Steelers 26, Colts 24: Dissecting An Ugly Victory

PITTSBURGH, PA - Call it sloppy, call it ugly but call it what it ultimately was: a win. The Steelers outlasted the Indianapolis Colts 26-24 at Heinz Field on Sunday, evening their record at 4-4 and solidifying their hold on second place in the AFC North.

Here's what football writers across the company thought about the game:

Brooke Pryor, ESPN:"After starting 0-3, the Steelers have won four of their last five games to pull to .500 at the midway point.The record-evening win came against a quality opponent in the Colts,

who came into Heinz Field with a 5-2 record. Fueled by a pass rush that collected five sacks and three takeaways, the Steelers are in the playoff hunt in a season that had seemed to derail early."

Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports: " The Steelers failed to throw for 200 yards or rush for over 100 yards while surrendering three touchdown passes from Colts backup quarterback Brian Hoyer. But in the end, the Steelers were able to win their third consecutive games while getting to 1.5 games of the Ravens in the AFC North division race."

Nate Davis, USA Today: "Don't look now, but the Steelers are 4-2 since QB Ben Roethlisberger went down and sit just one game outside the AFC playoff field. One major reason for Pittsburgh's resurgence was its trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick immediately following Big Ben's elbow injury. Highly scrutinized at the time, Fitzpatrick has four interceptions in six games with
Pittsburgh, including Sunday's 96-yard pick six — an instrumental sequence as his new team outlasted Indianapolis."

Chris Halicke, Sports Illustrated: "This was a gutsy win for Pittsburgh. It wasn't pretty. There were a lot of mistakes. But they did enough good things to earn a victory. And that victory against a fellow AFC team is all the more important for playoff scenarios going forward."

Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star: "With just over a minute to go in the game, Adam Vinatieri had chance to put the Colts ahead 27-26 with a 43-yard field goal. He missed. The hold didn't appear to be the best with, the laces facing Vinatieri when he kicked, but the result is all that matters to the Colts. Vinatieri missed, and they lose a very winnable game 26-24."