Steelers.
Advantage Steelers? Probably.
However, that shouldn’t mean other position units are excused of their lack of productivity.
In order to defeat a Steelers team that continuously dismantles them, the Colts needed their stars to perform at a high level and they needed their defense to force a few turnovers, stop the run and pressure Ben Roethlisberger.
The Colts were unable to complete any of these objectives. Even a Pollyanna like myself would tell you, they didn’t even come close.
Here are some statistics from the Thanksgiving game that might make you shake your head:
• The Colts defense finished with zero sacks, zero tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, zero interceptions and zero forced fumbles: Having thrown for 221 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 completions, I’d say this had to be one of Roethlisberger’s more relaxing Sundays. He was nearly untouched and had all day to get the ball down field to his receivers. The Colts continue to struggle forcing turnovers this season. They’re tied for 23rd in the NFL in takeaways and stand at -5 in turnover differential.
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• Antonio Brown registered five receptions for 91 yards and three of his five receptions were for touchdowns: It’s tough to make a case for the secondary when Brown torches them deep for touchdowns of 33, 25 and 22 yards. Granted, he is arguably the most difficult receiver to cover in football. But three deep balls for touchdowns? That’s either miscommunication in the back end or personnel issues. No excuses.
• The Steelers ran the ball 29 times for 148 yards (5.1 avg.) and one touchdown: This isn’t completely surprising given that the Colts defense is tied for the fourth worst yards per carry average (4.60). Those statistics didn’t favor the Colts run defense against one of the best backs in football, Le’Veon Bell. His ability to elusively find holes in the defense opened up passing lanes for Roethlisberger down field, which is probably why we saw Antonio Brown nearly run out of touchdown celebrations this weekend.
• Three dropped passes for big plays: Three dropped passes out of 36 pass attempts isn’t terrible. But, when two of those drops would’ve been touchdowns and one a big play to get the Colts down to the Steeler’s five-yard-line, you can bet there will be some extra spotlight on those miscues. But the drops aren’t atypical for the Colts and have plagued them throughout this entire season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, they’re second in the NFL in dropped passes with 23 on the year.
• Two possessions on the goal line resulting in zero points: The Colts offense faced first-and-goal twice and walked away with zero points. However, the decision to keep the offense on the field instead of kicking a field goal is probably the reason no points were put on the board to cap off those possessions. Indianapolis chose to go for six after falling behind early and faced two fourth-and-goals from the one-yard line and came up short both times. If the Colts couldn’t move the ball one yard for a touchdown on two possessions in a game, they probably didn’t deserve to win. Plain and simple.
