Colts Unable To Overcome Matt Ryan, Jeff Saturday's Mistakes; Steelers Get Messy Win

Indianapolis Colts HC Jeff Saturday and quarterback Matt Ryan are headed to 'time-out' following an ugly Monday night loss to the Kenny Pickett-led Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-17.

The game was defined by a stumbling Colts offense, porous Steelers defense and a lukewarm performance by Pickett.

The Colts' bad judgment culminated on the final possession when Ryan threw to a double-covered Parris Campbell on fourth down, as well as a rookie coaching mistake by Saturday to halt all momentum.

From a first-quarter interception inside the Colts' 40-yard line to a Jonathan Taylor fumble in the red zone — compounded by a botched recovery attempt by Ryan — Indy's offense struggled to maintain an offensive pulse against the Steel Bead-Curtain.

In his performance, Ryan tied the league lead in QB fumbles (Justin Fields, 13) and turnovers (Josh Allen, 14). Ryan went 22-of-34, throwing for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

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The Colts were handed relief on a platter following a questionable defensive pass interference call on Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, which set Indy up for a six-yard TD pass to wide receiver Michael Pittman. They also received a nice 89-yard kickoff return by Dallis Flowers to start the second half, only for that drive to end in the Taylor fumble.

Pittman had to go above and beyond to mask Ryan's waning arm strength in the fourth quarter, including a 28-yard 50/50 ball that MP snatched out of the air.

Indy took a 17-16 lead after the drive — heading into the fourth.

On the final offensive drive, the Colts offense was stifled by Jeff Saturday's lousy clock management. Saturday failed to call a much-needed timeout after a Matt Ryan scramble up the middle fell short of a first down.

At the time of the play, Saturday was holding onto three timeouts with less than a minute left on the clock.

It was Nathaniel Hackett against the Seahawks all over again.

Saturday addressed the lack of a timeout after the game: "I thought we had plenty of time, I wasn't too concerned. We had plenty of timeouts. This wasn't a press for time."

Kenny Pickett played a safe game against the bumbling Colts team, completing 20 of 28 attempts for 175 passing yards. George Pickens, much like Pittman, was the Steelers' crutch in big moments. He caught three passes for 57 yards.

The Steelers got a boost from RB Benny Snell, who played in relief when Najee Harris exited the game due to injury. Snell tallied 12 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Indianapolis (4-7-1) braces for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers in the next three weeks.