Pittsburgh Steelers 13-30 Indianapolis Colts: Gardner Minshew throws three touchdown passes as Colts score 30 unanswered points

Gardner Minshew threw three touchdown passes as the Indianapolis Colts rallied from an early 13-point deficit to stop the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-13 and take a big step towards earning an AFC wild-card berth.

Minshew completed 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards as the Colts joined Cincinnati, a 27-24 overtime winner over Minnesota earlier in the day, at 8-6 and in the playoff field if the season ended now.

Mitch Trubisky hit 16 of 23 attempts for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions as Pittsburgh (7-7) sustained a serious hit to its playoff hopes, losing for the third straight game after another stuttering offensive display.

Minshew gave Indianapolis the lead for good when he found D.J. Montgomery for a 14-yard scoring strike with 22 seconds left in the first half, making it 14-13 at the break.

Montgomery started the drive by catching a 34-yard pass while Pittsburgh contributed a 26-yard pass interference flag.

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The Colts upped the lead to 21-13 less than two minutes into the third quarter when Minshew connected with Mo-Alie Cox for an 18-yard touchdown, one play after Julian Blackmon recovered a fumble by Najee Harris.

Matt Gay padded Indianapolis' lead with three field goals later in the second half, with the Colts outgaining the Steelers 372-216.

T.J. Watt recorded two sacks for the Steelers to raise his season count to 16.

Stats leaders:

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Passing: Mitch Trubisky, 16/23, 169 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
• Rushing: Jaylen Warren, 10 carries, 40 yards
• Receiving: Diontae Johnson, 4 catches, 62 yards, 1 TD

Indianapolis Colts

• Passing: Gardner Minshew, 18/28, 215 yards, 3 TDs
• Rushing: Trey Sermon, 17 carries, 88 yards
• Receiving: Michael Pittman Jr, 4 catches, 78 yards

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After Gay missed a 56-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, the Steelers cashed in a short field with a 54-yard touchdown drive as Trubisky snuck into the end zone on fourth-and-goal for a one-yard score with 1:12 left.

Pittsburgh increased the lead to 13-0 just over two minutes later. Two plays after blocking a Rigoberto Sanchez punt and recovering at the one, Trubisky hit Diontae Johnson in the left front corner of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown.

Minshew got the Colts on the board with 11:21 left in the half on a 16-yard scoring strike to Zack Moss.

Michael Pittman Jr. left the game with a concussion in the first half following a strong hit from safety Damontae Kaze, who was ejected from the game, while Zack Moss also exited with an arm injury.

Backup running backs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson thrived in the absence of Moss and the injured Jonathan Taylor as they combined for 157 yards, starring as part of a 15-play nine-minute drive that included 13 carries in the second half.

Scoring summary

What next?

The Colts now travel to face the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) on Christmas Eve, while the Steelers are at home to the Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) on Saturday.

Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening's entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.

Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up as well as every Christmas Day fixture.

Fans can also watch every minute of the playoffs across January, followed by Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11.

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