Michael Pittman provided the Indianapolis Colts passing game with a big spark against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In total, Pittman finished the day catching 6-of-9 passes for 113 yards at an average of 18.8 yards per catch. Two of those completions were explosive plays and helped set up early touchdowns for the Colts’ offense.
The first came on the very first play of the game. From shotgun the Colts ran a play-action pass, with Anthony Richardson connecting with Pittman for a 32 yard gain. Seven plays later the Colts scored and took a 7-0 lead.
The second drive of the game started similarly, with Richardson connecting with Pittman for 28 yards, helping to move the offense from their own 14-yard line to near midfield. Then, eight players later, the Colts scored to take a 14-0 lead.
Facing a defense that entered the game allowing just 8.7 points per game through three weeks, the Colts had two touchdowns before the end of the first quarter, both of which were sparked by Pittman.
It had been a bit of a slow start to the season for Pittman. In the Colts first three games, he had caught just 57 percent of his 19 targets and averaged just 8.0 yards per catch.
However, ESPN’s Seth Walder wrote recently that the underlying numbers showed that Pittman was due for a big performance and that came to fruition on Sunday.