Biggest Takeaways from Indianapolis Colts' Week 13 Loss

The Indianapolis Colts' 2015 season has been full of ups and downs. 

They started the season with a two-game losing streak, followed by a three-game win streak, followed by alternating three-game streaks. Now, they've gone and lost in the most depressing way possible, taking the air out of a three-game win streak that included defeating previously undefeated Denver and two consecutive wins with Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback. 

The season, however, is not over. 

Four games remain, and the Colts still have a great chance at winning the division and getting into the playoffs, particularly with Andrew Luck returning. 

But before they can look forward, the Colts will have to look back on Sunday's film, and we'll look back at what we can learn from the ugly 45-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Matt Hasselbeck Returned to Earth

Fred Vuich/Associated Press

The media went crazy over Matt Hasselbeck after he went 4-0 in his first four starts this season, but the loss in Pittsburgh reminded us of who he is. 

Hasselbeck is 40 years old and is a backup quarterback for a reason. He showed that on Sunday, failing to make basic plays and completely stalling the offense in the process. Hasselbeck missed open receivers and was inaccurate throughout the game, but perhaps more damning was his inability to complete simple quarterback functions.

For example, Hasselbeck incurred two delay-of-game penalties in the game, and the Colts had to waste a timeout on another play that would have resulted in a third penalty. Hasselbeck also accidentally tripped Frank Gore on a critical third-and-short handoff early in the game.

The performance was particularly disappointing because the Colts had a chance to make some plays against a vulnerable Pittsburgh defense. The Steelers have had a stout run defense this season, but the secondary is full of holes. The best chance to beat a team like Pittsburgh is to take advantage of those holes, like the Seattle Seahawks did in Week 12. But Hasselbeck couldn't do that at all.

It would be easy to point to this game as a fluke, but Hasselbeck has been inconsistent at best all season. The inane "controversy" over whether Hasselbeck would remain the quarterback when Andrew Luck returns can be buried for good now. 

Anthony Castonzo Is Sorely Missed

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

The Colts knew they would miss their stud left tackle when he went down with knee sprain two weeks ago. 

Their fears have been realized over the last two weeks. 

Against the Steelers, the reshuffled offensive line, harmed even more by Hugh Thornton missing the game, allowed five sacks, and Hasselbeck was harassed all night. While it's not an excuse for the veteran's poor play, it was still one of the offensive line's worst pass-protecting performances of the year.

Not only is Castonzo the team's most reliable pass protector, but he's also the team's most dynamic run-blocker, able to move in space and get to the second level. The rest of the offensive line lacks the athleticism and body control to impress in those areas, especially in the middle of the line.

Frank Gore did have his highest yards-per-carry average of the last five games, but it still was just 3.5 yards per carry, and the Colts have run for just 81 total yards over the last two weeks. 

With Luck out, the team needs plus play from everybody else to pick up the slack, but that will be difficult to do with Castonzo on the bench. 

Lack of Pass Rush Will Always Come Back to Haunt Indianapolis

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Ryan Grigson has had his ups and downs as a general manager, but one area that has been an inexcusable failure has been his inability to add any semblance of pass rush to the defense. 

The Colts have had a boatload of needs each offseason over the last four years, and you can't address everything each offseason. But pass rush is one of the top three factors in Super Bowl-contending teams, and the Colts haven't done nearly enough to address it. 

Part of the problem is the team's focus on run-first players on the edge, drafting players like Bjoern Werner in the first round and giving a four-year contract to Erik Walden. Other than that, the Colts have really been limited to flashes from an aging Robert Mathis and 2014 fifth-round pick Jonathan Newsome.

Picking up another aging veteran in Trent Cole hasn't worked at all this season, and Mathis' depressing battle with Father Time has taken away the team's only legitimate edge-rusher from the last three years. 

On Sunday, Mathis was repeatedly worked by left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a 2014 UDFA forced into a starting role by injuries. With Mathis struggling, the Colts couldn't get any four-man rush to land, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had eons in the pocket to make his decision. 

The Colts have decent pieces across the board defensively, and have more depth this year than ever. It's resulted in a very average defense for most of the year, ranked 15th in Football Outsiders' DVOA prior to this week. But against teams like Pittsburgh, the lack of a top-end pass rush will always be a glaring hole. 

Teams with good quarterbacks will take advantage of Indianapolis' blitz packages, and the base rush will almost always result in death by a thousand paper cuts. If there is one area where Grigson should be blasted for after four years as the Colts general manager, it's the complete lack of young pass-rush talent. 

Andrew Luck Can't Get Back Soon Enough

AJ Mast/Associated Press

All in all, the Pittsburgh loss was a reminder that the Colts are still built around Andrew Luck. 

The Colts have added more talent around Luck this year, but the fourth-year quarterback's struggles and injuries have still resulted in the team's worst offense since the unholy trio of Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky and Kerry Collins led the way in 2011. 

This is a team that was built to to be an elite passing offense in 2015. It was a team that was supposed to take the explosive offense from 2014 and add efficiency. Stacked offensive units like Pittsburgh would still put up points against Indianapolis, as the top-end defensive talent to keep those kind of offenses limited is simply not there yet for the Colts. 

But the team was supposed to be able to keep up on offense. That didn't happen even with Luck on the field this year, for a number of reasons, but it's certainly not happening with Hasselbeck running the show. 

The Colts still have a chance to make the playoffs, and could even make a postseason run, but it's entirely dependent on Luck coming back and getting quickly integrated back into Rob Chudzinski's offense. The last time Luck was on the field, he was leading Chudzinski's offense to 27 points against the league's best defense and a win over the previously undefeated Broncos. 

Pittsburgh Is the Worst Matchup in the League for Indianapolis

Fred Vuich/Associated Press

Even if Luck gets back, however, any chance at a playoff run would be incredibly unlikely if it started with a matchup against Pittsburgh, which is currently in the thick of the wild-card race in the AFC. 

The Colts certainly haven't been impressive this year, but every AFC team is vulnerable. 

While Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals have looked great this year, the Colts wouldn't hate their chances against a quarterback they've been able to frustrate in the past. The Denver Broncos already have one loss to the Colts this season. The Kansas City Chiefs are playing well at the moment and are currently in line for a wild-card spot, but the Colts have a lot of familiarity winning that matchup as well. 

Even the New England Patriots, long the Colts' primary adversaries, are looking vulnerable, losing two straight. With their offensive injuries, they don't look like quite the mismatch they did last January. 

Pittsburgh, however, is terrifying. Even if Luck came back and the Colts were able to move the ball against the Steelers, stopping Ben Roethlisberger and the speedy receiving corps doesn't seem realistic for the Colts. The only weakness on that offense right now is a beat-up offensive line, and the Colts simply don't have the playmakers to take advantage there (especially with Henry Anderson and Arthur Jones on the injured reserve list). 

Any kind of playoff run is a long shot for Indianapolis, but a matchup against the Steelers with a healthy Roethlisberger would make it nearly impossible.