Steelers' Mike Tomlin addresses challenges of facing Colts' Jonathan Taylor, Daniel Jones

The Pittsburgh Steelers clearly believed they needed to bolster their defense, as they agreed to acquire safety Kyle Dugger from the New England Patriots on Tuesday.

Before word of that trade broke, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the challenges his defense will face when running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Daniel Jones lead the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts into Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium Sunday afternoon. 

Facing Jonathan Taylor will be "an all-day job" for Steelers

"He's significant," Tomlin said about Taylor, per Jim Wexell of the Steelers' website. "He's got great stop/start ability. He's got great short-area burst and vision. He's got the long speed to finish plays, as evidenced by the 80-yarder that he had last week. But he's always been explosion-play capable. When you play a guy like that, man, it's really an all-day job. Because of that home-run-hitting ability, we've got to do a really good job of setting the edges and certainly being in the appropriate gaps."

Taylor emerged as the favorite to win the Offensive Player of the Year Award as the Colts won seven of their first eight games. According to StatMuse, he enters Week 9 leading the NFL with 14 total scrimmage touchdowns and 1,056 total yards from scrimmage. Per ESPN stats, the Steelers are responsible for the league's 18th-ranked rushing defense (112.7 yards allowed per game).

As for Jones, he seemingly has resurrected his career while playing under Colts head coach Shane Steichen. Pro Football Reference stats show that Jones leads the NFL with a 56.3 percent passing success rate. He's second with a 79.3 adjusted QBR, fourth with 2,062 passing yards and tied for 11th with 13 passing touchdowns. 

What's different about Daniel Jones with Colts?

"He's at the sticks of a really good offense," Tomlin said about how Jones has improved as a member of the Colts. "They're running the ball, taking care of it. He's got some eligibles that have been together. He just looks really comfortable in the structured system, and it's going really well for him."

As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had a 4-3 Steelers team that is coming off back-to-back losses as a 3.5-point home underdog against the Colts. Tomlin's defense may need to produce its best showing, to date, of the campaign versus the league's highest-scoring offense for Pittsburgh to remain above .500.