Colts top Steelers, 19-15
The first series ended in a sack and lost fumble after theyhad a first down at the Indianapolis 33. The second bogged down in the red zone andmanaged a field goal.
Roethlisberger completed 6 of 9 passes for 73 yards in his two series. Brown caught two for28 yards. They left with the Steelers trailing, 7-3, and Roethlisberger thought their performancewas “OK.”
“We got some good work. We’d like to put 7 points on the board both times but it was good. We got done what wewanted to accomplish.”
You will have to wait until Sept. 10 to see either of them again, which is when running backLe’Veon Bell will join them for the first time, presumably.
Their first defense, missing only injured safety Mike Mitchell, allowed yards and points to a Colts offense without quarterback Andrew Luck and his star receiver, T.Y. Hilton. The Colts moved almost at will and did not puntin the first half.
The Steelers first offense moved rather nicely, thanks in part to the play of halfback Knile Davis, who started. He carried twice for 10 and 11 yards and added a 9-yard reception that put the ball at the Indianapolis 33 after a facemaskpenalty.
But then linebacker John Simon got around Alejandro Villanueva to hit Roethlisberger, who lost a fumble on the drop-back attempt. The Coltsrecovered at the 37.
On the first play, Scott Tolzien threw a short pass over the middle to Donte Moncrief. Cornerback Artie Burns was there to make the tackle, but Robert Golden knocked his teammate off the receiver, friendly fire that helped Moncrief scoot 55 yards to the 8. Four plays later,after a pass-interference callon cornerback Ross Cockrell, ageless Frank Gore ran into the end zone from the 1 fora 7-0 Colts lead.
The Steelers first-team offense did it a tad better on its second try, but had the same trouble it experienced at times in 2016 — it reached the red zone and settled for a field goal, of 36 yards by Chris Boswell. This after it moved to a firstdown at the 18.
The Steelers defense allowed two more drives that ended in two field goals by Adam Vinatieri, 44. It was saved from another score when linebacker Ryan Shazier made a leaping interception over the middle at the Steelers20.
It also was Shazier’s first appearance of the preseason afterhe shook off a hamstring injury.
“I just try to continue to work on that aspect of my game,’’ he said of his interception.
Another disappointment for the Steelers had to be the play of their offensive line. Tomlin kept them in for the entire first half. They allowed two sacks, other pressures and Davis was once nailed in the backfield just as he got the ballfor a 4-yard loss.
Somehow, Landry Jones still was able to complete 11 of his 15 passes behind that line in the first half (he finished 21 of31, 163 with one touchdown, one interception) after Roethlisberger left. He guided them to another Boswell field goal, this one from 41 yards with sixseconds left in the half.
Jones, also playing in his first game after overcoming an abdomen injury, led them to a touchdown on their first series of the third quarter. He threw a nice 10-yard pass in the end zone that tight end Xavier Grimble caught onehanded over cornerback Tyvis Powell. Boswell missed the extra point and Indianapolisstill led, 13-12.
“I was happy for him, happy to catch a touchdown for him,’’ Grimble said. “It was good to see him back out there.”
After James Harrison, in his first game, combined with Vince Williams on a sack to thwartthe Colts, Jones led the Steelers to another scoring drive that ended in another Boswell field goal, from 37 yards, to give them their first lead,15-12, late in the third.
Indianapolis reclaimed the lead on a 14-play, 86-yard drive that ended with Josh Fergusonrunning 1-yard into the end zone. Vinatieri missed the kick, but the Colts led,19-15, with 9:47 to go.