After back-to-back ugly performances defensively that had many questioning their ability to stop anyone moving forward (and rightfully so), the Pittsburgh Steelers defense stood tall in dramatic fashion Sunday against the NFL’s best offense in the Indianapolis Colts.
The Steelers forced six turnovers, sacked quarterback Daniel Jones five times and really put the clamps on the Colts in the 27-20 win. They did so on the same day in which the Super Bowl XL team was honored on alumni weekend, celebrating 20 years since the win over the Seattle Seahawks in Detroit that gave Pittsburgh its fifth Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
For Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., whose father was on that team and was in attendance Sunday, the presence of the 2005 team gave Pittsburgh an added boost against the Colts.
“They were amped up. If they coulda put on the pads, they woulda,” Porter said of the ’05 team’s presence, according to a tweet from the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski. “They added a lot of juice for us today.”
Joey Porter Jr on how his dad and all the other 2005 Steelers here acted before the game to give the current team a lift:
“They were amped up. If they coulda put on the pads, they woulda. They added a lot of juice for us today.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 2, 2025
Their presence seemingly added quite a bit of juice as the Steelers defense was flying around much of the afternoon, looking like the defense many expected Pittsburgh to be early in the season after all the big moves GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin made to that side of the football.
But in recent weeks, they were anything but a great defense, looking more like a sieve in losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers.
Matching up against the red-hot Colts on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, it looked like it was going to be more of the same, especially early on. But then, a T.J. Watt strip-sack of Jones opened the floodgates. The Steelers defense took over, dominating in the turnover department.
Alex Highsmith had a strip-sack, Payton Wilson intercepted a pass and then batted one into the air for rookie Jack Sawyer to pick one off, too. Even Porter had an interception, sealing the win late.
“This was a statement game for us,” Porter said of the Steelers’ performance, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “As a defense, we didn’t like what we put out on film the last two weeks.
“We had to come out and make a point, and I think we did today.”
Joey Porter Jr.: "This was a statement game for us. As a defense, we didn't like what we put out on film the last two weeks. We had to come out and make a point, and I think we did today."
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 2, 2025
The Steelers held the Colts to just 368 yards of total offense on 74 plays. The Colts were down 24-10 with just under 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter before adding some late points to make it closer than it appeared throughout the afternoon on the North Shore.
It’s just one game, though. The Steelers previously had one game earlier this season against the New England Patriots on the road in which they forced five turnovers. But the wheels fell off shortly after that performance. Now, the key is to try and sustain this performance. Six turnovers won’t happen each week, but tackling well, communicating and trying to take the football away will go a long way moving forward.
Maybe that 2005 team’s added juice can linger the rest of the season, because the Steelers defense — for one week at least — played up to the standard.
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