Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Indianapolis 10 at Pittsburgh 28 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Indianapolis Colts: QB Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards and a TD but seemed to have trouble with the Steelers pass defense. He made some bad decisions and threw balls high while getting hit on nearly every play. His best play was to Marcus Pollard on a 41 yard TD pass. RB Edgerrin James had trouble running into the teeth of the Steelers D, but looked great catching the ball. Marvin Harrison looked solid, adjusting his routes when Manning was in trouble. Reggie Wayne and Qadry Ismail both got some looks, but neither is a major part of the passing offense. The Colts defense was vulnerable to the run and the short passing game, but didn't let up a lot of big passing plays. It looks like Dungy is doing the best he can with his personnel. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers ran a spread passing offense similar to the one that the Patriots and Raiders used against them in the first two games of the season. Tommy Maddox was very efficient and looked poised running the Steelers offense. He seemed to lock in to Plaxico Burress for much of the game, despite the fact that both of his TDs were to Hines Ward. Jerome Bettis had a pair of TDs and looked solid until the third quarter, when he hurt his knee and left the game. Bettis appeared to be ok laughing on the sidelines but did not return. Amos Zereoue replaced him and looked very good in the third and fourth quarters. Plaxico Burress caught 6 passes for 79 yards, and just missed a long TD pass from Maddox. Hines Ward, whose production had significantly dropped off since Kordell Stewart's benching, played a big role in the passing game tonight catching 5 passes for 76 yards and 2 TDs. The Steelers defense got a lot of pressure on Manning, forcing him into bad throws and three interceptions. After a couple of early miscues, they settled down and were successful in stopping the run. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Indianapolis Colts QB: Peyton Manning looked like Drew Bledsoe did two years ago. He got hit hard almost every play. He got happy feet. He threw the ball just a little too high to his receivers. He made some bad decisions, either holding the ball too long and getting sacked, or throwing the ball into double coverage. He threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown, but his two sacks and three interceptions were largely his fault. His receivers, particularly Marvin Harrison, had to bail him out of several broken plays. This was statistically a fine game, but it was certainly not a great game for Manning from a real QB standpoint. The challenge of course is remembering we play this Fantasy Football game based on statistics. RB: Edgerrin James had an average day running the ball, carrying the ball 20 times for 62 yards. He looked much better as a receiver, coming out of the backfield and split wide. James caught 11 passes for 82 yards on the night. WR: Marvin Harrison continues to be the main weapon in the Colts defense. He caught 8 passes, marking the fifth straight game he's had 8 or more catches, and ended up with 76 receiving yards. While Harrison was Manning's first option, Reggie Wayne and Qadry Ismail are much further down the list. With Harrison, Pollard and James catching well, Wayne and Ismail were all but afterthoughts tonight, catching 4 for 33 and 3 for 21, respectively. This is a little disturbing as Ismail had shown signs of becoming a bigger part of the offense in weeks past. TE: Marcus Pollard has improved for his fourth straight game since returning from injury. His best play was a 41 yard catch and run touchdown. He also split out as a wide receiver on a couple of plays. Pass Defense: The Colts pass defense contained the Steelers and prevented big plays, but could not stop the short passing game. Run Defense: The Colts run defense let up over 180 yards on the ground. They were able to hold Bettis to 3 yards per carry, but had trouble with faster players in Zereoue and Randle El later in the game. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Pittsburgh Steelers QB: Tommy Maddox ran the Steelers offense well, alternating between a spread offense and a two tight end set. He completed 15 of 23 for 188 yards and a pair of scores to Hines Ward. His passing game flows through his top two wide receivers, as 150 of those 188 yards were to Burress and Ward. RB: Jerome Bettis ran well early, rushing 11 times for 33 yards. He left the game in the third quarter after landing hard on his knee. He was later seen walking around on the sidelines laughing, but he did not return to the game. With the game out of hand, Amos Zereoue took over the load and ran with speed and power with 15 carries for 87 yards. Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala also had a pair of solid runs for 9 and 16 yards, respectively. WR: Plaxico Burress caught 6 passes for 79 yards, and just missed a long TD pass from Maddox. He appears to be Maddox's first option on most plays. He also is the only wide receiver in the Steelers' two tight end sets. Hines Ward had seen his production significantly drop off since Kordell Stewart's benching. But he played a big role in the passing game Monday Night catching 5 passes for 76 yards with 2 TDs. The Steelers seem to be looking for roles for Antwaan Randle El. They used him as a wide receiver, on a reverse, and as a running back out of the backfield. He ended with four touches for 35 yards. TE: Despite the Steelers' use of two tight end sets in the running game, no passes were completed to a tight end. Pass Defense: The Steelers pass defense got a lot of pressure on Manning, which forced him to make bad decisions. They were opportunistic, intercepting a ball deflected high off of Marcus Pollard. Run Defense: The Steelers held Edgerrin James to 20 carries for 62 yards. What's more impressive is that they did this despite Tony Dungy's attempts to run the ball in the fourth quarter, when they had to worry about the passing game.