The Steelers have a quick chance to erase the sting of their Week 4 loss to Cleveland, and Week 5 gives them a home date with an Indianapolis team that comes in with a few key names banged up. Pittsburgh is trying to get to 3-2, and this matchup sets up a few interesting swings on both sides of the ball.
Jonathan Taylor is still the engine Indianapolis leans on, even if his 2026 efficiency has dipped a bit. He’s coming off a strong Week 4 in London against Washington, when he ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Last season, though, Pittsburgh handled him well in a 27-20 win, holding him to 45 rushing yards on 14 carries and keeping him out of the end zone. The Steelers’ run defense has been solid enough to make life difficult again, sitting 16th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game at 112.8 and 13th in yards allowed per carry at 4.34.
Those numbers aren’t dominant, but they do suggest Pittsburgh has enough up front to put together a Taylor-specific game plan.
The biggest reason for optimism on the Steelers’ side may be DK Metcalf, who finally looked like himself against the Browns. He finished that game with 115 yards on five catches, doing most of his damage in the fourth quarter after a slow start to the season left him with just 98 yards entering that game.
With Michael Pittman Jr. set to miss multiple weeks after aggravating his foot injury, Metcalf should see more of the action go his way. Indianapolis has already given up 1,105 passing yards, the seventh-most in the NFL, and Sauce Gardner has had a rough first full season with the team after the Colts sent two first-round picks to the Jets for him at last year’s deadline.
Gardner is expected to spend plenty of time across from Metcalf, and that could set the stage for another big outing from Pittsburgh’s top receiver.
There’s also a path for Nick Herbig to finally make his presence felt on the stat sheet. After signing a four-year, $100 million extension in June, he’s still looking for his first sack this season.
He has been used differently than before, with 20 coverage reps already after logging 50 all of 2025, and only 40 pass-rush snaps so far, according to PFF. Even so, his 20.5 percent pressure rate ranks sixth among EDGE rushers with at least 100 total snaps, per SumerSports.
That matters here because Indianapolis has allowed a quarterback pressure rate of 41.4 percent, the sixth-worst mark in the league, per Next Gen Stats. Week 5 gives Herbig a real shot to turn that pressure into his first sack.
In Other News...
Colts Face A Week 5 Matchup Pittsburgh Could Exploit
The Steelers head into Week 5 at 2-2, and the matchup with Indianapolis carries a little extra intrigue because both teams have the same record. ESPN has already flagged tight end Darnell Washington as a player who could matter in a meaningful way for Pittsburgh, which is the kind of early attention that tends to follow a player whose role is starting to draw notice in the offense.
Aaron Rodgers has also shown a preference for getting Washington involved, and the timing of that could be important as Pittsburgh sorts through its game plan for Sunday. The Colts present a chance for the Steelers to lean on a part of the passing game that has been building, and Washingtons usage is one of the more interesting subplots as the team looks to turn a .500 start into something steadier. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Suddenly Have A Cornerback Problem Nobody Saw Coming
The Steelers secondary has gone from a place of relative certainty to one of sudden urgency. After dealing Joey Porter Jr. to Dallas for future draft compensation, Pittsburgh had to start thinking about the cornerback room in a different way, especially with the franchise waiting years to see the full return from that move. The front office also moved quickly to patch the depth chart, bringing in Sean Murphy-Bunting and Terell Smith from practice squads to help stabilize a position group that can unravel fast when the numbers get tight.
What makes the situation more awkward is how many moving parts are still unsettled around the rest of the defense. Injuries have already thinned the cornerback mix, and Jalen Ramseys status adds another layer of uncertainty the Steelers cant ignore. For a team that expected to be sorting out roles and matchups, not emergency coverages, the next stretch could reveal whether those recent additions are enough or just the first stopgap in a longer fix. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Already Have A New Quarterback Debate For Life After Rodgers
The Steelers may still be sorting out what comes next behind Aaron Rodgers, but the long view is already coming into focus. With Drew Allar and Will Howard on the roster, Pittsburgh has bodies in the quarterback room, yet the expectation is that the front office will stay aggressive when the next real wave of passers reaches the NFL. For a team that has spent years trying to line up its post-Rodgers answer, the 2027 draft class is starting to look like the place where that search could finally sharpen.
Several college quarterbacks are beginning to separate themselves as names worth tracking for Pittsburghs future plans, even this early. CJ Carr, Darian Mensah, Drew Mestemaker and Kamario Taylor all have the kind of current NCAA production that makes them worth circling now, and the Steelers will be watching closely as their evaluations evolve. It is still the kind of conversation built on projection, but for a franchise thinking past the present, the next quarterback debate may already be taking shape. [Read more 🡒]