On the Steelers: Healthy offense unleashes full arsenal

The Steelers overcame a sloppy start, Roethlisberger threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns, Antonio Brown scored three times, and Pittsburgh again had its way with Indianapolis, whipping the AFC South leader, 45-10, at Heinz Field. Hasselbeck found Frank Gore for a 9-yard score that put Indianapolis in front, a touchdown that seemed to remind Pittsburgh that Roethlisberger put up 522 yards and six touchdowns in a victory over the Colts last fall. In 2013, the Colts clinched after a Week 14 loss (they won the division by four games over the Titans that season).

“I did get X-rays, and I’m in a little bit of pain”, Hasselbeck said Sunday, via the team’s website. “We knew it was coming and we didn’t handle it and they would just rush three”. Well, he didn’t get injured and the Steelers were blowing them out so … YEP! DeAngelo Williams ran for 134 yards and added five catches for 31 yards.

“Matt’s a tough guy, he fought through E. coli or whatever, ” tight end Dwayne Allen said, recalling Hasselbeck’s performance at Houston in October.

This season it’s been rare for the Colts to force turnovers, so when the Steelers coughed up the ball on the opening kick, it was a gift for the Colts. I missed a few tackles, which I wish I could have back. “But I’m also trying to have fun it’s all part of the game”. That’s exactly what the Indianapolis Colts are facing with Matt Hasselbeck. “I would hope that I could”.

Brown finished the rout with a 71-yard dash up the middle for the fourth punt return touchdown of his career.

Adam Vinatieri slotted over from 35 yards to hand Indianapolis a slim lead, but after Hasselbeck was intercepted for a second time in the first quarter, Chris Boswell converted two field goals to give the hosts a 6-3 advantage at the first break.

“I just feel a chemistry growing between us on offense”, Roethlisberger said. Jags QB Blake Bortles has completed 57.7 percent of his passes with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

If the Steelers continue to perform on offense like they are now, their defense only has to be slightly better than mediocre for the team to win a championship.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, owner Jim Irsay said he anticipates Andrew Luck returning under center for the Colts by Week 15 against the Texans and no later than Week 16 against the Dolphins. WR Antonio Brown became the third player in Steelers history to record 6,500 career receiving yards with a catch in the first quarter…. When asked about the great field position the Colts started with Pagano responded “You have to take advantage of it. You have two short fields”.

In 2005, the Steelers clinched the sixth and final seed to the playoffs, becoming just the second team ever (and the first in 20 years) to win three road games on their way to Super Bowl XL. They rank No. 2 in the National Football League with an average of 409.1 yards per game and No. 1 with an average of 6.5 yards per play and, as coach Mike Tomlin might say, the arrow points up.