Indianapolis Colts' Offensive Disappointments Key in Prime-Time Woes

For the second consecutive year, the Indianapolis Colts lost a blowout game to the Pittsburgh Steelers on prime time. 

The Colts lost a 51-34 barn burner in Pittsburgh last season, but on Sunday they put forth an embarrassing effort in a 45-10 loss at Heinz Field. The Colts allowed over 500 yards of total offense and ended the night by allowing Antonio Brown to score on a 71-yard punt return.

All in all, it's not going to be a fun game to review on film. 

It would be easy to look at this game as an example of Indianapolis' defensive problems. After all, we've seen this story before, right? 

The Colts allowed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to throw for over 350 yards and four touchdowns, after all. They were torched continuously by receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, who combined for 12 catches, 232 yards and three touchdowns. They allowed RB DeAngelo Williams to average over five yards per carry and run for 132 total yards.

After a sloppy first quarter, the Steelers pretty much did whatever they wanted, and the Colts never really had a shot at the comeback burst that has been so common in their other slow starts this season. 

It would be easy, then, to look at this game as a microcosm of what has been wrong with Indianapolis for the last few years, where we've often seen defensive collapses in prime time. 

But that would be unfaithful to what we've actually seen from this Colts team for most of this season, and it wouldn't take the context of this season into consideration. 

Let's start with the defense. 

The Colts defense had an awful game against the Steelers, certainly. But this matchup is a terrible one. The Colts defense has one main weakness: a lack of a four-man pass rush. The Colts depend on the blitz to get to opposing quarterbacks, but the Steelers' skill positions are so loaded that they are perfectly built to beat the blitz. 

Without the pass rush to get to Ben Roethlisberger in base personnel, it's always going to be simple for the Steelers to move up and down the field. 

It's also a tribute to how much talent the Steelers have on offense. With Ben Roethlisberger healthy, the Steelers have one of the most explosive, dangerous offenses in the league. They put up 538 total offensive yards on the Seattle Seahawks last week. Yes, the defensive darlings of the league Seahawks.

The Colts have been average defensively this season. They ranked 15th in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA (which adjusts for opponent) prior to this week's loss. They played a huge part in winning against Tampa Bay and Atlanta in the last two weeks, and in all of the team's wins with Hasselbeck at quarterback. 

Which brings us to the crux of the issue. 

The Colts were always going to get worked by the Steelers offense. Any shot at a win was always going to lie with their ability to win a shootout. 

Unfortunately, winning a shootout with Hasselbeck at quarterback was an unlikely proposition. Despite the media frenzy after going 4-0 this season, Hasselbeck hasn't been very good. On Sunday, he might have been the worst he's been this season. 

The Pittsburgh defense has been one of the league's most vulnerable in the passing game this year, ranking 19th in defensive DVOA and allowing Seattle to tear through them for five passing touchdowns. But with Hasselbeck struggling, the Colts were helpless. 

The Colts managed just 240 yards of offense, and averaged 4.2 yards per play (compared to 7.2 yards per play for Pittsburgh). They converted just three of 14 third downs, went 1-of-6 in red-zone opportunities, turned the ball over three times and went scoreless in the entire second half. 

Most of those red-zone opportunities only happened because the Colts defense and special teams came up big. For example, the Colts recovered two Steeler fumbles deep in Pittsburgh territory on the first two drives, but they managed to get just three points out of it. Their lone touchdown came when they got the ball on the Pittsburgh 46 to start the drive after a punt pinned the Steelers inside their own 10 and the defense held them without a first down. 

Hasselbeck missed open receivers, didn't recognized blitzes and was inaccurate, as well as throwing two interceptions. He also had two delay-of-game penalties as the Pittsburgh crowd confused communication early on. 

Without any offensive threat to keep Pittsburgh at bay, the Colts never had a shot against Pittsburgh, and they won't have a shot against any Super Bowl contenders until that changes. Against Tampa Bay when Hasselbeck gets hot? Sure. Against the AFC South? Most of the time. 

But against Super Bowl contenders? Not a chance. 

This was a team built around what was supposed to be an elite offense, especially the passing offense. But without Luck, the team won't ever be that. Even with Luck, it rarely lived up to expectations in the first half of the season. 

Now, the offense did look impressive in the team's win over Denver earlier this year, in the team's first game with Rob Chudzinski at offensive coordinator. But that was with Luck at quarterback, and the Colts won't see that again until Week 15, or potentially even later. 

Fortunately, the Colts don't have any games against Super Bowl contenders for the rest of the regular season, facing the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans in the final four weeks. 

But when the playoffs come, the Colts will need that elite offense to have a chance at a Super Bowl run. To do that, it's clear they'll need Andrew Luck back. And not the version we saw early this season, but the real Andrew Luck.