Well, well, well. someone forgot to tell Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and the Colts defense that they suck.
Seriously, for all the crap that has been justifiably thrown at the Colts front office and the coaching staff the last few weeks, it's impressive to see veteran leaders like Freeney and Mathis step up tonight and play some pretty damn good defensive football.
The Colts looked dead in the water after Ben Roethlisberger hooked up with Mike Wallace on an 81-yard TD in the first quarter, making the game 10-0 and a sure blowout. But then the Colts defense started to stiffen and get turnovers. Robert Mathis had a sack-fumble which the Colts recovered and turned into 3 points. Dwight Freeney had a BIG sack fumble, which Jamaal Anderson ran back for a touchdown. On the next series, rookie Joe Lefeged picked off Roethlisberger, and the Colts converted the turnover into another field goal.
Indy has also stoned Pittsburgh's running game, holding them to 10 total yards on 10 carries. The Steelers have not been able to move Antonio Johnson, and Rashard Mendenhall has Pat Angerer's face tattooed on his chest. Colts have run the ball well themselves. Jeff Saturday is also playing extremely well, controlling mammoth NT Casey Hampton up front.
Seriously, the defense and the offensive line for the Colts have been amazing. If Kerry Collins knew his ass from a hole in the ground, this would be 21-10 Colts at the half. Collins has been wretched on third down tonight, and he cannot QB this team in the redzone.
But, hey, THE COLTS ARE LEADING AT HALFTIME!!! WOO-HOO!
Second half open thread will be up shortly.