Down a number of safeties entering Week 9’s matchup against the NFL’s best offense in the Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the only card they really had available at the position: Jalen Ramsey.
Head coach Mike Tomlin announced the move Sunday morning in his sit-down with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola, citing the need to move Ramsey to safety and making him the hub of communication in the secondary for the matchup with the Colts.
That type of move on short notice could have gone disastrous, especially against an explosive team like the Colts. But Ramsey helped keep things in check on the backend, which allowed the Steelers defense to really tee off on Colts QB Daniel Jones, leading to six turnovers forced on the day.
There were no huge miscommunications, no crucial breakdowns. Everything seemed smooth, for the most part.
After the 27-20 win over the Colts, Tomlin spoke highly of his do-everything defensive back.
“I can’t say enough about Jalen. Jalen does any and everything that we require for him to do,” Tomlin said of Ramsey, according to video Steelers.com. “We needed him to play exclusively free safety today, and he did and did it at a high level.
“I’m just glad he is on the team.”
According to Pro Football Focus’ initial charting, Ramsey played all 59 snaps on the afternoon and was charged with just three receptions against on four targets for 28 yards.
With DeShon Elliott on Injured Reserve and likely missing the rest of the season, Jabrill Peppers out with a quad injury and Chuck Clark a late scratch due to an illness, the Steelers were perilously thin at safety entering the matchup. Juan Thornhill and newly acquired Kyle Duggar were the only healthy, available safeties for the Steelers.
Until the Steelers moved Ramsey to the position for the game.
In Week 9, the Steelers defense showed a significant shift in coverage tendencies, using split-safety coverage on a season-high 46.4% of dropbacks after entering the week with the second-lowest split-safety usage rate in the NFL (28.2%).
Jalen Ramsey aligned at safety on 83.6% of…
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) November 2, 2025
He rewarded them, too. Granted, it wasn’t a new position for him. He’s been dabbling in safety work since the Steelers acquired him. He played safety in training camp and at times during the regular season, primarily when the Steelers were in their base 3-4 defense.
But in sub-package football, he would shift back out to cornerback. In that role, he’s had some struggles, like in the Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
At safety against the Colts, though, Ramsey was quite good, keeping a lid on things. He was charged with one missed tackle, which came on an early Alec Pierce catch and run, and he did have a penalty for a big hit across the middle on Michael Pittman Jr.
The Steelers needed him to step up, and the former All-Pro cornerback continues to put his ego aside and do whatever it takes to win. He stepped up after a passionate speech this week to the defense, filling a key role and playing a part in a tremendous day for the defense.
Versatility was a big reason the Steelers targeted him via trade, and once again, that versatility paid off for the Steelers.
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