Kunitz powers Penguins over Kings 3-0

By Will Graves
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/pit/
October 30, 2014

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) blocks a shot during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. The Penguins won 3-0. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Marc-Andre Fleury's formula for success is pretty simple.

If the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie can see the puck, he figures there is a pretty good chance he is going to stop it.

His teammates appear to have gotten the message.

Fleury turned aside all 36 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, most of them relatively harmless forays from the point as his defense cleared space in front of the net to let Fleury go to work as he earned his 30th NHL shutout.

''Guys are blocking shots and not giving up good scoring chances,'' Fleury said. ''I think beginning of the season we had a little bit of a rough time but lately it's been good.''

Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang scored his first goal of the season, and Evgeni Malkin became the fifth player in team history to register 400 assists as the Penguins used their dominant power play and a steady performance from Fleury to hand the defending champion Kings just their second regulation loss.

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Pittsburgh went 2 for 6 with the man advantage, including two first-period goals that put the Kings on their heels.

''I know there's a big deal made about the offensive juggernaut that they are, but there's only a couple goals difference actually five-on-five coming into the game,'' Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said.

Maybe, but it was enough for Pittsburgh to win for the seven time in nine meetings with the Kings. The fast start was a stark contrast from the Penguins' victory over New Jersey on Tuesday, when they spotted the Devils a 3-1 lead before scoring the final seven goals.

''We're trying to learn from our mistakes,'' Kunitz said. ''We wanted to come out and have a better start tonight.

''Our goaltender had a great first period, really kicked it off for us.''

View gallery

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) celebrates with defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (10)  …

Martin Jones made 20 saves for Los Angeles, but the Kings failed to score for the second time in 10 games this season.

''(Fleury) made the saves he's supposed to make,'' Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown said. ''I don't think he had very many hard saves to be honest with you.''

The Kings have played well despite injuries to forward Marian Gaborik and defenseman Trevor Lewis and the suspension of defenseman Slava Voynov. Los Angeles lost another vital piece when Anze Kopitar sustained an upper body injury against Columbus on Sunday.

Kopitar skated Thursday morning but sat out for a second straight game. The Kings called up forward David Van der Gulik from the AHL to give them a full roster of 20 healthy bodies, one more than they were forced to play with in Philadelphia on Tuesday because of salary cap issues.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston is still tinkering in his first season behind the bench but some things haven't changed. The Penguins remain one of the NHL's most explosive teams, and the power play remains dynamic with Malkin and MVP Sidney Crosby sharing the ice.

View gallery

Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang (58) celebrates his goal with Chris Kunitz (14) in the first pe …

Pittsburgh began the night atop the league, converting 41 percent of its chances with the man advantage. The Penguins wasted little time getting to work following some uncharacteristically undisciplined play by Los Angeles.

The Kings drew four minors in the first period, and the Penguins pounced. Kunitz flipped in his fourth goal of the season off a slick fake shot-pass from Malkin during a 5-on-3 power play 9:16 into the game. Letang doubled the lead six minutes later when he slipped the puck between Jones' legs with the Penguins up a man.

''We took too many penalties and they're the best power play in the league,'' Brown said. ''That's probably the story of the game, but we were too slow, so we had to take penalties.''

Los Angeles carried play when the teams were at even strength, the Kings just struggled building any momentum. Whenever they would get close, a whistle would slow them down.

The Penguins have struggled with two-goal leads at times this season but finished off the Kings with steady play in the third. Kunitz pushed the lead to 3-0 with just over 10 minutes left when he pounced on a rebound of Crosby's shot and fired a shot from along the goal line over a sprawled Jones.

NOTES: Malkin joined Ron Francis, Crosby, Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh's 400-assist club. Malkin has picked up at least one point in each of Pittsburgh's nine games. ... Los Angeles went 0 for 3 on the power play. Pittsburgh has killed 22 straight penalties. ... The Penguins will host Buffalo on Saturday. ... The Kings will continue their five-game road trip on Friday in Detroit.

Greene embodies the Pittsburgh Steelers

By F. Dale Lolley

http://www.observer-reporter.com/

October 28, 2014

Pittsburgh Steelers' tackle "Mean" Joe Greene (75) gets ready to rush in as Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Fran Tarkenton (10) calls signals during Super Bowl IX, Jan. 12, 1975, in New Orleans. Greene led the Steelers' defense in their 16-6 victory. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

PITTSBURGH – Anyone who watched Steelers Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene during his 13-year career knows he always played with a lot of emotion.

When the Steelers retire Greene’s No. 75 at halftime of Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens – making it just the second retired number in team history to go with Ernie Stautner’s No. 70 – Greene admits he’ll get emotional on the football field again.

“There have been moments in the past that have kind of rivaled this, (like) when Mr. Rooney (Dan Rooney) asked me to be his presenter at the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” said Greene. “I have enormous emotions about that. And when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame (in 1987), I had great emotions about that because it was all about my life and the people I worked with and grew up with and I enjoyed victories with and had losses with. This is pretty much the same because it’s about the Steelers and it’s about my playing days with “The Chief” (Art Rooney, Sr.), Dan Rooney and Chuck Noll and his staff for sure for tolerating me.”

Greene was obviously joking about the Steelers “tolerating” him. From the time he was the Steelers top draft pick in 1969 until his retirement in 1981, Greene wasn’t just the face of the Steelers. He was the Steelers.

He would go on to serve as an assistant coach under Noll for five years and later as an advisor to the scouting department before retiring after nine years in that position in 2013.

But his mark was left on the Steelers in many ways that transcend what he did on the field, leading Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl titles, six AFC Championship games.

There were 11 trips to the Pro Bowl and the honors of being named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team. But Greene helped change the culture of the Steelers, who were the NFL’s lovable losers before his selection in 1969.

“One of the things that I remember so much through the years and especially the early years when we were being called the ‘Same old Steelers,’ what I remember was the fans, those loyal 13,000-15,000 people who came to the stadium,” said Greene, who will have nearly 20 family members on hand for Sunday’s game.

“Other fans would fuss at us at times, but they wouldn’t let anyone fuss at us, which I thought was great.”

Because of Greene and the other eight Hall of Fame players on Pittsburgh’s roster during their Super Bowl runs of the 1970s, that changed.

And Greene was the catalyst. He was the player that all of those other great players rallied around, which is why the Steelers felt the need to retire his number. They had not given it, or those worn by Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Franco Harris and Mike Webster to other players to wear.

“It’s Joe Greene,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We all feel a little better when we see Joe, even though he’s not playing. I know the fans have a level of appreciation for him and what he means to this organization and what he meant to this organization and this city and football in general.”

Greene nearly didn’t get his trademark No. 75 when he came to the Steelers. In training camp his first season, he was given No. 72 because another player, defensive lineman Ken Kortas, was already wearing 75, which Greene had donned in high school and college.

“I wore 72 throughout the preseason and when Ken was released, 75 was in my locker,” Greene said.

It’s still quite prevalent in the stands every time the Steelers take the field. There are always fans in every stadium the Steelers play in wearing a Joe Greene jersey.

It’s a testament to his legacy.

“The Pittsburgh Steelers, when we say that, that has resonance throughout the National Football League in a positive way,” said Greene. “It means champions, and I hope that in the following years that this organization and the teams and the coaches that become a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers can continue the legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation. It means something. It means winning. It means championships. It means doing things the right way. It’s an attitude that we could possess.

“We had a formula and I thought that was good. That was the leadership all the way down from the ownership to the coaches (and) everyone in the locker room. There was something that we called the Steelers way and it’s hard to get and it’s hard to keep. That’s what I would like for people to think about. They would associate me (and) my number with all of the other numbers that the players before them wore. You can’t separate any of us. I believe it’s still a special place. My hope is that it always will be a special place.”

Because of Joe Greene, that will always be possible.

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com

Mean Joe just doesn't want to cry at Steelers' number-retirement ceremony

By Chris Bradford cbradford@timesonline.com 

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

October 29, 2014

Former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene, right, shakes hands with Dan Rooney, chairman emeritus of the team, before an NFL football game between the Steelers and the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH — The fierce competitor and the Hall of Famer in Joe Greene would love to run out of the tunnel just one last time. The 68-year-old in him and his knees just aren’t going to allow that to happen, he joked.

Besides, Greene — a man who struck fear into the hearts of opponents with his ferocious play — is more worried about keeping it together emotionally during his speech Sunday night.

Thirty-three years after he played his last game, the Steelers will retire Greene’s No. 75 during halftime of their nationally televised game against the Ravens. For Pittsburgh and for the organization, it’s a chance to properly say — as the kid in his iconic 1979 Coca-Cola commercial once did — “Thanks, Mean Joe.”

Greene joins Ernie Stautner (No. 70) as the only players in franchise history to have his number retired by the Steelers, who, traditionally, have opted not to re-issue select numbers. It’s a distinction not lost on Greene.

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CHRIS MUELLER: Martavis Bryant could be Steelers' missing piece

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“I’ve probably had several sleepless nights thinking about what a great honor this is and can I be up to the task. I don’t know,” said Greene, whose arrival in 1969 ushered in the start of the Steel Curtain and an unprecedented four Super Bowl championships in six years beginning in 1974. “We’ll just have to see. I know that I’m going to get really emotional, and I’ve always been an emotional guy. I just hope I can finish. I know getting up there and hearing the fans and seeing the fans and seeing familiar faces (that) it’s going to be an emotional time for me.”

Eight of his former teammates are also enshrined in Canton — “you can’t separate any of us,” he said — but Greene is widely considered the best of the group and the leader of arguably the best defense in league history. He was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and was All-Pro or All-AFC nine times in his 13-year career.

But, when asked about his legacy on the game, Greene deflected praise, citing team success.

“The Pittsburgh Steelers, when we say that, that has resonance throughout the National Football League in a positive way,” said Greene, who will have 19 family members, including his mother, with him. “It means champions, and I hope that in the following years that this organization and the teams and the coaches that become a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers can continue the legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation. It means something. It means winning. It means championships. It means doing things the right way.”

That most of the fans who will pack Heinz Field on Sunday night will be too young to have seen Greene play or that the ceremony isn’t at Three Rivers Stadium is of no significance.

“I didn’t play at Heinz Field, but I don’t know if I can discern the difference being out there from Three Rivers Stadium because it’ll still be Pittsburgh,” Greene said. “I hope I can do the Steelers and the fans and my family and myself well.”

Malkin and Crosby lift Penguins to 8-3 rout

By Dan Scifo
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/pit/
October 28, 2014

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta (3) passes the puck in front of New Jersey Devils' Andy Greene (6) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014. It was announced by the Penguins that Maatta has a tumor on his thyroid that will be operated on next week. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A jolt from the league's top-ranked power-play gave the Pittsburgh Penguins all it needed to overcome a slow start against the New Jersey Devils.

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby fueled a four-goal second-period outburst as the Penguins went on to score seven straight during an 8-3 rout against the Devils on Tuesday.

''Obviously, when you have (Crosby) and (Malkin) on the same team, probably the two best players in the world, they can change a game so quick,'' Patric Hornqvist said.

Trailing 3-1, the Penguins rallied behind Malkin. He extended his point streak to eight games with a power-play goal, his fourth of the year before the Penguins poured it on with the next seven, resulting in a season-high eight goals scored by seven different players.

Crosby scored his sixth and seventh goals, Hornqvist netted his fifth and Pascal Dupuis scored in his third straight game, also on the power play. Steve Downie, Blake Comeau and Craig Adams also had goals for Pittsburgh, which defeated New Jersey for the ninth time in 11 home games.

Pittsburgh's top-ranked power play scored three times, the fifth time in eight games it produced multiple goals.

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''We started to get everybody into the game,'' Penguins' coach Mike Johnston said. ''Seven different players scoring, that's contributions throughout the lineup.''

Dainius Zubrus scored his second of the season nine seconds into the game, but the Devils were unable to win for the fifth time in six road games. Jacob Josefson and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for New Jersey.

''We beat ourselves,'' Devils' coach Peter DeBoer said. ''I thought we were in a pretty good place for awhile there and as a group we beat ourselves over the last 35-40 minutes.''

Marc-Andre Fleury defeated the Devils for the fifth straight time, making 16 saves.

Cory Schneider stopped 18 of 23 shots through two periods before Scott Clemmensen relieved him in the third, making 10 saves.

View gallery

Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrates his goal with Patric Hornqvist (72) who assis …

The teams combined for six goals in the second period. New Jersey netted the first two to take a 3-1 lead before Pittsburgh rallied with four in a row.

Josefson scored a short-handed, breakaway goal and Ruutu pounced on a rebound in front, giving the Devils a two-goal lead.

Pittsburgh got the boost it needed from the power play, as the Penguins scored on a two-man advantage when Malkin's slap shot from the left point cut the deficit to a goal.

''The five-on-three is where the trouble really started,'' Schneider said. ''We just couldn't stop the bleeding.''

Hornqvist tied it soon after, ripping a shot past Schneider on the blocker side during a rush down the right-wing boards.

View gallery

New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider lifts his helmet after allowing a goal to Pittsburgh Penguin …

Pittsburgh jumped ahead for good with goals in the final 2:25, started by Adams who took a lead pass from Brandon Sutter out of the penalty box and beat Schneider on a breakaway for the eventual game-winner.

''I tried to slow down a little bit and let my hands catch up to my feet,'' Adams said. ''I tried to pull it and go high glove. I didn't quite get it up there, but it was high enough.''

Crosby gave the Penguins a two-goal lead with 1:12 left in the period, converting a rebound while uncovered along the right post. Dupuis and Downie scored power-play goals in the third and Crosby capped the scoring with his second as Pittsburgh easily pulled away.

''They got it to 3-1, but after that we took over the game,'' Hornqvist said.

The Devils played Tuesday without Mike Cammalleri, who leads the team with five goals. Cammalleri, who signed a five-year, $25 million deal on the first day of free agency, suffered a jaw injury during Friday's shootout loss against Dallas. He played the following night in Ottawa, but did not make the trip to Pittsburgh.

Olli Maatta was in the lineup after the Penguins revealed Monday that the 20-year-old defenseman will undergo surgery next week to remove a tumor from his neck that could be low-grade thyroid cancer. Maatta, cleared to play until the surgery, is expected to return in four weeks. He had an assist in 18:50 of ice time on Tuesday.

Maatta was one of 12 Penguins with points as everybody piled on after Malkin's power-play goal.

''The way we responded when it was 3-1, the goal by (Malkin) on the power play, we started rolling,'' Dupuis said.

NOTES: Pittsburgh killed 18 straight penalties after allowing six power-play goals in its first three games. ... Penguins' D Christian Ehrhoff played in his 700th career game. ... The Penguins continue their second three-game homestand of the season Thursday against Los Angeles. New Jersey returns home against Winnipeg, also on Thursday. The Devils scratched D Adam Larsson, while D Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) missed for the Penguins.

Penguins' defenseman Maatta confident of full recovery

By Jason Mackey

http://triblive.com/sports/

Monday, Oct. 27, 2014, 7:11 p.m.

 

Wearing a gray-and-black, V-neck hoodie and with his blond hair swept to one side, Olli Maatta stepped to the podium Monday looking every bit like a 20-year-old kid.

And that's about where any references to Maatta's youth come to a crashing halt.

What came next — an acknowledgement that he will undergo major surgery, and that he could potentially have cancer — was handled much like how Maatta plays hockey: in a way that belies his age.

“I feel healthy, and I feel fine,” Maatta said inside the media room at Consol Energy Center. “The only thing that's different is that maybe I have cancer. It's tough news, but I don't think it has affected me much.”

Maatta will have surgery early next week to have a tumor removed from his neck, a tumor UPMC doctors believe could be a low-grade thyroid cancer.

Penguins team physician Dharmesh Vyas said Maatta will not require radiation or chemotherapy. He put the likelihood of the tumor being cancerous at 85 percent.

Approximately four weeks is Maatta's timetable, Vyas said, and he'll play in the Penguins' three home games this week before having surgery.

“Watching a young man continue his life and play the way he's played is absolutely amazing,” general manager Jim Rutherford said. “It's amazing that he can still concentrate and continue on.

“I can't say enough about Olli and how he's handled this news.”

The mass, discovered during preseason physicals by Eric Anish, has not impeded Maatta's play.

Not even close.

Maatta arguably has been the Penguins' top defenseman this season, with one goal and four assists in seven games.

In addition to averaging 20 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time, Maatta four games ago was added to the No. 1 penalty kill, three games ago to the No. 2 power play.

“He's a strong athlete mentally,” coach Mike Johnston said. “He's always been an exceptional player. He's very confident, and we're very confident that he's going to be able to rebound from this.”

Captain Sidney Crosby was the only one of Maatta's teammates to know about his condition until a team meeting held at 12:30 p.m. Monday, about 30 minutes before everyone else found out.

Asked whether he has talked with co-owner Mario Lemieux, who was diagnosed with a Nodular Lymphocytic form of Hodgkin's disease Jan. 12, 1993, Maatta said he has kept this mostly to himself.

On Thursday — strange as it sounds — the Penguins are holding their Hockey Fights Cancer Night, which is something every NHL club is participating in. The team will host the Los Angeles Kings.

“It is rather ironic that we're announcing this about Olli this week,” Rutherford said.

Vyas said additional testing was done via ultrasound and biopsy. DNA testing also was performed, though Vyas stressed that the potential type of cancer is not “heritable,” or not of a genetic trait.

Any additional operations, Vyas said, would be done at the end of the season as long as it makes sense medically.

“Importantly for Olli, we don't expect this to affect his health in the long term,” Vyas said. “Secondarily, we expect him to do well from a hockey standpoint.”

Which the Penguins certainly wouldn't mind given how important Maatta, a second-year pro, has been to their defense.

In the interim, Robert Bortuzzo likely will take Maatta's spot. He has been recovering from a lower-body injury suffered during a preseason game Sept. 25 and could be ready as soon as Thursday, Johnston said.

“I've been talking to the doctors and trainers and trying to find out everything I can about the cancer,” Maatta said. “I know I'm going to be fine. I know we have a great medical staff here. They're going to take care of me.”

Note: Johnston said forward Beau Bennett will participate in Tuesday's morning skate, then remain on the ice for additional, individual work. Bennett has been out since late September with a lower-body injury.

Jason Mackey is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jmackey@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mackey_Trib.

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Not even the Colts know what happened in heavy loss

Gregg Doyel, gregg.doyel@indystar.com

http://www.indystar.com/sports/colts/

October 27, 2014

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck greets Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger following an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh won 51-34. (Don Wright, AP / FR87040 AP)

PITTSBURGH — Don't blame this on Vontae Davis' knee. Or Reggie Wayne's elbow. Or Trent Richardson's hamstring.

Those injuries are real and that excuse is easy, but don't go there. Not if you're a Colts fan trying to rationalize this 51-34 loss to the Steelers on Sunday at Heinz Field.

There is no rationalizing a game where the opposing quarterback nearly sets an NFL record for passing yards, the Ben Roethlisberger pinball machine finally stopping on 522 yards, 32 short of Norm Van Brocklin's record from 1951.

There is no rationalizing no-name receivers (Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant, unless it's Markus Bryant and Martavis Wheaton) and a big-name tight end (Heath Miller) running so open, so often, that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked about it afterward — and Tomlin gestured toward the Colts' locker room.

"They're probably better equipped than us to answer that," Tomlin said.

INDYSTAR

Colts Insider: 'We know we're better than that'

Don't be so sure. The Colts had no clue what happened on Sunday, or why. They were impressive after defeat — more impressive than they were during defeat, I assure you of that — by walking around the locker room with voices lifted and heads held high and fingers pointed only at themselves.

"That's on me," Andrew Luck said several times.

"My fault," said safety Mike Adams.

"I didn't do a very good job of getting this team ready," said coach Chuck Pagano.

Great leadership all around, but zero answers. How did a Steelers offensive line that is ranked by the statistical wizards at Football Outsiders as the NFL's 29th worst in pass protection keep Roethlisberger from being hit on 48 of 49 pass attempts? Nobody knew. Why was Roethlisberger, who routinely hangs onto the ball too long and suffered 20 sacks in the first seven games — second-most in the league — never sacked Sunday? Shrugs.

The best the Colts could come up with was this:

"This is the NFL," said defensive end Cory Redding.

"That's the National Football League," Pagano said.

Now that we've settled that, here's what we're not going to do: Lament the missing Vontae Davis, Reggie Wayne and Trent Richardson.

"No way," said Colts center Jonotthan Harrison. "Nobody in here is doing that."

Missing two of their best skill players didn't stop Luck from throwing for 400 yards or the offense from gaining 448 total yards or scoring 34 points. No Wayne meant more Donte Moncrief, who responded with seven catches for 113 yards and a sensational 31-yard touchdown. No Richardson meant more Ahmad Bradshaw, who broke ankles all over the field — he broke four ankles on one play, sending a rippling murmur through the crowd — and produced 87 combined yards rushing and receiving on 13 touches.

As for Vontae Davis, the star cornerback who left in the first quarter with a knee injury, well, it's like this:

The Colts defense was lit up before he was hurt.

INDYSTAR

Roethlisberger is the better QB on this day

Specifically, Vontae Davis was lit up before Vontae Davis was hurt, including the time he was standing sentry in the back of the end zone while Wheaton ran in front of him for an easy 18-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead. That came two plays after Wheaton had beaten Davis for nine yards over the middle.

With Davis, without him, the Colts were lit up at nearly never-seen levels. The Steelers' 35 points was the third-most ever surrendered in the first half by the Colts. Roethlisberger set franchise records for completions (40), yards (522) and touchdowns (six). The yardage is the most ever against the Colts.

Davis, one of the better cornerbacks in the league, would have helped with that. You're not stupid, I'm not stupid, we can both surmise that the Colts defense is better with Vontae Davis than without him.

But the absence of Davis doesn't explain 51 points and 639 yards allowed. It doesn't explain the Colts' inability to tackle Le'Veon Bell, who ran 24 times for 92 yards and caught six passes for 56 yards. It doesn't explain Martavis Bryant, who entered the game with two catches for 40 yards on the season, catching five for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

And none of those skill players being out has anything to do with the physical domination of the Steelers up front — on both sides of the ball. The Steelers hit Luck so many times that the media was asking him after the game if he's OK (he said he's fine).

The Colts couldn't get to Roethlisberger, even one of their biggest moments of potential chaos blowing up in their face. Defensive tackle Arthur Jones, in his first action in six games, forced Roethlisberger from the pocket late in the first half and got a hand on Big Ben's foot. Roethlisberger stepped out of that sack attempt, fled the pocket and found Antonio Brown wide open. Simple game of pitch and catch, and Brown ran under the Roethlisberger rainbow and then ran away from Greg Toler for a 47-yard touchdown and a 35-10 lead.

INDYSTAR

Colts players' reaction: 'We got our asses kicked'

Meanwhile, MVP candidate Andrew Luck threw a baffling pick-six on an out route for Hakeem Nicks that Steelers cornerback William Gay jumped for a 33-yard touchdown and a 21-3 Steelers lead. For Indianapolis, you see, this was a breakdown of epic proportions.

Even so, the Colts made it a game. Down 35-10, they got within 42-34. They had the ball. Luck dropped back to pass.

And fell onto his backside. In the end zone. Where he threw the ball away to avoid being tackled.

Which is a safety.

This was a butt-safety of a game for the Colts. Hate it, but don't excuse it. Don't rationalize it. Be as honest about what happened Sunday as Andrew Luck, who was asked to pinpoint which team the Colts are: The one that had won five games in a row — or the one that lost Sunday 51-34?

"Who you are is your last game," Luck said. "And this is our last game."

Follow Gregg Doyel on Twitter: @GreggDoyelStar