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PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger easily passed through the NFL concussion protocol after he was hurt last week. Any doubts of the injury lingering were erased Sunday. Roethlisberger torched the Indianapolis secondary for 364 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 45-10 victory over the Colts in a battle of teams jockeying for playoff position Sunday night.
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"If we don't turn the ball over, that's us and that's been us," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "Ben was Ben tonight and those guys did a nice job of getting open and making."
Pittsburgh wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant each turned in 100-yard performances as Roethlisberger distributed 24 completions to six receivers.
"We just made some plays when we had to," Roethlisberger said. "I still feel like we left some out there."
The Steelers (7-5) moved a game ahead of the Colts (6-6) while keeping pace with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC wild-card race.
"We couldn't get anything going offensively," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "We got beat thoroughly in all three phases."
Brown caught eight passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown after he replaced Jacoby Jones, who fumbled twice in the first half, on special teams.
Running back DeAngelo Williams added 134 yards on 26 carries as the Steelers showcased their potent offense on a national stage. Roethlisberger completed 24 of 39 passes, four of them to Bryant for 114 yards and a touchdown.
"Each and every one of us takes pride in the game," Brown said, "and we're doing a great job of getting better each and every week as a team. Today we showed that."
The Steelers' defense limited Indianapolis to 240 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers. Pittsburgh recorded five sacks, including three by linebacker James Harrison, due in part to mixing the pressure against Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
"We knew it was coming and we didn't handle it well," Hasselbeck said. "Then we were prepared to handle it, and they would just rush three."
Indianapolis began drives in Pittsburgh territory three times but scored only three points as a result.
"You have to take advantage of it," Pagano said. "You have to put points on the board, and we couldn't get it done."
Hasselbeck struggled in his fifth start for Indianapolis, finishing 16-for-26 for 169 yards with one touchdown pass and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble on a fourth-quarter play that knocked him out of the game with a shoulder and neck injury.
"They did a really nice job of keeping me off balance," Hasselbeck said. "I'm disappointed in how I played. Extremely disappointed."
Kicker Adam Vinatieri put Indianapolis on the board with a 35-yard field goal after the teams combined to turn the ball over three times in the game's first three minutes.
Jacoby Jones fumbled the opening kickoff, and Indianapolis recovered at the 11. Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones intercepted Hasselbeck two plays later.
Williams fumbled to give the ball back to Indianapolis at the Pittsburgh 25, and the Colts took advantage of the Steelers' second miscue.
Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh into the red zone, and kicker Chris Boswell tied the game with a 29-yard field goal.
Hasselbeck was intercepted again at the Colts 37, and Boswell later connected on another field goal, this one from 51 yards, for a 6-3 Pittsburgh lead.
Indianapolis took the lead in the second on Hasselbeck's 9-yard touchdown pass to running back Frank Gore.
Pittsburgh responded with a 80-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown and a two-point conversion to take a 14-10 lead.
The Steelers took a 21-10 lead into halftime after Roethlisberger's second touchdown toss, a 5-yarder to wide receiver Markus Wheaton with 10 seconds left.
Roethlisberger put the Steelers up 28-10 in the third quarter with a 68-yard completion to Bryant, who burned cornerback Greg Toler on a go route.
NOTES: Colts QB Andrew Luck (lacerated kidney) was sidelined for the fifth consecutive game. ... WR Antonio Brown became the third player in Steelers history to record 6,500 career receiving yards with a catch in the first quarter. ... The Colts' leader in receiving yards was RB Frank Gore, who caught three passes for 49 yards. TE Coby Fleener made a team-high four receptions for 20 yards.
