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Refs screw Colts with terrible DPI penalties during Steelers ‘comeback’

By Adam Weinrib

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 27: Cornerback Kenny Moore II #23 and linebacker Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts hit wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster #19 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter of their game at Heinz Field on December 27, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Smith-Schuster fumbled the ball on the play. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 27: Cornerback Kenny Moore II #23 and linebacker Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts hit wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster #19 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter of their game at Heinz Field on December 27, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Smith-Schuster fumbled the ball on the play. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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The Colts’ secondary got torched by terrible penalties in the second half.

Remember when the Indianapolis Colts were up 24-7 in this game? And the Steelers got stuffed at the goal line like buffoons? And Ben Roethlisberger was trying third-down passes that never got past the line of scrimmage?

Better times.

Sometime after halftime, this crew of zebras decided Big Ben and the Steelers needed more than a little extra help to get the ball rolling and avoid an ignominious four-game losing streak after starting the season 11-0 (!!!), one of the most insane and unexpected developments of an insane and unexpected year.

Just in the nick of time, the ticky-tack calls on the Colts’ secondary began to pile up. Tight end Eric Ebron managed to score a revenge touchdown (petty) to cut the lead to 24-21 thanks in large part to this little touch foul that set Pittsburgh up in the red zone.

That’s TJ Carrie out here getting flagged for abject nothing.

Kenny Moore, who’s proved in recent weeks with his ridiculous catch radius and athletic ability that he’s one of the league’s best DBs, was unable to overcome an insane instance of “home team” bias, also getting flagged for 24 yards earlier on the drive.

He continues to get disrespected, and this flag-laden drive only served as more proof.

Somehow, the Steelers went from completely incompetent to rolling along in the second half, which is much easier to manage when your chunk plays come entirely off of whistles.

Roethlisberger hasn’t thrown a “catchable” pass in a month, and yet Indianapolis’ DBs continued to get flagged for their “interference.”

You’re not going to believe this (of course you will), but on the very next drive, Steelers wideout Chase Claypool broke up a Roethlisberger duck and a sure pick-six with a season-saving OPI. A few plays later, Big Ben hit JuJu Smith-Schuster for the lead-swiping TD. This was…not called!

Yeah. For sure. Seems legitimate. Excited to dissect this one.

Losing stinks. Losing by a thousand cuts, all of which were ref-created, is much worse.

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