The Steelers had plenty of headline-grabbers in their Week 5 win over the Colts. Jaylen Warren ripped off an 80-yard touchdown catch and a 50-yard scoring run. Aaron Rodgers drew attention too, becoming the first Steelers quarterback since Terry Bradshaw in 1982 to throw three passing touchdowns in three straight games in the same season.
But buried inside Pittsburgh’s defensive success was a debut that deserves a lot more noise.
Rookie defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio finally got on the field for his first regular-season action, and the sixth-round pick from the 2026 NFL Draft made the most of it. Rubio had been on the initial 53-man roster, but he didn’t play until Week 5, when he was elevated to help cover for Derrick Harmon after Harmon landed on IR this past week with a foot injury.
Once Rubio got his chance, the Steelers’ run defense looked flat-out nasty with him in the game.
He played just 14 snaps overall, with 10 of them coming against the run. On those 10 run-defense snaps, Indianapolis never managed more than two yards on a single carry. The Colts’ results with Rubio on the field went like this: 2 yards, -1 yard, 1 yard, 0 yards, 0 yards, 2 yards, 1 yard, -2 yards, 2 yards and 2 yards.
That’s the kind of sequence that tells the story all by itself. Pittsburgh allowed only 7 rushing yards on 10 carries with Rubio out there, a ridiculous 0.7 yards per carry. When he wasn’t on the field, the Colts found more room, going for 59 yards on 14 carries, or 4.2 yards per carry.
The numbers need a little context, though. Rubio’s snaps came mostly in short-yardage spots, usually third-and-short or fourth-and-short, so the Colts weren’t exactly working with a lot of space to break something big. Pittsburgh also gave up a touchdown to Tyler Warren on a sneak during one of Rubio’s reps.
Still, the rookie’s work stood out.
Rubio didn’t do much as a pass rusher on his four pass-rush snaps, but he was a problem in the run game. At 6'5'', 321 pounds, he held his ground at the line and showed real effort when he had to chase the ball carrier laterally. He was credited with one run stop, but he also finished with three tackles on those 10 run-defense snaps, and his control at the point of attack helped set the tone.
The tape backed it up. Rubio was Pittsburgh’s third-highest-graded defender in Week 5 even though he played only 14 snaps. His 68.8 overall PFF grade trailed only Jalen Ramsey and Yahya Black [$].
That’s a strong debut in any week, but it looks even better when you put it next to what he was asked to slow down. Jonathan Taylor managed just 45 yards on 15 carries against the Steelers, one of the least productive full games of his NFL career.
The sample was small, and the situation mattered, but Rubio’s first regular-season showing was a clear win for Pittsburgh. With Harmon sidelined for the foreseeable future, the rookie now has a real chance to keep building on a debut that quietly changed the tone up front.
In Other News...
Rich Rodriguez Sends A Clear Message To WVU's Struggling Defense
West Virginias defense has put Rich Rodriguez in a familiar spot lately, and not in a good way. After the Mountaineers gave up too much yardage and too many points in recent conference games, Rodriguez made it clear he expects more, saying the unit has to get better as the season goes on through coaching, adjustments in personnel and a sharper attention to fundamentals.
Rodriguez and his staff have already spent plenty of time digging through game film, and the next step looks like changes in the defensive backfield. For a team trying to steady itself in conference play, the message is less about panic than urgency, with the Mountaineers coaching staff looking for answers before the problems on that side of the ball become even harder to fix. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fans Can Now Lock In Seats Before Key Games Fill Up
West Virginia fans who have been waiting to plan their winter around basketball now have a fresh chance to get in early. Single-game tickets for all WVU womens home games are on sale to the general public, and mens basketball has opened up nonconference single-game options along with Big 12 mini packs, giving supporters a few different ways to lock in seats before the busiest dates arrive.
The mens Pick Your Own mini packages let fans choose from a set of specified opponents, with pricing starting at $90 for a three-game package and $125 for a five-game plan. On the womens side, general admission begins at $12, with additional pricing tiers and Coca-Cola Family Day ticket packages also available, making this a practical entry point for fans who want more than just one marquee night on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Faces A Tough Mirror Matchup Against Cincinnati
Saturdays matchup has the feel of a stylistic test as much as a Big 12 game, with Cincinnati and West Virginia both leaning into the run. Scott Satterfield pointed to the overlap between the two offenses this week, noting how much both teams want to establish the ground game and use mobility at quarterback to stress defenses. He also singled out Cam Cook and West Virginias quarterback as part of a group that can make a defense work for every stop.
For the Mountaineers, the challenge is being on the other side of the same kind of pressure they try to create. Satterfield described West Virginias offensive line as physical and said defending a team built around a mobile quarterback and a strong run game is never simple. In a game with two teams so similar in approach, small edges up front and in open-field tackling could end up deciding which side gets to dictate the pace. [Read more 🡒]