Pittsburgh Steelers Show Potential To Win AFC North By Beating Indianapolis Colts

By Tyson Sweet @The12thDude on October 26, 2014

I imagine that talks about a Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts AFC Championship game will be put on hold, at least for a while. After beginning the year 0-2, the Colts have looked unstoppable for the past five weeks, but the Pittsburgh Steelers quickly reminded people that no team is ever unbeatable.

It is kind of hard to imagine, but this game was a shootout, and it was Ben Roethlisberger and Co. that outshone Andrew Luck and the Colts. Big Ben was able to repeatedly find receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant deep, along with his trusty tight end Heath Miller. Roethlisberger was so good that he set franchise records for completions (40), passing yards (522) and touchdown passes (six).

There’s no doubt that an injury to the Colts star cornerback Vontae Davis hurt Indianapolis, but Roethlisberger was on a role from start to finish, and the fact that he only threw nine incompletions all game tells me he probably couldn’t have been slowed down much, if at all.

Truthfully, Roethlisberger could have passed Van Brocklin’s NFL record set in 1951 for passing yards in a single game if the Steelers had any reason to throw the ball in the final minutes, but he’s probably not complaining. The Steelers have won two in a row, and have improved their record to 5-3.

Neither teams’ defense was spectacular, but Pittsburgh’s was able to do one thing right: apply constant pressure, and hit Luck many, many times. It’s not like they just got to Luck and put a hit on him; they got to Luck and hit him so hard that I thought they had knocked the Colts back to 1991 for a second.

Respect to Luck — he threw a pick-six to William Gay in the first half, but continued to stand strong in the pocket and keep his team in it for most of the game, despite getting repeatedly crushed. At one point, the Steelers had a 35-10 lead, but no lead is ever safe against Luck.

This matchup was no exception. Aided by two costly Pittsburgh fumbles, one of which being near the goal line, the Colts were able to get back in it, but Roethlisberger was able to shut the door on their comeback hopes. By the time the fourth quarter came to a close, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis had combined for 1,087 total yards. If you are someone that absolutely loves offense, this was the game for you.

The AFC North is going to be a battle, but tonight proves the Steelers have the potential to take the division. This is a team that began the year without an identity, but at 5-2, they finally seem to be finding one. Maybe the Steelers’ uniforms are a sign of things to come in the second half for Pittsburgh. It may not always be pretty, but they’ll get the job done. After all, a win is a win, no matter how you break it down.

Tyson Sweet is a Seattle Seahawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @The12thDude, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google!