Dopey Report Card: Colts vs. Steelers

It was too close for comfort at the end, but a solid, no-nonsense victory for Indy. And they did it with a host of backups, including at quarterback.

RUN OFFENSE

Jonathan Taylor was well on his way to a third straight 100-yard rushing game before a second-half ankle injury chased him from the game. He had 51 rushing yards in the first half, 88 total. But I’m not here to talk about Taylor. I’m here to talk about the offensive line. They were terrific. Pittsurgh came into the game first in points allowed, yard allowed and a whole bunch of other defensive statistics, and the O-line, led by rookie center Tanor Bortolini making his first start, dominated the line of scrimmage – at least early, before the Steelers made a run at the Colts in the second half and the offense sputtered. I don’t make a big deal of PFF grades, but lately, they’ve confirmed what we’ve all seen. This group, coached by Tony Sparano, is playing at a very high level. The Colts finished with 133 rushing yards on 32 carries, a 4.2 average, against the best defensive team in the league (so far).

Grade: B+

RUN DEFENSE

Steelers running back Najee Harris was waiting in the tunnel for his team to go on the Lucas Oil Stadium field when the camera caught him flipping double birds at, well, who knows who he was gesturing at? Anyway, Zaire Franklin saw the photo and had a response: Kid is soft. 84 run harder, he wrote, referring to No. 84 Cordarelle Patterson. Then Franklin and his crew stopped Harris in his tracks: 13 carries, 19 yards. The yards per carry average is similar to my college grade-point average after I discovered beer (1.5). Franklin, who made some huge plays, had a lot of help from his teammates, notably linebacking mate E.J. Speed. Speed had 13 tackles (12 solo) and extended his streak of 10-plus tackle games to eight, which is tied for the longest streak in the NFL dating back to 1987 and Miami’s Zach Thomas. That’s impressive, especially if you’re old enough to remember how good Thomas was back in the day. Justin Fields and Patterson ran somewhat effectively, but against Pittsburgh, a ground-and-pound team, you’ll happily live with a 4.1 per carry average.

Grade: B

PASS OFFENSE

If you were worried about Michael Pittman Jr.’s relatively slow start, you were wasting emotional energy. The Colts’ No. 1 wide receiver was dealing with injuries early in the season, but broke out Sunday with six catches for 113 yards, his first 100-yard receiving day of the season. Josh Downs, who missed the first two games with an injury, went for 82 yards on eight receptions. And again, the offensive line was tremendous, allowing just two sacks with Bortolini replacing Ryan Kelly. I’m not saying this is some kind of Wally Pipp situation, but remember, Kelly is in the final year of his deal and the Colts would love nothing better than to move on to a younger, cheaper alternative. Bortolini, they hope, will be that guy. Anthony Richardson started well and was effective in his 13 snaps but then, well, you know what happened. Joe Flacco stepped in and did a more-than-commendable job. Combined, the two quarterbacks were 19-of-30 for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

Grade: B