NFL Week 12 Game Recap: Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Indianapolis Colts 17

Even though their strong first-half performance was eroded by an awful third quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to escape Lucas Oil Stadium with a 24-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football.

The victory moves the Steelers to 4-7 ahead of a Week 13 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons while the Colts' loss moves them to 4-7-1 on the season heading into a next week's Sunday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Offensive spotlight: In a game pitting a veteran quarterback against a rookie, Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett put together the game's best quarterback performance, finishing 20-of-28 for 174 yards through the air in addition to five carries for 34 yards and two first downs. Pickett also registered a big-time throw on his way to an 85.0-plus passing grade on first review.

In addition to Pickett, Steelers running back Benny Snell helped lead the Steelers offense to victory while Najee Harris was hampered by injury, totaling 62 yards and four first downs from just 12 carries. Snell also forced a missed tackle and finished with 2.7 yards after contact on the evening. The hard-charging back isn't going to impress many as an athlete, but he's a tough runner who displays very good vision to maximize his effectiveness on each carry. He also contributed one reception for six yards where he forced a missed tackle as well.

Defensive spotlight: Even in a losing effort, Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin had potentially his best performance of his season, totaling a game-high five stops, two tackles for loss and a 1.4-yard average depth of tackle against the run in addition to generating two tackles and a stop in coverage on the evening. Altogether, Franklin's contributions resulted in an 85.0-plus overall grade on first review.

Rookie spotlight: Rookie tight end Jelani Woods had the best pass-catching performance of his short career, finishing with eight receptions from nine targets for 98 receiving yards, five first downs and a game-high 3.63 yards per route run.

Offensive line spotlight: Both offensive lines pass protected well on Monday night, as neither allowed more than a 19% pressure rate on the evening.

Given that he was matched up against T.J. Watt for much of the evening, Colts right tackle Braden Smith‘s performance was particularly impressive, as he allowed just one pressure across 38 pass-blocking snaps despite the elite competition. Smith's smooth pass sets and well-timed hands enabled him to stymie Watt's speed and hand technique on the edge throughout the evening.

Box Score

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Receiving

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