INDIANAPOLIS -- After a Nov. 13 loss to Dallas in Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Steelers were 4-5 and riding a four-game losing streak.

A once-promising season had all the makings of a possible meltdown with consecutive road games at Cleveland and Thanksgiving Night at Indianapolis up next.

The Steelers are somewhat more encouraged now after a 24-9 Sunday victory at Cleveland and a dominating 28-7 victory late Thursday night.

Ben Roethlisberger passed for 221 yards and three touchdowns -- each to Antonio Brown -- and Pittsburgh recorded a 28-7 victory against Indianapolis (5-6), whose starting quarterback Andrew Luck was out with a concussion.

Roethlisberger completed 14 of 20 passes, and Le'Veon Bell rushed 23 times for 120 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers (6-5) won for the second time in five days.

Starting in place of Luck, who suffered a concussion late in Sunday's victory against Tennessee, Scott Tolzien completed 22 of 36 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, but he was intercepted in the fourth quarter by free safety Mike Mitchell and cornerback William Gay during the final 7:51, the first setting up a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brown that extended the lead to 28-7.

"I was appreciative of the effort tonight," Tomlin said. "It was a tough game. It's a good win for us."

While the Steelers out-gained the Colts 369-310, they ruined several other scoring chances with seven penalties for 67 yards.

"We had good balance, and then our defense made some really big plays," Roethlisberger said.

Another key was Pittsburgh twice stopping the Colts on fourth and goal from the 1. Each time, a Tolzien pass fell incomplete. The second was the final play of a 19-play, 89-yard drive.

"Pittsburgh played extremely well," Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said. "We had opportunities, and we didn't take advantage of that. Pittsburgh's third-down plays (7 of 11 successful conversions) killed us, and when you are at the goal line, you have to get it in.

"Scott hung in there and gave us a chance. He settled down after the first series and managed things. He made good decisions. On those fourth-down plays, we went for it from the 1 both times because we were trying to win the football game."

Roethlisberger completed 9 of 13 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and Bell rushed 12 times for 73 yards and a score, helping the Steelers take a 21-7 lead through two quarters.

Pittsburgh scored touchdowns on each of its first three drives.

Bell's 5-yard touchdown run capped a seven-play, 52-yard drive the first time the Steelers had the ball, and the Steelers led 7-0 with 9:10 left in the first quarter.

Roethlisberger made it 14-0 with 1:06 to go in the opening quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, capping a seven-play, 58-yard drive.

With the help of a 35-yard pass on a fake punt by Pat McAfee, the Colts pulled to within 14-7 with 13:02 left in the second quarter on Tolzien's 5-yard touchdown pass to Donte Moncrief.

Pittsburgh countered with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown with 9:00 to go in the half, increasing the lead to 21-7.

Indianapolis had a chance to pull to within one score with 1:08 remaining in the half, but Tolzien misfired on a fourth-down pass from the Pittsburgh 1. Tolzien was 8 of 15 for 84 yards and two sacks in the first half.

"I had a few nerves, but I felt good where I was before the game," Tolzien said. "This is a humbling league, and when you are that close down on the goal line, you have to put it in. That's 14 points we didn't get, which is a big swing in any game. You can't win in this league if you can't punch it in there."

NOTES: Colts WR T.Y. Hilton suffered a back injury with 3:30 left in the second quarter but returned in the third quarter ... Colts CB Vontae Davis suffered a groin injury in the second quarter and did not return ... The Steelers entered having beaten the Colts three consecutive times ... The Colts were playing for the third time on Thanksgiving, winning at Detroit in 2004 and winning at Atlanta in 2007 ... Before Thursday night, the Colts had lost four consecutive primetime TV games and nine of the most recent 12.