Angry Steelers Defense Shuts Colts Down

Gut Check For The Defense

Along the banks of the three rivers in the Steel City of Pittsburgh, PA, the hometown team sat at a crossroads. The season hanging in the balance and the defense coming off two dreadful performances, the Steelers needed a spark to reignite their push for Lombardi number seven. Maybe it was the tongue-lashing they received from the fan base and media, maybe it was the “funeral” for the defense that Steelers fans held outside Acrisure Stadium. Whatever it was, something struck a cord with this defense on Sunday.

In came the red-hot Indianapolis Colts, sporting not only an NFL-best 7-1 record through eight games, but two MVP candidates in QB Daniel Jones and Running Back Johnathan Taylor. Daniel Jones has transformed himself since leaving New York and has played efficient, mistake-free football while the man behind him, Taylor, is having a season to rival that of Saquon Barkley’s monster campaign a season ago. The Colts had been lighting teams up, averaging about 34 points per game coming in. That all changed Sunday.

The Steelers overall played complimentary football but the story on Sunday was the much-maligned defense, that ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every defensive category to this point, coming alive and putting a stop to the high-flying offense of the Colts. The questions all week revolved around how the defense that looked so bad the last few weeks, could possibly stop a team in the Colts that was not just winning games, but destroying the opposition in the process.

Cooking Up Turnovers

Coming into this game, the Colts had only given the ball away four total times in eight games. Daniel Jones seemed to have kicked the bad habits he displayed for the Giants and was putting together a fantastic season. For at least one Sunday, the New York Giants version of Jones reappeared.

Jones was responsible for 5 of the 6 turnovers the Steelers defense forced. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith harassed him all day and each walked away with a strip-sack on the day. Jones also threw three interceptions, the last of which to corner Joey Porter Jr. which sealed the game and was a nice nod to the 2005 Steelers Super Bowl Championship team that was in attendance to honor the 20^th anniversary of that title run.

Johnathan Taylor was largely ineffective, finishing with 45 yards on 14 carries and no touchdowns . Coming into the game Taylor had been seemingly unstoppable. Running roughshod over just about every team he’s faced. On Sunday, he had a 3.9 yards per carry average and was a non-factor throughout the game.

Doing What Was Necessary

On the other side of the ball, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense were efficient for the most part. There were times when the offense appeared to be out of sync and somewhat sloppy, but for the most part, they did what they had to do. They were the beneficiaries of some short fields due to the defense forcing turnovers, and they made the most out of those opportunities, scoring 24 of their 27 points directly from Colts turnovers. The offense has continued to build chemistry despite the defense having its struggles this season and though I wouldn’t say they took a step back today or anything like that, they can still clearly be better.

End Of Steelers Rant: A Look Ahead

For the Colts, they will look to bounce back next week in Germany, when the NFL continues its International Series in Berlin, against the reeling Falcons. The Steelers will hope to build on this momentum as they travel across the country for a primetime showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

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