Flawed Steelers' Playoff Hopes Continue to Rest on Ben, Bell and Brown

In a 28-7 Thanksgiving night victory over the depleted, struggling Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers made two things plainly clear to even a tryptophan-plagued, half-awake football audience 

First, the Steelers showed us they remain genuinely flawed. The defense allowed backup Colts quarterback Scott Tolzien to extend far too many drives and was bailed out by questionable Indy goal-line play calls as well as two ugly fourth-quarter throws that resulted in easy Pittsburgh interceptions. 

Second, they confirmed those flaws might not matter so long as the three B's are healthy and productive. The Steelers weren't really on their game in Indianapolis, and yet they still won by a three-score margin on the road thanks almost entirely to stellar performances from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. 

With Colts franchise quarterback Andrew Luck trapped in concussion protocol, Tolzien made just his third career start. He entered Thursday's game with one touchdown and five interceptions on 91 career passes, and yet for at least three quarters, a vulnerable Steelers secondary made the 29-year-old undrafted journeyman look like a decent starter. You wouldn't have mistaken him for Tom Brady or Drew Brees, but we've seen a lot worse in NFL backfields this season. 

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During the first three quarters, Tolzien completed all but nine of his 24 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Pittsburgh failed to register a takeaway. The Steelers led 21-7 due mainly to the fact the Colts came away with zero points on the goal line on two separate occasions.

And while Pittsburgh's defensive front deserves some credit for those stops, the Colts made it easier on them.

How so? By forcing Tolzien—who unfortunately only resembles Brady when it comes to speed—to lumber on a play-action roll-out on 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line (it didn't end well) before emptying the backfield with Tolzien in shotgun on the fourth-down play that screamed, "We're going to throw the ball!" It ended just as poorly.

Later, the Colts squandered another goal-to-go opportunity by failing on three consecutive snaps inside the Pittsburgh 5-yard line. That time, they again had Tolzien in the shotgun on 4th-and-goal from the 1. You can probably guess how it ended. 

If Indy handled those situations a little more adroitly, or if Colts receivers didn't drop four Tolzien passes, this might have been a very close game in the fourth quarter. 

Meanwhile, that Steelers defense—which entered Thursday night ranked 25th against the pass—allowed Tolzien to complete six of his nine third-down passes for gains, with the Colts converting eight of their 15 third-down opportunities and two of their four fourth-down gambles. They actually controlled the ball for three-and-a-half minutes longer than Pittsburgh did, running 13 more plays from scrimmage. 

Things fell apart for Tolzien and Co. in the fourth quarter. At that point, an offense that was already without Luck and had lost center Ryan Kelly to a shoulder injury and receiver T.Y. Hilton to a back injury didn't have anything left in the tank. That gave defensive backs Mike Mitchell and William Gay the ability to pick up gimme interceptions. 

Still, those flaws were exposed, even magnified at times. It's rarely easy to win on the road on short rest, but this should have been easier than it was. 

And it might not have happened at all if not for the big three on offense. 

Roethlisberger had a hassle-free night and completed all but six of his 20 passes and averaged 11.1 yards per attempt against a defense that saw key cogs Robert Mathis (elbow) and Vontae Davis (groin) go down on the fly. All three of his touchdown passes went to Brown, who caught five of the six balls he was targeted on and finished with 91 receiving yards. 

Bell had no trouble, either, picking up 142 yards from scrimmage on 27 touches. He gained positive yardage on every single one of those, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. 

The offensive line did a great job giving Roethlisberger time, allowing Brown to gain space and opening up holes for Bell. And ultimately, the defense got the job done. But the Steelers have retaken the AFC North lead thanks almost entirely to those three stars. 

Player	First 9 weeks	Last 3 weeks
Ben	62%, 17 TD, 7 INT, 93.9 rating	73%, 6 TD, 0 INT, 114.7 rating
Bell	4.5 YPA, 75.2 YPG	4.8 YPA, 107.7 YPG
Brown	6.9 RPG, 84.6 YPG	9.0 RPG, 107.0 YPG

They made it look even easier last week in a victory over the Cleveland Browns, with Bell accumulating 201 yards on 36 touches, Brown making catches on eight of the 10 throws he was targeted on and Big Ben completing 23-of-36 passes on what felt like a day off. 

Roethlisberger missed a game due to a knee injury and wasn't himself when he returned. But since struggling that first week back, he's thrown six touchdown passes, zero interceptions and has a 114.7 passer rating in three games.

Bell was suspended to start the year and fell into a bit of a rut when Roethlisberger was hurt, but he's picked up 323 rushing yards the last three weeks.

And during that same span, Brown has reemerged as the league's most productive receiver. He's caught 27 of the 34 passes thrown his way for 321 yards, and on Thursday he became the first player this season to reach the 80-reception mark. 

We've seen it before, and it looks like we could see it again. When Ben, Bell and Brown are on, the Steelers can overcome their deficiencies and beat pretty much anybody. 

Thanksgiving might not have provided definitive proof of that, because the Colts did so much to beat themselves, but few Steelers played particularly well on Thursday night. On the road. On short rest. Against a quarterback who was better than anybody expected. And yet because of Roethlisberger, Bell and Brown, Pittsburgh still won by a 21-point margin. 

Entering December, that says a lot. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon