Colts Cast: Colts on the wrong side of another one-score game; The good, bad, and ugly from Week 9 loss to Steelers

The Indianapolis Colts had a lot working against them before they ever stepped on the field in Pittsburgh Sunday. But, things got more difficult in a hurry with the loss of Jacoby Brissett, and Ryan Kelly in the first half. Still, the Colts had an opportunity to win on the road and a missed field goal attempt proved to be the difference in the game as the Colts fell to the Steelers 26-24. With T.Y. Hilton out at least for the next few weeks, the Colts had to make due with a largely inexperienced wide receiver corps. Deon Cain wasn't able to make anything happen on his two targets (one a drop), however, aside from a handful of drops by the pass-catchers, the unit wasn't a detriment to the team in spite of the loss of Hilton in the lineup. The team did stack up a healthy dose of costly penalties, wasn't able to win the turnover battle, and simply gave up too many free points which proved to be the nail in the coffin for the team on the road. But, it wasn't all bad either. The Colts defense held the Steelers to 4.5 yards per play, 1-of-4 in the red zone, and was able to hold them to 5-of-13 on third down opportunities. This is the fourth game in a row in which the defense has been a positive for the Colts, yet the team continues to be in dog fights and have now had all of their games decided by one score. The Colts' luck simply ran out in that category in Week 9. Parris Campbell had a nice game, Brian Hoyer did about as well as one could expect given his limitations, and Marlon Mack ran well behind an offensive line that has been failing to protect in the pass game or block efficiently in the running game recently. The Colts had multiple opportunities, but simply weren't good enough with sub-par overall play, and minus their top players at some pretty important positions. The Colts are now 5-3 (2-0 in AFC South) and are still in good shape if they can bounce back and win games they're supposed to win from here on out. The Colts host the Miami Dolphins in Week 10, and need an impressive win to regain the confidence of the fan base to get back on track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices