Mason Rudolph passed for 191 yards and one touchdown, and Chris Boswell's fourth field goal made the difference Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers edged the visiting Indianapolis Colts 26-24.
Boswell's deciding kick, a 26-yarder, came with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter. Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri shanked a 43-yarder with 1:11 left.
Rudolph threw a touchdown pass to Vance McDonald, and Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown for Pittsburgh (4-4), which played without starting running back James Conner (shoulder).
Brian Hoyer, who stepped in when starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett left in the second quarter because of a knee injury, passed for 168 yards, with scoring passes to Jack Doyle, Zach Pascal and Chester Rogers for the Colts (5-3), who played without top receiver T.Y. Hilton (calf).
The teams traded field goals in the first quarter -- Vinatieri's 25-yarder for a 3-0 Indianapolis lead after Kenny Moore intercepted Rudolph; and Boswell's tying 21-yarder.
Brissett left the game with 12:41 left in the second quarter. On an incomplete pass play, Pittsburgh's Cam Heyward knocked Indianapolis lineman Quenton Nelson into the quarterback. Hoyer completed that drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Doyle for a 10-3 Colts lead.
Fitzpatrick stepped in front of a Hoyer pass toward the end zone for Doyle and returned the pick 96 yards for a tying touchdown with 2:21 left in the half.
Hoyer threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Pascal with 42 seconds left in the half. Heyward blocked Vinatieri's extra-point attempt, leaving it 16-10.
The Steelers got a 51-yard field goal by Boswell as the first half expired to cut it to 16-13.
In the third quarter, Rudolph led an 11-play, 54-yard drive that concluded with his 7-yard touchdown pass to McDonald for a 20-16 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Justin Houston sacked Rudolph in the end zone and knocked the ball loose. Alejandro Villanueva recovered it for the Steelers, giving Indianapolis a safety and making it 20-18.
The Colts turned the ball over on the ensuing free kick, leading to Boswell's 33-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, upping the lead to 23-18.
Hoyer hit Rogers for a 4-yard score at 8:43 of the third for a 24-23 lead. A two-point conversation pass failed.
Brissett was 4-of-5 passing for 59 yards before leaving.
--Field Level Media
Indianapolis | Pittsburgh | |
Marlon Mack | Player | Trey Edmunds |
21 | Attempts | 12 |
89 | Yards | 73 |
4.2 | Avg Yards | 6.1 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
24 | Long | 45 |
Indianapolis | Pittsburgh | |
Zach Pascal | Player | Jaylen Samuels |
5 | Receptions | 13 |
76 | Yards | 73 |
15.2 | Avg Yards | 5.6 |
1 | Touchdowns | 0 |
19 | Long | 17 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Indianapolis | 328 | 139 | 189 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 |
Pittsburgh | 273 | 90 | 183 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5.0 | 3 |