With their playoff hopes slowly vanishing, the Pittsburgh Steelers let Gardner Minshew II, Trey Sermon, Tyler Goodson and D.J. Montgomery beat them. Minshew is a backup. Goodson had three career carries before Saturday and Montgomery had three career catches that came back in 2021. Sermon was a draft bust with the San Francisco 49ers.

Those are the second- and third-stringers who might have ended the Steelers' best chance to stay in the playoff race. There can be no excuses for the Steelers. The Colts overcame their adversity in a 30-13 win, which is a big one in the AFC wild-card race. Minshew threw three touchdowns, Goodson and Sermon broke several big runs in combining for 157 yards and Montgomery scored a touchdown in a huge win. Indianapolis is 8-6 after the win.

Meanwhile, the Steelers might be finished. Mike Tomlin's oft-mentioned streak of never having a losing season is in danger. The Steelers are 7-7 having lost four of their last five and three in a row. They benched quarterback Mitchell Trubisky late in the fourth quarter after a bad interception, but that seemed cosmetic. Trubisky was bad, but it's not like Mason Rudolph was leading them back. It seemed like just another scapegoat.

There are still three games left in the regular season and the Steelers aren't eliminated from playoff contention. They can still save their season. They just don't seem like a team that can play well enough to save their season, or even keep it alive much longer.

Steelers have another poor effort

The Colts haven't had starting quarterback Anthony Richardson for a while. Star running back Jonathan Taylor is out. Zack Moss and Michael Pittman Jr. were injured in the first half Saturday. If you want to give the Steelers a pass for the loss because they had injuries at quarterback and safety, it doesn't hold up well.

The Steelers are just a poor team right now. They started well Saturday and it seemed like they might have some fight left. They led 13-0 early in the second quarter. And then they faded.

The sloppiness of the Steelers came out in one game-changing sequence. Right after the Steelers' defense got a three-and-out to start the second half, Najee Harris fumbled and it was recovered by the Colts at Pittsburgh's 18-yard line. The Colts scored on the next play to extend their lead to 21-13. Pittsburgh never got back in the game after that.

The Steelers' offense is bad. It certainly can't afford a fumble by one of their veterans deep in their own territory.

Trubisky is replacing injured Kenny Pickett in the starting lineup and he wasn't capable of bringing Pittsburgh back. A healthy Pickett might not have done it either. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada was fired earlier in the season, and while he was a problem, he wasn't the only one. There's a lot about the offense that needs to be fixed.

It's going to be a long, interesting offseason in Pittsburgh.

Colts overcome injuries to win

The Colts deserve a lot of credit, for the win on Saturday and for their 8-6 record. Rookie head coach Shane Steichen is having a tremendous season as his team overcomes multiple injuries to remain in the playoff hunt. Whoever has to go in the game for the Colts, they seem to make plays. They beat the Steelers with practically a preseason lineup on offense.

Pittsburgh couldn't get anything going in the second half but got into Colts territory, trailing 24-13 late in the third quarter. A holding call on third down pushed the Steelers back. On fourth-and-14 at the Colts' 39, the Steelers punted instead of trying a 57-yard field goal indoors or even going for it. It seemed like a white flag moment. The Colts seemed to sense that, too. After that punt, the Colts ran the ball 13 straight times. It's not like they were worried about scoring any more points, only bleeding the clock.

Saturday's game was between two teams that were both 7-6 coming in, but the way the game played out showed a big difference between them. The Colts are finding ways to win no matter who's going in and out of the lineup, and the Steelers are getting practically nothing out of the talent they have on hand. Tomlin has been a fantastic coach for a long time, but he has no answers as the Steelers' season slips away.

The Steelers might need to win out to make the playoffs. Before worrying about playoffs, they need to show any signs of life.