Leading up to the Week 9 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at Acrisure Stadium, there was a lot of doom and gloom surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team was fresh off back-to-back awful performances defensively, had lost safety DeShon Elliott for an extended period of time, and seemingly had no answers on that side of the football. That was a bad combination, especially with the NFL’s top offense in the Colts coming to town.
Nobody seemed to believe in the Steelers entering the matchup, including the entire Steelers Depot roundtable.
But the Steelers do what they tend to do under Mike Tomlin: find a way to win. Pittsburgh forced six turnovers against the Colts, five by the defense, and the offense did just enough, cashing in with three touchdowns off turnovers in the 27-20 win.
For Good Morning Football’s Kyle Brandt, it was the “perfect Steelers game” Sunday on the North Shore.
“I am always so amused by the nuclear magnetic attraction the Steelers have to 10-7. They will get there,” Brandt said Monday, according to video via NFL Network. “If they start 0-7, they’re gonna go win 10 in a row. If they start 10-0, they’re gonna lose seven in a row. I promise you, this was the perfect Steelers game in which [they were] written off. This is Tomlin’s first losing season, this, this, this.
“And they come out and have a really impressive win in front of the home crowd. The Steelers will get there. You know it. I know it. No matter how they have to do it, they will be in the playoffs.”
Many expected the Colts to hang 40 on the Steelers, myself included. There was nothing on paper that showed the Steelers would have a chance.
That’s why they play the games though.
The Steelers fell down 7-0 early and were unable to cash in on the Colts’ first turnover after Josh Downs muffed a punt. Indianapolis started driving again, too, and looked on pace to go up 14-0. But T.J. Watt stepped up and reminded everyone who he is with a huge strip-sack and fumble recovery.
Watt’s play on Daniel Jones changed the game. The Steelers scored a touchdown after the turnover, and then the floodgates opened. Picks and fumbles went the Steelers’ way, and the offense was able to capitalize. Though it was a sloppy day overall for the offense, it deserves credit for cashing in on short fields, scoring touchdowns instead of field goals.
Along with the takeaways, the Steelers defense changed things up from a personnel and scheme perspective. Jalen Ramsey shifted to safety, and the Steelers played a lot of split-safety looks. That allowed Pittsburgh to keep a lid on things and forced the Colts to largely become one-dimensional. As a result, Jones held onto the football in the pocket, taking sacks and then making mistakes with the ball coming out of his hand, too.
It was a good sign that the Steelers adjusted the way that they did. It shows they can still game plan and have some success, rather than sticking with what they normally do and hoping their players execute.
It was a classic Steelers win under Tomlin: backs against the wall and they have a huge response. The challenge now is finding consistency, starting in Week 10 on Sunday Night Football on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.