Mike McCarthy had every reason to leave Sunday smiling.
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Indianapolis Colts 34-22, and the most encouraging part for McCarthy may have been the way his offense looked while doing it. Pittsburgh piled up 352 total yards and, by the coach’s own account, turned in its sharpest stretch yet.
“As we say in Pittsburgh, we redd it up, we redded it up,” McCarthy told reporters, according to the Steelers' official website. "It's a good start.
I think any time you win a game, and it comes off of a healthy week of preparation, I think the newness of how you do things in year one, this was clearly our best week. Taking Tuesday and then focusing on ourselves was the right call on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday."
That was the kind of praise that stood out, especially with McCarthy calling it their "best week." He didn’t pretend everything was polished, either. McCarthy said it’s "never perfect" and that there are "things we'll clean" and "continue to clean tomorrow," but the tone was still upbeat after the victory.
He also gave the Colts their due, saying, "I thought their offense did a nice job. Their big play production was up. We were obviously focused on the run defense."
Even so, McCarthy kept circling back to what Pittsburgh did well. "Offensively, I thought we had a pretty good mix today.
Special teams, I think we've got to continue to work the fundamentals. That was really an emphasis all week.
Without seeing the film, I think it's going to be something we need to continue to emphasize."
The Steelers now move on to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 18, at Raymond James Stadium.
In Other News...
DK Metcalf Just Gave Colts Fans A Reason To Watch Sauce Gardner
A Colts-Steelers matchup already had enough edge to it, but DK Metcalf added a little more with his pregame posture toward Sauce Gardner. The Pittsburgh receiver brushed off the Indianapolis defensive backs game, saying he does not worry about what a defensive back does well, turning a routine opponent preview into a small piece of bulletin-board material for a defense that has already spent plenty of time studying how to handle him.
There is a little history here for Colts fans to keep in mind, too. Gardner has already shown he can disrupt Metcalf when their paths cross, even if his season so far has not matched his best work, which makes this one of those matchups worth watching closely for Indianapolis. When a receiver sounds this unconcerned and a corner has something to prove, the first few snaps can tell you a lot about where the day is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away Late Against Steelers
The Colts had enough offense to hang around with Pittsburgh for most of the afternoon, but the game kept tilting back the other way every time Indianapolis seemed ready to grab hold of it. Spencer Shrader was steady enough to keep the scoreboard moving, Tyler Warren added a rushing touchdown, and the Colts stayed within striking distance before the Steelers finally pulled away in a 34-22 finish.
Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes to keep Pittsburgh on schedule, and the decisive plays came from Jaylen Warren, who repeatedly turned routine opportunities into damaging gains. Indianapolis will be left sorting through another one of those games it had a real chance to win, with the late breakdowns overshadowing the positives and leaving the Colts with more frustration than answers. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Suddenly Have A Big Defensive Void Before Steelers Game
The Colts are heading into Sundays matchup with Pittsburgh already having to patch together their depth chart on both sides of the ball. Arden Keys absence leaves a noticeable hole on the edge, while Darius Slayton was downgraded to out and Indianapolis brought Nick Westbrook-Ikhine up from the practice squad to help at receiver. It is the kind of late-week shuffle that can quietly change how a game is approached, especially for a team still trying to manage other injuries.
Jaylon Carlies and Ashton Dulin are also out, and Keenan Allen along with Charvarius Ward Sr. are both listed as questionable, so the Colts will have to navigate the game with several moving parts. Pittsburgh has its own injury concerns as well, which may make availability as important as matchup plans when the teams kick off. [Read more 🡒]