The Indianapolis Colts fell on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-22 on Sunday, and now sit at 2-3 on the season.
With the dust having settled on Sunday's game, here are three things we learned.
Colts' run game struggled
The Colts couldn't get anything going on the ground. Jonathan Taylor totaled just 45 yards, averaging only 3.0 yards per carry. Not having a run game to lean on put the offense in predictable passing situations and often in long down-and-distance situations. Being pass-heavy is a difficult place for many offenses to find themselves.
While Sunday's performance wasn't great, the Colts also entered Sunday's game ranked 20th in average yards per rush.
Big problems on defense
Missed tackles, a lack of steady pressure on the quarterback, easy completions- you name it, and it went
wrong for the Colts' defense.
Aaron Rodgers was an efficient 22-of-31 passing for 235 yards with three touchdowns. Giving Rodgers time and the ability to operate within the rhythm of the play will not end well. Rodgers was sacked just once and hit only three times.
The Pittsburgh run game averaged 5.8 yards per carry, while PFF's early tracking data credited the Colts with eight missed tackles. Many of the issues that were prevalent in Week 1 still exist.
Missed opportunities on offense
In a game that the Colts lost by 12 points, Indianapolis was just 1-for-3 in the red zone. There were also a few other instances where the Colts made it to Steelers' territory but ended up settling for field goals.
In short, a lot of points were left out there by the Colts' offense. When it comes to the red zone struggles, not being able to run consistently makes moving the ball in that part of the field a challenge.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: 3 lessons learned from Colts' Week 5 loss vs. Steelers
