Beating the Colts wasn’t just a nice October afternoon for the Steelers. It was the kind of game they had to have, even if nobody wants to slap the “must win” label on Week Five in the middle of the season.
With road trips to Tampa, Paris(New Orleans) and a home date with Cleveland still sitting in front of the bye, this stretch was always going to demand something close to a 3-1 run at worst. And once the bye is over, the schedule stiffens again with two games against the Ravens plus trips to Cincinnati, Jacksonville and Philadelphia.
So no, maybe Sunday wasn’t technically a must-win. But against what was described as a very average Colts team, the Steelers needed the 34-22 result.
They got it.
The biggest reason was Jaylen Warren. When he’s the bell cow, he looks like a different back.
Warren finished with 21 touches for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and the last two weeks have made the point loud and clear: the more work he carries, the more dangerous he becomes. He can still make plays in a rotation, but he’s clearly at his best when the offense leans on him.
Aaron Rodgers kept the scoring machine moving too. He went 22-of-31 for 235 yards and three touchdowns, marking his third straight game with three scores and tying Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger for that mark.
The Steelers’ plan was obvious from the start: get the ball out fast. For the most part, they did that, and Rodgers also did enough with his legs to help the offense stay on schedule.
The concern, though, is the punishment he’s taking while doing it.
There was also an opportunity for a receiver to step forward with Michael Pittman, Jr out, and Germie Bernard answered the call. He caught six passes for 80 yards.
Roman Wilson, on the other hand, had no catches and then exited before halftime with a dislocated finger after his first touch of the ball. Ben Skowronek also left with a calf injury, and that leaves the wide receiver depth in rough shape.
Pat Freiermuth made his presence felt in a way that should probably have happened more often under Arthur Smith. He finished with five catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns.
The offensive line remains very much a work in progress. There were good snaps and rough ones, but the sense is that this group is at least starting to come together.
Right now, there’s more trust in the run game than in pass protection, and that matters. D.K.
Metcalf also deserves credit for doing the dirty work, especially with the blocking on Warren’s long touchdown catch. He catches plenty of heat, sometimes fairly, but he was all in on that play.
On defense, the pass rush still hasn’t been nearly disruptive enough. The edge group has been quiet for a couple weeks now, and Nick Herbig is still without a sack through five games.
That’s not good enough. T.J.
Watt saw plenty of double teams, which only sharpens the pressure on Herbig and Alex Highsmith to finish more plays and on the interior line to create more push.
The secondary will probably look better once DeSean Elliott is back, because the current version is living with the usual swings. The Colts found openings in zone coverage and came close on several other deep throws.
On the bright side, rookies Daylen Everette and Robert Spears-Jenkins are getting a ton of snaps. Jalen Ramsey came up with more big plays, and Asante Samuel, Jr continued to show that he’s not a perfect corner but absolutely a playmaker who gets himself into position.
He’ll give up some too, but he’ll win his share.
Tackling was better than it was in Cleveland, though there were still too many misses. And yes, the same names kept popping up.
Special teams remain a problem area. The kickoff unit is allowing far too much yardage, and Kaden Wetjen has not given the Steelers anything as a return man. The fact that he was a fourth-round pick makes that especially disappointing.
There were a few other notes from around the game. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s hit against the Browns was not viewed as dirty here, with the point being that if Concepcion gets back up, nobody is talking about it.
The argument was simple: what are defensive backs supposed to do, just let receivers catch it, land, and get a running start? There was also some speculation about chaos ahead for the Chargers in Los Angeles, possibly as soon as today, and the same was said for Washington.
The field at Acrisure held up well despite the rain and the weekend wear. Darnell Washington was still blocking a Colts defender, at least in spirit, and maybe literally, by the end of the day.
And there was one more observation: people seem to be happiest when Lane Kiffin loses.
Now it’s on to Tampa, where the Bucs are in the same kind of spot the Steelers were in Sunday - a home game coming off a road trip on Thursday night.
In Other News...
Steelers Finally Got A Breakout They Desperately Needed In This Win
The Steelers needed a spark in a game that could have gone sideways against Indianapolis, and they got one from Jaylen Warren in a way that immediately changed the feel of the afternoon. Pittsburgh moved to 3-2 with the win, and Warren was central to it, giving the offense the kind of explosive plays it had been searching for while Pat Freiermuth, Germie Bernard and Asante Samuel also turned in notable contributions.
Pittsburgh will take the result, but the broader picture still has a few familiar stress points. The edge rushers on this roster carry real talent, yet the pass rush did not consistently look like a strength, which keeps the conversation around this defense from being settled even after a much-needed victory. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Defense Is Trying A New Fix That Has To Work Fast
The Steelers are trying a different setup on defense for Sundays game against the Colts, shifting defensive coordinator Patrick Graham from the booth to the sideline. Graham had been calling games from above, where the view helps with sorting out offensive personnel, but Mike McCarthy wanted him closer to the action for more direct face-to-face communication with players.
The hope is that the move will speed up adjustments and make the in-game communication cleaner when problems start to pile up. McCarthy said he will keep evaluating whether the change actually helps, so for now it remains one of those fixes that sounds practical on paper and needs to show it can work fast. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Offense Just Got Scarier Despite Another Injury Concern
Aaron Rodgers kept the Steelers offense humming in Week 5, and Jaylen Warren gave it a burst of big-play juice in a 34-22 win over the Colts at Acrisure Stadium. Warren topped 100 scrimmage yards for the third straight game and found the end zone twice, while Rodgers continued his recent run of production with another three-touchdown performance, giving Pittsburgh the kind of balanced attack it has been chasing.
The concern, as usual, came with the celebration. The Steelers were already dealing with questions in their wide receiver room when Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek both left late in the first half with injuries and did not return, leaving more uncertainty around a group that has been trying to stay intact. For a team whose offense suddenly looks far more dangerous, the next test may be whether it can keep enough healthy pieces on the field to sustain it. [Read more 🡒]