Mike McCarthy’s decision late in Sunday’s 34-22 win over Indianapolis wasn’t just a vote of confidence in Jaylen Warren. It was a belief in the whole Pittsburgh Steelers offense - the line, the backs, the receivers still standing and the structure McCarthy had spent the day protecting.
With a 24-22 lead and two receivers already down, McCarthy still rolled the dice on fourth down and let Warren go behind the offensive line to keep a touchdown drive alive. Chris Boswell could have taken the safer route and added a field goal, pushing the lead to five.
That would have forced Indianapolis to settle for a tie with a touchdown, but it still would have left Pittsburgh vulnerable to one big answer. McCarthy chose the bolder path and asked his offense to make the Colts chase two scores.
That trust made sense given what Warren had already done. He scored twice against Indianapolis and delivered Pittsburgh’s biggest plays, highlighted by an 80-yard reception and a 50-yard run.
Nearly half of his rushing total came on one carry. Getting the ball to him again was an obvious call, but McCarthy was also trusting the line to finish the job.
The bigger picture was the state of the receiver room, which kept getting thinner as the game went on. Michael Pittman Jr. was already sidelined, and then Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek both exited with injuries.
McCarthy said of the offensive response, “We didn’t change anything.” He also praised practice squad receiver Brandon Smith and said Germie Bernard had already been set up for more opportunities.
Bernard ended up making his first NFL start because Pittman was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, and the rookie responded with six catches for 80 yards. His role grew at exactly the right time, and McCarthy’s willingness to keep feeding him paid off once Wilson and Skowronek were unavailable.
The Steelers were also helped by the kind of personnel package that can hide a lot of damage when receivers start disappearing. With one back and two tight ends, 12 personnel lets an offense keep only two wideouts on the field while still threatening the run or using a tight end in the passing game. It gives the quarterback options without telegraphing what’s coming.
McCarthy said, “But losing those guys in the flow of the game and not having to cross plays off your call sheet. I think it speaks volumes for our guys.
Even our tight ends. We obviously want more tight end emphasis personnel there, so we were able to just keep staying with the game plan.”
That tight-end emphasis was already part of the plan, not a panic move made after the injuries hit. And while Pittsburgh kept enough of its playbook intact to stay aggressive, that didn’t mean every replacement could do everything exactly the same way. Still, the offense preserved enough to stay on the hunt for a touchdown instead of settling for a narrow cushion.
There was a case for taking the points, too. Indianapolis had already kicked three straight second-half field goals, so a failed fourth-down try could have handed the Colts another chance to grab the lead with a kick. But those drives also showed the Colts could keep getting into scoring range, which is why protecting a slim lead kept putting pressure on Pittsburgh’s defense to keep coming up with stops.
The final drive justified McCarthy’s call. Bernard picked up a 25-yard catch on third-and-2, Warren’s conversion kept the series alive, and Aaron Rodgers still had to handle third-and-6.
He answered with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth, and Boswell’s extra point made it 31-22 with 6:35 left. Indianapolis needed two scores after losing more than five minutes of clock, and from there the comeback was out of reach.
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