Benny Snell Jr kept waiting for his first carry of the season. When he finally got the chance on Monday night, in week 12 during prime time, he showed everyone what he could do.
He ran for 62 yards (57m), scored the go-ahead touchdown with 9 minutes, 55 seconds left and then watched as his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates fended off a last-minute comeback bid to beat the Indianapolis Colts 24-17.
“We go to any guy wearing a helmet,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “He was on the punt team coming in and sometimes you bet battlefield promoted.”
Photo: AFP
The Steelers (4-7) did not have much of a choice after Najee Harris limped off the field in the first half. Harris was ruled out with an abdominal injury, and Snell took over.
He carried 12 times, produced his highest rushing total since an 84-yard game on Dec. 21, 2020, and with the Steelers trailing 17-16 and hundreds or thousands of Terrible Towels waving on third-and-goal, Snell found an open lane to the end zone.
Kenny Pickett threw to George Pickens for the 2-point conversion to make it 24-17.
“He has an edge, he runs angry,” said Pickett of Snell. “I love the juice he brings. He’s a detailed guy who does his job very well.”
Pittsburgh’s eighth straight win in this lopsided series allowed the Steelers to match the San Francisco 49ers for the most Monday night victories in league history (52).
The 49ers had edged in front last week when they beat Arizona in Mexico City.
Matt Ryan drove the Colts (4-7-1) into position to score, but Indy let a minute run off the clock in a span of three plays in Steelers territory, finally using its first timeout on fourth down with 30 seconds remaining.
Ryan then threw incomplete to Parris Campbell on fourth-and-3 from the Steelers 26 and Indy fell to 1-2 under interim coach Jeff Saturday.
“I thought we had plenty of time,” said Saturday, who had never coached at the pro or college level before owner Jim Irsay hired him to replace Frank Reich. “We had plenty of timeouts, so I wasn’t too concerned. This wasn’t a press for time, we just didn’t make enough plays.”
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