Taken from the gradebook of a teacher hoping he’s seeing a classroom evolution, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2026 win over the Colts at Acrisure.
Gang tackling’s back in vouge in Pittsburgh: Jaquan Brisker, Daylen Everette, Alex Highsmith and Jalen Ramsey take down Tyler Warren. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, Steelers.com
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers was 22 of 31 for 3 touchdowns for 235 yards and no interceptions in a game characterized by Rodgers’ lightning-quick release. Don’t let those numbers fool you into thinking that Rodgers slipped into “game manager” mode, as he skillfully worked – and won – the game within the game at the line of scrimmage. Grade: A-
Running Back
Jaylen Warren exploded in the first half for an 80-yard touchdown reception. He did it again zigging and zagging for a 50-yard touchdown run. In between quibblers will quibble about his average, but Warren made tough yards and the Steelers ran the ball when they needed to. Lew Nichols ran once for 6 yards. Grade: A+
Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth caught 5 passes for 44 yards, including 2 touchdowns. Darnell Washington caught 2 passes for 12 yards but on one of them no less than 6 defenders were needed to take him down. Perhaps more importantly, the duo did plenty of damage in the blocking game. Grade: A
Wide Receivers
An already short-handed unit lost not one, but two players. However, in his first start rookie Germie Bernard stepped up catching 6 of 9 balls thrown his way for 80 yards, including a couple of critical, third-down conversions. D.K. Metcalf caught 3 passes for 12 yards, but also ran for 11, and Bernard picked up 4 on a reverse of his own. Grade: B
Offensive Line
Aaron Rodgers was only sacked once and hit one other time per ESPN’s stats. While its true that the Steelers leaned into the quick-release game, that appeared to be as much a product of game-planning and response to wide receiver attrition as opposed to an inability to protect Rodgers. Run blocking was solid. Grade: B
Defensive Line
Jonathan who? For the second straight year a short-handed Steelers defensive line led the charge in shutting down Jonathan Taylor. Yahya Black looked impressive and Gabriel Rubio made 3 tackles in his first start. Cam Heyward had the lone sack of the day, but it came in the 4th quarter. Grade: B+
Cam Heyward sacks Daniel Jones. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Linebackers
The Steelers inside linebackers drew a lot of grief for their performance against the Browns, yet both Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen bounced back, with Wilson leading the team in tackles and breaking up a pass while Queen had 7 tackles of his own. The Steelers outside linebacker troika had a quiet day on the stat sheet, but so did the Colts running backs, in no small part because T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith so effectively set the edge. Grade: B
Secondary
Another short-handed unit acquitted itself well. Asante Samuel Jr. batted away 4 passes, including 2 in the end zone while rookie Daylen Everette knocked away two of his own in his first start. Jaquan Brisker effectively kept the lid on the Colts’ offense, while batting down two passes himself. Grade: B
Special Teams
Chris Boswell was a perfect 2-2 on field goals and made all of his PATs. Cameron Johnston continued to boom off punts and planted one inside the 20. Kaden Wetjen clearly has good speed, but needs to make better decisions. The Steelers kick coverage remains an issue. Anthony Gould had a 54-yard return. The Colts only needed to get 5 yards on this drive before kicking a field goal. Seth McGowan also had a 36-yard return that set up another field goal.
Special teams cannot continue to give up returns that facilitate easy scores. Grade: C-
Coaching
After a week of heated headset exchanges, Patrick Graham was on the sidelines, and coincidence or not, the defense played much better. Yes, the Steelers did benefit from some errant passes by Daniel Jones. Yes, the Steelers defense did have a bit of a “bend-but-don’t-break-feeling.”
But the unit was more aggressive, tackling was much better, and players assertively engaged Colts’ ball carriers at the line of scrimmage.
- For one game at least, gang tackling was back in vouge in Pittsburgh – let’s keep it that way Patrick.
No one will ever mistake the 2026 Indianapolis Colts defense for the Purple People Eaters, ’85 Bears, ’00 Ravens, or Legion of Boom. But Mike McCarthy and Brian Angelichio devised an effective game plan that exploited the Colts’ weaknesses, moved the ball in short-yardage situations, and finished Red Zone drives with touchdowns.
More importantly, the tension evident on the field last week in Cleveland did not ferment into dissension. Grade: B
Jalen Ramsey and Payton Wilson corner Jonathan Taylor. Photo Credit: Jordan Perez
Unsung Hero Award
For the second straight year the Steelers have reached the middle of the season and, once agai,n three of their projected starters in the secondary are out. And once again, there’s a player who is providing a veteran presence both on and off the field that is showing up in ways both large and small. Jalen Ramsey is filling those shoes and for that he wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers win over the Colts at Acrisure.
