STEELERS NOTEBOOK: Brown burns double coverage

Last season against the Colts Roethlisberger looked like he was in a video game, piling up a mind-numbing 522 passing yards and six touchdowns in a 51-34 Steelers’ rout.

The win over the AFC South-leading Colts (6-6) was their second over a current division leader this season – Arizona was the other – the Steelers still have a tough road to the postseason.

Today’s group, however, is about significant strength on the offensive side of the football with Ben Roethlisberger throwing to three of the most explosive receivers in the game, Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant. Miller, who is nursing a rib injury, had started 41 consecutive games, but the Steelers did not miss him much because rookie Jesse James stepped in and caught three passes for 30 yards. But if these Steelers are to have a 2015 postseason that threatens to extend itself toward February, it’s their defense that will be responsible, not in a sense of carrying this team but in the sense of being more. The Colts offense is averaging 21.6 points and 336.2 yards per game and they have a minus six turnover ratio.

Collinsworth mentioned, though, that Pagano said them during their interview this week that the Colts probably wouldn’t have let him on the plane if they had lost that game.

He also has a flare for the dramatic, including his goal post jump and slide celebration after returning a punt for a touchdown Sunday night against the Colts. We tried to get there with a four-man rush and play some coverage, some two deeps and some quarters.

As of Monday, the Steelers had not announced if Gay had in fact sustained a concussion. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns.

“I was full of excitement”, he said.

Additionally, the Colts managed only 54 rushing yards on 18 attempts, with a 12-yard run by back Frank Gore their longest of the night. He had two kicks downed inside the Steelers’ 20-yard line.

Now, the Indianapolis Colts could be down two quarterbacks. The Steelers held the Colts to only 10 points and scored 39 unanswered points en route to a 45-10 blowout win.

If the Steelers gain entry into the 2015 as the sixth seed and run the table they will become (at least to my knowledge) the only team to have done so. The Colts defense is allowing 25.4 points and 399.1 yards per game with 14 interceptions, 19 sacks, and nine fumble recoveries. Chris Boswell made three field goals, which was a positive.

One week after lighting up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Moncrief was almost invisible against the Steelers.

A year ago when Brown did a somersault after a 71-yard punt return score against the Bengals, Tomlin said: “It’s amusing to me sometimes that people think I can stop a grown man from doing something like that”.

THE DEFENSE RESPONDED, TOO: Tomlin and defensive coordinator Keith Butler tinkered with personnel and schematics after Russell Wilson lit the Steelers up for five touchdown passes last week.