Steelers vs. Colts Recap

By: Eric Brill

The Steelers won their preseason home opener against the Colts 26-24, after rookie Danny Hrapmann's deflected 22 yard field goal attempt carried over the crossbar with just 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Ben Roethlisberger played four series, finishing 5 of 9 for 81 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Fifty seven of those yards came on the heels of an electrifying bubble screen to Antonio Brown, which he took the distance to give the Steelers the early lead.

That was the second long screen the Steelers have scored on this year, after Chris Rainey's last week in Philadelphia. Its funny how those plays were not nearly as effective under Bruce Arians' tutelage during his tenure in Pittsburgh.

Arians, who is now the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis had his work cut out for him tonight against the Steelers vaunted defense. His sensational rookie quarterback Andrew Luck began the night 2-7, before throwing an ill advised pass Ike Taylor's way, who returned his mistake 49 yards to the house.

Luck bounced back in a big way after that, leading three scoring drives in the second quarter to give Indianapolis a 17-14 lead at the half.

Consider this: After the pick to Taylor, Luck went 14-17 on his next four possessions. Of those three incompletions, one was a spike to allow a field goal attempt and another was an interception on a play that saw rookie T.Y. Hilton, bobble a perfect pass right into the arms of Steelers cornerback, Cortez Allen.

Defensively, the starters played well with the exception of some miscommunications in the secondary that allowed some open runners. Otherwise the pass rush was solid, and through the first quarter, the Colts offense had just six yards rushing on four carries. Definitely still have areas to improve on but nothing too concerning.

Chris Carter continues to impress but I wouldn't feel comfortable with him as an opening day starter. His bull rush must improve and his inexperience is evident. He will only continue to grow but obviously you'd rather not throw him into the fire too early if it can be avoided. Hopefully James Harrison or Jason Worilds is healthy before the Steelers head to Denver in week one.

Offensively, Roethlisberger wasn't sacked! In fact, the Steelers offensive line didn't allow one until midway through the third quarter, when the starters were well out of the game. It was a nice rebound after last week's porous performance.

Though it likely has to do with the loss of Mike Adams, I'm more of a glass half full kind of guy, so I'm going to accredit the improved pocket to the addition of Willie Colon, who looked naturally fit to play left guard. Ben had more time and their were some nice running lanes early on. Hopefully the line continues to gel, especially with Max Starks' impending return.

Some other points of interest:

-Pittsburgh's red zone was mediocre at best in 2011 (17th in touchdown efficiency) and those woes continued in the second half of this game. Keep in mind that the Steelers have scored just one red zone touchdown in two games this preseason as their other three have been Taylor's pick six and a pair of screens that Chris Rainey and Antonio Brown took the distance. The remainder of their scoring has been seven field goal attempts, three of which came in the red zone, and all of which came within the thirty yard line. One of the reasons I was so excited about Todd Haley's arrival was an improved scoring offense, but I have yet to see it after two, tight preseason games.

-Maybe this is a correlation to the improved line, but after getting sucker punched with injuries last week, the Steelers came off virtually scott free in this one. Chris Rainey took a shot from Colts corner Jerraud Powers on the first series of the game, forcing him to head into the locker room to get checked out, but returned shortly thereafter. Newly signed Jason Ford left the game briefly in the second half but was also back on the field by the next series. Baron Batch was seen icing his hamstring but it doesn't appear to be anything serious. As far as preseason action is concerned, you can't hope for much better.

-I don't know if David Gilreath did enough to solidify his position as the Steelers fifth receiver, but he certainly laid the groundwork tonight after sitting out against the Eagles last week. Gilreath finished with four receptions for 78 yards, leading the team in both categories. If he continues to impress it appears to be his job to lose as none of the other young wideouts have done much of anything to earn a spot, even on the practice squad.

-Danny Hrapmann continues to impress. He finished 4-4 tonight and has now made all five of his attempts thus far in preseason. I still expect Sushi to hold onto the starting job but its worth noting the rookie's success.

-Mortty Ivy blocked a punt tonight which doesn't technically count as a turnover because the Steelers didn't recover it, but for the sake of my point we're going to count it. If you couple that play with their three interceptions, the Steelers had a +3 turnover differential tonight and are +4 through two games. The biggest issue last year was the Steelers lack of turnovers, (they forced just 15 all year) which is why it was nice to see some real playmaking again.

The Steelers (1-1) head to Buffalo (0-2) next weekend for a Saturday night matchup against the Bills and their revamped defense. Hopefully Max Starks will see his first action of the year and Isaac Redman will be healthy enough to start.