Reeling from successive, humiliating losses, the Pittsburgh Steelers rebounded to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 27-20 at Acisure Stadium. And folks, the game wasn’t as close as that final score suggests.

• Now raise your hand if you DIDN’T see that coming. [Mine’s raised.]

Winning this one was about more than just getting back into the W column for the Steelers. The Indianapolis Colts have been the class of the NFL this season. They’ve haven’t simply been good. They’ve been unstoppable. For the last two weeks, the Steelers defense hasn’t stopped anyone.

The 6 turnovers that the Steelers secured will hog the headlines for this win. And yes, those turnovers were critical. But it was the focused, sound fundamental football the Steelers played that laid the foundation for those turnovers and the victory.

Payton Wilson intercepts Daniel Jones. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Strong Focus = Sound Fundamentals

Football is an emotional game.

Emotions carry teams to heights they never expected to reach. Emotions come with costs. As legendary Washington, DC sports radio journalist Ken Beatrice repeatedly reminded listeners, teams motivated primarily by emotions are subject to both “tremendous highs and tremendous lows.” (Think Jerry Glanville’s Oilers or Buddy Ryan’s Eagles.)

Cincinnati and Green Bay’s offenses had devastated Pittsburgh’s defense. It was Mike Tomlin’s duty to ensure devastation of defense didn’t debilitate the entire team.

• A handful of early plays show how he was successful in doing that.

After forcing a Steelers three-and-out, the Colts offense went immediately to work, marching down the field reaching Pittsburgh’s 7 in just three minutes. Tight ends have tortured the Steelers defense this season, and on 3rd and 2, Daniel Jones targeted Colts tight end Tyler Warren.

Jalen Ramsey having none of that, Jalen Warren laid in the wood:

Jalen Ramsey lays in the wood on Tyler Warren. Photo Credit: Alysa Rubin, Steelers.com

Warren only got 1 of the 2 yards he needed.

22 plays, 11 minutes and 2 possessions later, a similar scene unfolded. On third and 8 Jones targeted wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Brandon Echols hit him immediately. Mitchell neither moved nor went down. Darius Slay joined him. Mitchell remained standing. Kyle Dugger hit him next. At that point it was clear that Mitchell was going down, but Patrick Queen added his push to make sure the pile fell backwards. It did.

Darius Slay, Brandon Echols and Kyle Dugger gang tackle Adonai. Photo Credit: Alysia Rubin, Steelers.come

Mitchell only got 7 of the 8 yards he needed.

Context is critical here.

After Ramsey’s hit, the Colts converted a 4th down, ran several plays, then converted another 4th down to score. The Steelers offense sputtered (again), but Brandon Echols recovered a muffed punt. But the Steelers offense couldn’t punch it in on their own 4th down try.

• None of that deterred the Steelers defense.

After the Echols, Slay, Dugger, Queen gang tackle, the Colts converted another 4th down. Nine plays later after the Colts had reached Pittsburgh’s 38, T.J. Watt strip-sacked Daniel Jones for the game’s second turnover.

This time and the Steelers offense hit pay dirt. Aaron Rodgers marched them down the field smartly, on a drive that included a Connor Heyward tush push and a finished with a one-yard Jaylen Warren touchdown.

The Steelers defense had given up an opening drive touchdown. Allowed 3 4th down conversions. The offense had punted twice. It had failed to convert a special teams turnover into a touchdown.

• Yet, with 6 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, the Steelers had tied the game 7-7.

And there’s a reason why they’d never be behind again….

Teryl Austin’s Defense Tames Taylor

Jonathan Taylor has attacked the NFL this year like a franchise running back from yesteryear. “What’s a ‘Franchise Running Back’?” you ask? Google names like Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, or if you want to prioritize Pittsburgh Franco Harris or Jerome Bettis.

The concept of a “Franchise Running Back” has faded over the last 15 years as NFL teams and fantasy football fans have focused on the passing game. But as Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry did in 2024, Jonathan Taylor is threatening to revive the concept in 2025.

In just 9 games he’s scored 14 touchdowns, or 1 more than Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis scored in all of 2004. He’s also already rushed for 895 yards, just 45 fewer than Bettis rushed for in all of ’04.

But that 45 yard figures 45 carries a touch of irony, as that’s Taylor’s total yardage against the Steelers. Here’s how his first set of carries against the Steelers went:

• Tackled for a 1-yard loss on 1st and 10 by Alex Highsmith
• Tackled by Keeanu Benton after gaining 2 yards on 4th and 1
• Gained 4 yards on 2nd and 5 only to be tackled by T.J. Watt

Down 10 to 7 at the half, the Colts wisely tried to begin the 2nd half by putting the game into Taylor’s hands. On their second play from scrimmage on 2nd and 2, they handed it to Taylor – Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton stopped him for a gain of one. The Colts immediately went back to him on 3rd and 1. Benton and Payton Wilson stopped him for no gain.

T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith tame Jonathan Taylor. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.come

Taylor’s best series came late in the third quarter. He pounded out 5 and 7 yard runs on successive carries. Then he got stopped for no gain. Daniel Jones threw and incomplete pass and then converted a 4th and 3 with a 16 yard pass. Taylor then ripped of a 9 yard run.

On the next play, Payton Wilson deflected a pass which rookie Jack Sawyer hauled in. Six plays later the offense was finding the end zone for a third time.

Yes, it was that kind of a day for the Indianapolis Colts.

Opportunistic Offense

Fantasy Football owners who focused on starting Pittsburgh Steelers this week likely came away disappointed.

Jonathan Taylor actually out rushed the Steelers entire offense with 7 more yards, with Jaylen Warren getting 31 of those on 16 carries.

D.K. Metcalf had two catches for 6 yards. The only time the Steelers offense went the length of the field on its own was at the tail end of the first half, and on that drive they were forced to settle for a Chris Boswell Field goal.

But, as it so often does, winning in the NFL hinges on capitalizing on your opponent’s mistakes.

Calvin Austin hauls one in. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Steelers.com

And that’s something that Arthur Smith’s offense did with tremendous efficiency. The Steelers offense transformed 4 of Indianapolis’ 6 turnovers into points, three of which were touchdowns. IN truth, there were no superstars on offense for the Steelers.

Yet, Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Darnell Washington, Calvin Austin, and Pat Freiermuth all came up with critical plays when their numbers were called.

Steelers Must Maintain Focus Moving Forward

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed this win. But it’s even more true that the defense needed this kind of win. The unit hadn’t just suffered figurative knockouts at the hands of the Bengals and Packers, the secondary was hemorrhaging safeties so badly that new arrival Kyle Dugger had to start.

But by focusing on fundamentals, the Steelers set themselves up to secure 5 turnovers and delivered a shut down performance against the NFL’s offensive juggernaut.

• Credit last week’s whipping boys Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin for the turnaround.

Now they must see that the team sustains that. When asked if his team had turned a corner Mike Tomlin retorted:

“We keep writing that story. We responded today. See you next week.”

That’s exactly attitude the Steelers need to take away from the win over the Colts.

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