The Colts are back from London, and the first order of business this week is a Sunday trip to Pittsburgh. It’s a 1:00 PM kickoff between a pair of 2-2 teams, and Shane Steichen has made the message plain: the Colts haven’t been sharp enough the last two weeks.
That matters because 2-2 is one thing, but 2-2 with room to grow is a different story entirely. The Colts are still in a decent spot in the standings, but the level of play has to climb if they want to keep themselves in position to handle stronger opponents later on. So far, the two teams they’ve beaten are a combined 1-7.
One of the biggest questions this week is what happens around Daniel Jones, whose issues have gone well beyond turnovers. Pittsburgh comes in second in the NFL in takeaways with eight forced in four weeks, and it’s the same building where Jones had a Colts-high five turnovers last season. The Colts are also dealing with the reality that the rest of the league now has a full chunk of film on the Steichen-Jones pairing, which wasn’t the case when everything was still fresh last September and October.
That puts a lot of pressure on the right side, where second-year tackle Jalen Travis will be central to the effort to slow down T.J. Watt.
Defensively, the Colts have a different kind of question mark with rookie C.J. Allen.
Lou Anarumo explained on Tuesday why Allen still isn’t seeing the field, and the answer starts with role. Allen is the backup MIKE linebacker behind Akeem Davis-Gaither, and the Colts are not rotating that communication spot.
He also doesn’t fit the WILL linebacker job, where the team is already cycling through multiple players. Right now, Allen looks more like a “break glass in case of emergency” option than a regular part of the plan.
The bigger issue may be even simpler: Allen is not playing a single special teams snap. For a reserve linebacker who is dressing on game day, that is not normal. He arrived from Georgia as a 2.5-year starter, so the expectation was that he would at least push Davis-Gaither, but the more immediate path to playing time is usually special teams, and that hasn’t happened.
There was also movement on the defensive line. With starting end Arden Key dealing with a hamstring injury and likely to miss time, the Colts added veteran Carl Lawson to the practice squad Wednesday morning. Lawson has a history with Anarumo and has 32 sacks in 90 career games, but he played only one game last season and did not sign with a team this offseason, so his physical readiness is something to watch.
Anarumo has leaned on familiar faces from his Bengals background during his time in Indianapolis, including Germaine Pratt, Joe Bachie, Xavien Howard, Mike Hilton, Akeem Davis-Gaither and Cam Taylor-Britt.
Key’s absence could open a door for Jaylahn Tuimoloau. The second-year defensive end could be in line for a bigger role, and if Lawson isn’t ready to step in right away, Tuimoloau may get a real chance to show why the Colts took him in the second round. Caden Curry could also see more snaps, and George Gumbs Jr. may make his NFL debut.
The Colts also added speed to the mix by bringing Quez Watkins onto the practice squad. Steichen knows Watkins from their Philadelphia days, and the hope is obvious: more burst in the receiver room.
The question is whether that speed will be available Sunday, with Ashton Dulin dealing with an ankle issue and Keenan Allen with a groin injury. Darius Slayton has now had a third week to settle in, and the Colts will have to decide whether that’s enough for him to play against Pittsburgh.
Sunday also brings a reunion for Michael Pittman Jr., who will face his former team. Pittman has 7 catches for 89 yards this season in three games. The Colts traded him and his large contract away in the spring after he had been with the team since 2020, and he currently sits fifth on the franchise’s all-time catches list.
One area that could matter in this matchup is how Pittsburgh handles man coverage. Opponents have had success using it against the Steelers this season, and that lines up with what the Colts may want to do.
And then there’s Will Mallory, who returned to practice this week after starting the season on injured reserve with a right thumb injury suffered in August. The Colts now have a 21-day window to activate the fourth-year tight end. Mallory had a strong training camp and gives Indianapolis more of a receiving threat at tight end than Mo Alie-Cox and Drew Ogletree, who are more known for their blocking.
In Other News...
Colts Sideline Debate Just Got Bigger At A Delicate Time
Carlie Irsay-Gordons habit of planting herself on the Colts sideline has become one of the more unusual talking points around the team, especially as she continues to work in plain view with a playbook in hand and notes at the ready. The principal owner and CEO has framed her approach as part of being an attentive leader, saying in an interview that listening and understanding matter, which fits the image she has presented during games.
But the conversation around her presence has widened, and not everyone views it as harmless curiosity. Bill Simmons questioned the sideline involvement on his podcast, adding another layer to a discussion that is already unfolding at a delicate point in the season, with Indianapolis sitting at 2-2 and trying to keep its focus on football rather than the attention orbiting above it. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Suddenly Have A Khalil Mack Decision Fans Can't Ignore
The Colts pass rush remains a talking point as the season approaches, and the latest name to surface is a familiar one: Khalil Mack. Indianapolis has been searching for more help off the edge after injuries thinned that group, and Macks track record would instantly change the tone of that conversation if the Colts decide to get aggressive. He is on a one-year contract, which makes him the kind of short-term fix teams often explore when a roster hole becomes too obvious to ignore.
Still, any potential move is not entirely in the Colts hands. Mack also carries a no-trade clause, so he would have to sign off on any deal, and the Chargers would likely want draft compensation in return if they are willing to listen at all. That leaves Indianapolis weighing a familiar NFL dilemma: whether to pay for immediate help now or hold its picks and trust the current rotation to survive the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Add A Familiar Pass Rusher With Anarumo Ties
The Colts added a familiar edge presence to the practice squad on Wednesday, bringing in veteran defensive end Carl Lawson as they continue sorting through their pass-rush depth. Lawson arrives with a clear connection to defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo from their time together in Cincinnati, which gives Indianapolis a built-in level of familiarity as the team looks to fortify the front seven.
Lawson has been around plenty of NFL locker rooms over his eight-year career, with stops in Baltimore, New York, and Dallas in addition to his years with the Bengals. He has 32 sacks to his name, and the question now is whether that experience and Anarumo familiarity can quickly translate into a larger opportunity in Indianapolis. [Read more 🡒]