Benny Snell’s 2-yard touchdown run with 9:55 left Monday night lifted the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 24-17 win over the host Indianapolis Colts.
Getting his first carries of the year, Snell ran for a team-high 62 yards on 12 carries, earning more work when starter Najee Harris was shut down at halftime with an abdominal injury. Snell’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive that erased the Colts’ only lead of the game.
Indianapolis’ last chance for a tying touchdown ended with 24 seconds left when Matt Ryan’s fourth-down pass from the Pittsburgh 26 was knocked away from Parris Campbell by Cameron Sutton.
Ryan completed 22 of 34 passes for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His 6-yard scoring strike to Michael Pittman with 16 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Colts (4-7-1) a short-lived 17-16 edge.
Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett hit on 20 of 28 attempts for 174 yards while adding 32 yards on six rushes. Pickett played turnover-free ball for the third straight game.
Jonathan Taylor ran for a game-high 86 yards on 20 carries for Indianapolis, including a 2-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the third quarter.
Pittsburgh (4-7) dominated the first half as Pickett, starting his seventh career game, smartly guided the offense down the field with consistency. Matthew Wright’s 45-yard field goal initiated the scoring on the night’s first drive.
Wright hit from 52 yards less than a minute into the second quarter for a 6-0 lead, followed by a 6-yard touchdown run from Harris at the 7:46 mark of the period that made it 13-0. At that point, the Steelers had 11 first downs to Indianapolis’ none.
The Colts finally gained some traction offensively, picking up enough first downs to set up a 51-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin with 3:48 remaining. But Pittsburgh finished the half with another sustained drive that resulted in Wright’s 25-yard field goal 56 seconds before intermission.
When McLaughlin’s 59-yard attempt was blocked to end the half, the Steelers took a 16-3 lead to the locker room.
–Field Level Media
