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Steelers vs Colts Takeaways: Pittsburgh Has an Offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is alive, and it looks like there's a bright future.

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INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pittsburgh Steelers walked away winners in Indianapolis, beating the Colts 24-17 in Week 12. 

It was a roller coaster game, especially in the second half, but one the Steelers left victorious. It might not have been a complete game, but one that kept this season alive for Pittsburgh. 

Without Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren, the Steelers' offense led this group to a win. How far has Kenny Pickett come? Do the Steelers have a run game? Is special teams a concern? 

There were plenty of questions, and answers, in the Steelers' latest win. 

Noah Strackbein's Takeaways

The Steelers Have a Run Game

The Steelers lost Najee Harris early in the first half of the game and it didn't matter. Coming in without Jaylen Warren, then handing the keys to Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland seemed detrimental on paper. It wasn't. And that's huge. 

The Steelers' third and fourth-string runners combined for 18 rushes, 92 yards and a touchdown. Coming into the game, neither had a rushing attempt on the season. 

"Sometimes you get battlefield promoted," Tomlin said. "A guy like Benny Snell became a central part of what we were doing offensively and he was still on punt team, he was still on punt return, he was still on kickoff. Ant Mac's a guy that's always working and waiting for his opportunity and he did some things that we saw in team development in the preseason that make him a little different than some of the other backs ... I just thought he was an asset to us."

All credit is due to the offensive line. This group has become a rock, even with the mistakes from time to time. 

This all builds off of two 90-yard games from Harris. Maybe it took 10 weeks, but the Steelers have a running game. 

Kenny Pickett is Coming Together

Since the bye week, Kenny Pickett has become a true rookie quarterback. Not one you're sitting around waiting to see develop but having to tell yourself it'll come. No, one that has made progress and is starting to show there's something there. 

He's still a rookie. Rookies struggle. But Pickett's connection with his receivers is growing, he's starting to play much more relaxed on the field and he's not forcing anything. 

He's even calling game-winning plays. 

"He's getting better every week and it's in a very natural way, because of experience," head coach Mike Tomlin said. "He's a competitor. He's smart. Still a lot of meat on the bone and it's just a process. But like I always say, he's good enough and we're good enough to win while that happens."

Right now, the Steelers' quarterback position looks 100 times better than it did in Week 9. 

The Steelers Found Their CB Trio

James Pierre might have given up a touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr., but overall, this trio of Pierre, Levi Wallace and Cam Sutton looked like the best mix the Steelers have put together all season. 

Sutton is the team's best cornerback, and even if you don't want to lock him inside, he's a major upgrade in coverage over Arthur Maulet. Meanwhile, Pierre gives you the athleticism you need for faster guys, and Wallace provides stability.

It just meshes much better than the combinations the Steelers have put out all season. And even if it doesn't work all the time, the interception early and the ability to shut out their receivers for a large part of the game show it's the three players who should be on the field. 

Stephen Thompson's Takeaways

Steelers OL Earning Respect

Kenny Pickett put it perfectly - he's "proud" to be the quarterback standing behind this offensive line and he should be. There are a lot of people in Pittsburgh who have to eat a lot of crow about that group, which has morphed from one of the worst in the league to a strength. 

They kept Pickett clean on the whole, allowing just two sacks and cleared the way for big runs from Benny Snell, Najee Harris and Anthony McFarland. The holes were big, Pickett was well taken care of and it resulted in one of the most complete performances of this season. 

They've deserved more credit than they've gotten and it is high time the hogs up front get their due. 

Steelers Still Need Better Second Halves

You could almost feel it as soon as both teams came back out of the tunnel - something was going to shift. The Steelers, leading by 13 at intermission, don't blow out anyone but they were manhandling the Colts in every phase. Then an 89-yard kickoff return sparked a 14-point fourth quarter for the Colts while their defense held Pickett and company to just six plays in the frame. 

Against the Bengals in Weeks 1 and 10, plus the Jets and Browns losses the Steelers have come out of the locker room assuming that their first half script would work once again and it didn't. 

Indianapolis found their way around the Steelers' run fits with greater effectiveness and Matt Ryan diced up a secondary that made him look laughably washed in the first half. This falls on the coaches, who need to be ready to do more than just survive adjustments from the opposition, but make their own counter-adjustments to keep their foot on the gas.

Playoff Hopes Still on Life Support

The Steelers picked up a game on a team ahead of them in the playoff picture by beating the Colts and while it is a very slim outsider's chance - they still are within a prayer of making the postseason. With just one game against a team with a winning record still on the schedule, the Steelers can hold out hope for a miraculous run at the playoffs.

They'll need some help as six teams sit in front of them in the waitlist for that final spot, but four of the team's final six games come against squads ahead of them in the standings. They control more of their own destiny than it seems and with improvements coming week by week, it's not crazy to keep wishes of an extra game in the back of your mind. 

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