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Anatomy Of The Drives: Steelers Edition

Intro: The “Anatomy Of The Drives” series is back. Here’s a look at the four touchdown drives the Colts had in their 51-34 loss to the Steelers on Sunday.

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INDIANAPOLIS

Dwayne Allen's 21-yard touchdown catch from Andrew LuckThe scene: Down 21-3 with 14:12 left in the second quarter, the Colts took over at their own 14-yard line.The anatomy of the drive: 5 plays for 86 yards in 2:40.Key play: The Colts needed a spark and it was their rookie wide receiver who provided just that. Facing a third-and-three early in the drive, Andrew Luck found Donte Moncrief just beyond the sticks. From there, Moncrief did the rest with a 52-yard reception, nearly all of which came in yards after the catch. It was a display of the elite speed that Moncrief possess in his 6-2, 221-pound frame.The score: Thanks to the big play from Moncrief, the Colts offense found some rhythm and moved into Steelers territory. Luck and the offense eventually faced a second-and-nine from the 21-yard line. Dwayne Allen finished the day with just two targets, a number you didn't expect without Reggie Wayne in the lineup. His lone catch was an impressive one though with the young tight end making a nice adjustment to Luck's needle-like throw. For Allen, it marked his sixth receiving touchdown of the year (five in the last six games).

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T.Y. Hilton's 28-yard catch from Andrew LuckThe scene:Down 35-10 with 5:08 left in the second quarter, the Colts took over at their own 20-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:8 plays for 80 yards in 3:12.Key play:It was a quiet afternoon for Hakeem Nicks with his lone catch (in six targets) coming on this drive. The Colts faced a third-and-11 at their own 19-yard line when Nicks made a tremendous over the shoulder grab for 27 yards. It's a moment like this where Nicks shows why he was a two-time 1,000-yard receiver in this league, as the Colts continue to try and involve him more in the passing game.The score:For the third straight game, Hilton cracked the 100-yard receiving mark. His second receiving touchdown of the season came late in the first half with the Colts trying to claw back in the game. The Colts had trouble protecting Luck for long stretches on Sunday but here he got some time, still took a big hit, and found Hilton. It was a great double move by Hilton to get behind the Steelers secondary.**

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Ahmad Bradshaw's 12-yard runThe scene:Down 42-20 with 6:57 left in the third quarter, the Colts took over at their own 31-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:8 plays for 69 yards in 3:06.Key play:Not one specific play sticks out on this drive but there was Moncrief again with three catches for 21 yards. The rookie finished the afternoon with a career-high seven catches for 113 yards. It was certainly a bright spot for the Colts. Without Reggie Wayne, someone was needed in the receiving game to emerge and Moncrief accomplished that. Depending on Wayne's health, it will be interesting to see how the Colts try and incorporate Moncrief going forward.The score:The workload for Bradshaw on Sunday was immense. He only had six carries but was asked to do a lot from a pass blocking/receiving, snap count, standpoint. On this score, Bradshaw showed tremendous patience when it didn't look like anything appeared to be there initially. The touchdown was the eighth of the year for the veteran running back.**

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Donte Moncrief's 31-yard catch from Andrew LuckThe scene:Down 42-27 with 3:26 left in the third quarter, the Colts took over at the Steelers 36-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:3 plays for 36 yards in 0:51.Key play:In order to get the wheels really churning on this comeback, the Colts needed a turnover. They got that late in the third quarter when Darius Butler stripped Steelers receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. Safety Mike Adams fell on the loose ball and that set the Colts up with great field position to make it a one-possession game.The score:** Early in the game, we saw Moncrief's speed on display. Here, it was the size of Moncrief. With the Colts facing a third-and-five, Luck once again got enough time to hit Moncrief down the sideline. The throw was on point, in tight coverage, and Moncrief went up to get it before taking a pretty significant hit from Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. You knew Moncrief had these types of performances in him, you just weren't sure if they were in the cards for 2014.

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