PITTSBURGH -- When the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense broke out it did so in a big way.
The numbers from the 51-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts are staggering.
The 639 total yards were the most by the Steelers since 2002 and the third-highest in team history. The yards that the Steelers piled up as if they were playing a video game and not an actual opponent also translated into mega points.
The Steelers scored 50 or more points for only the sixth time in franchise history and the first since 1984.
The biggest question with the 5-3 Steelers at the midway point of the season and only a half-game out of first place in the AFC North is this: How do they bottle what they did against the Colts?
In short answer, they can’t.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played a game for the ages while taking aim at the Colts and a slew of records. All you have to know about how rare his performance was is that Roethlisberger joined the iconic Y.A. Tittle as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for at least 500 yards and six touchdowns in a game with no interceptions, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
One positve sign after the Steelers eviscerated the Colts, who had been one of the NFL’s hottest teams: There was hardly any chest-thumping in the locker room after the resounding win.
“We played well but we left a lot out there,” Roethlisberger said after joining Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only NFL quarterbacks to win 100 games in 150 or fewer starts. “We showed flashes of being really good but, like I said, I missed some throws and we turned the ball over so we still left stuff out there. But I’m sure any offense in the NFL will take it if they could be like this offense.”
Ramon Foster agreed.
“Our job now is to go back and not get comfortable with success,” the Steelers’ starting left guard said. “We have to be on top of our job next week and the week after that and continue to build.”
To Foster, the offense’s play against the Colts wasn’t just a testament to the talent the Steelers have on that side of the ball. It also showed how the Steelers stuck together when the offense struggled and came under heavy criticism outside of team headquarters.
“There was a lot of growing pains along the way," Foster said. "Our job was to not get frustrated. You can’t have guys splitting saying, ‘Why isn’t this working? Why isn’t that working?’ We showed that if we hold it together the way we did and not do what we did against Cleveland in the first game of the year and not sputter out [in the second half] that we can be special.”