As you were recovering from your turkey induced food-coma late Thursday night, the Steelers were claiming a 28-7 victory in Indianapolis. Behind big days from Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh claimed another victory over a weakened opponent. This marks two in a row for the Steelers, a small streak that will hopefully create confidence for the rest of the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers Week 12 Takeaways
The Steelers offense did not skip a beat to start the game. On the first three offensive drives of the game, the Ben Roethlisberger lead his unit to three touchdowns and an early 21-7 lead. The early success relied heavily on Brown and Bell, who were the main subject of 17 of the 22 offensive plays on these drives.
AB Goes for Three
The beneficiary of the night was Antonio Brown, who on only five receptions racked up three touchdowns. Brown, who has a knack for finding the end zone in prime time, was yet again penalized after his first touchdown for “excessive celebration.” The star’s past incidents have at least been arguably excessive. On Thursday night however, a quick handshake with Le’Veon Bell resulted in 15 yards. These calls that have increased league wide have gone too far and need to stop. If it is not offensive or detrimental to the league’s image, it should not be flagged.
Bell Key to Offensive Success Yet Again
The story of the Steelers success throughout the year has relied on the success of Le’Veon Bell. Bell has been a constant target out of the backfield while also receiving a heavy workload running the ball. Again on Thursday, Bell reached 100 yards on the ground and supplemented the pass game. Bell was granted 23 carries and gained 120 yards and picked up the Steelers final touchdown. In addition to this, Bell was on the receiving end of two very successful screen passes, yet again adding depth to his versatility as an offensive weapon.
Mitchell and Secondary Continue to Make Strides
The big story of the game was the improvement seen in the secondary. Although against Scott Tolzien, the secondary played very well and helped hold the Colts to only seven points. The leader of the secondary, Mike Mitchell, had the most impressive showing Thursday. Along with defending the pass, the safety also delivered many crucial hits. On one occasion, Mitchell came up and prevented Tolzien from scrambling into the end zone. This was a major play in one of two goal line stops for the Steelers. On another play, Mitchell rocked Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton with a major (but still legal) hit. This hit kept the Colts number one target off the field for a majority of the remainder of the game.
The offensive productivity and hard hitting defense will have to continue if the Steelers wish to continue winning and claim the AFC North. The Steelers will host the New York Giants next week. This match up is very intriguing as it will be the Steelers first real challenge since the awful loss to Baltimore. Even more intriguing is the fact that the Giants’ strength at wide receiver will be matched up against the Steelers biggest weakness, being their secondary. The young secondary will be tested and trusted to come up big next week.
