STEELERS WEEK 9: IT'S ALIVE!! PITTSBURGH DEFENSE AWAKENS

- Tyler Yasembousky, Contributor

Spooky season might be over, but call the Steelers defense Frankenstein’s monster ! BECAUSE IT'S ALIVE.

Some might say that Daniel Jones just turned back into a pumpkin, but I don’t believe that. One bad game doesn’t undo all The good he’s do all year long. Yes, he had a lot of turnovers but that’s because the highest paid defense in the league decided to finally show up.

This is exactly what I spoke about last week. IF THIS DEFENSE could just do their part, this team could compete with anyone. Now don’t get it twisted I didn’t have any faith they would, especially not this week against the number one ranked offense in the league. I even said in my recap last week that i expected the Steelers to lose this game and I would be complaining how awful the defense looked again.

Well boy was I glad to be wrong! Not only did the Steelers defense show up but they completely dominated the Colts.

The Colts were 7-1 heading into this game vs. the Steelers and honestly they probably should be 8-0, because they should’ve won that game against the Rams that they lost. This offense was EXCELLENT. Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor, both in MVP discussions.

This one looked to be very one sided going in. Well it seems Pittsburgh didn’t get the memo.

You know I love some random stats, because the stats can tell you what to expect usually.

So here’s some interesting data

Since 1970, the Colts are 1-14 when playing the Steelers in Pittsburgh, they are 2-14 ALL TIME playing in Pittsburgh. They haven’t won there since 2008.

The Colts entered the game with four turnovers all season (8 games) on Sunday they had 6 turnovers.

It’s the first time the Pittsburgh Steelers forced 6 turnovers in a game since 2010 against the Tennessee Titans, in that game they forced seven turnovers, it also happened in 1997, a win over the Baltimore ravens in a 37-0 game.

Pittsburgh also sacked quarterback, Daniel Jones five times, it makes the first time the Steelers have notched a 6 turnover, 5 sack game since 1981, a 34-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons, it’s the 5th time since 1966.

To put this rarity in perspective, this type of outcome happened only twice during the Steel Curtain era and not once during the historic 1976 season. It happened in 1977 and 1979, both against the Houston Oilers.

Across the NFL the last two years, the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs and 2025 Steelers are the only teams to have a six-takeaway, five-sack game. Chiefs did it last year to the Cleveland Browns.

Three different Steelers intercepted a pass Sunday: Jack Sawyer, Payton Wilson, and Joey Porter Jr. A trio of Steelers defenders haven’t picked off a pass since Week 16 of the 2023 season when Eric Rowe, Mykal Walker, and Alex Highsmith did so against the Cincinnati Bengals

One of the biggest concerns was could the Steelers run defense handled Jonathan Taylor

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor had rushed for at least 66 yards in every game this season, which was a blowout he was pulled early from. Pittsburgh held him to 45 yards. That’s his lowest output since Week 11 of last season.

Over the past two weeks, the Steelers have allowed 149 combined rushing yards to offenses featuring Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor. Specifically, Jacobs and Taylor have rushed for just 78 yards and one touchdown. That’s huge.

Similarly, TE Tyler Warren was held to a season-low 26 receiving yards. Pittsburgh handled the dynamic rookie well in this one.

Meanwhile

Jaylen Warren entered the game with zero rushing touchdowns on 83 attempts, easily the most carries of any player without one. He scored twice on the ground yesterday for the first multi-rushing touchdown of his career. His last instance came November 13, 2021, at Oklahoma State when he scored three rushing touchdowns in a 63-17 win over TCU.

We talked about the defense, a whole lot and rightfully so, but let’s talk about Aaron Rodgers and the offense. As per usual, he was Mr. Consistent. 25/35, 200 yards and a touchdown He once again leaned heavily on his tight ends who got more receptions than the Wideouts this week.

This is exactly the winning recipe in Pittsburgh. They’re highly paid defense, actually showing up and making a difference and Aaron Rodgers and the offense doing just enough to win the game. No turnovers on the offensive side of the ball, don’t beat yourself.

The Pittsburgh Steelers team that beat this Colts team on Sunday could be a contender if they could be consistent like this all year round.

The Steelers are now 5-3 and have a two game lead in the AFC north.

Next up is a game against the Los Angeles Chargers in LA