Now THAT is Pittsburgh Steelers football.
After back-to-back dreadful performances defensively, the Pittsburgh Steelers bounced back in a major way Sunday in Week 9 against the NFL’s best offense in the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers forced six turnovers, sacked quarterback Daniel Jones five times, and were able to convert those turnovers into points, rolling to a 27-20 win that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
While the Steelers didn’t do much offensively on the afternoon, racking up just 225 total yards on 61 plays, they took advantage of some short fields and cashed in with touchdowns instead of field goals this week. It was a good enough recipe for a shocking upset win over the league’s best team, getting the Steelers to 5-3 on the season and extending their AFC North lead.
Let’s get to some grades.
QB — C+
It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t all that bad, either. Aaron Rodgers completed 15-of-25 passes for 203 yards and one touchdown, connecting with Pat Freiermuth on a 12-yard scoring strike. He wasn’t asked to do a ton, and he wasn’t helped by drops from the likes of Darnell Washington and DK Metcalf.
Also, the Steelers threw the ball a bit too much early, including on a goal-to-go situation early in the game after a muffed Colts punt. Rodgers made a great throw to Washington on the quick slant on 4th and goal, but Washington never got his head around. The fade ball to Metcalf a few drives later was underthrown, too.
But Rodgers settled in and took what the Colts gave him. His throw to Freiermuth on the 12-yard touchdown was a great pass, protecting Freiermuth from a big shot across the middle in the process, too. Rodgers spread the ball around, hitting nine different receivers in the win. He was efficient, at least, but nothing spectacular.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to be.
RB — C
It was tough sledding out there for the Steelers’ run game against the Colts. Though Indianapolis had struggled stopping the run coming into the matchup, the Steelers rushed for just 38 yards on 23 carries. That said, Jaylen Warren punched two into the end zone in short-yardage situations to give the Steelers touchdowns off takeaways.
Warren had just 31 yards on 16 carries, while Kenneth Gainwell had -1 rushing yards on three carries. Kaleb Johnson got some work with a 4-yard carry and showed some burst, too.
Where the running backs made an impact was in the passing game. Gainwell had four catches for 35 yards and was a spark at times. He only had one real mistake in the passing game on a third and long, failing to get up the field. That forced the Steelers to punt and drew Rodgers’ ire.
Johnson added a 9-yard catch out of the backfield, generating some positivity for the rookie.
WR — C-
Calvin Austin III led all Steelers receivers in targets with six and was easily the Steelers’ best receiver. He hauled in five passes for 56 yards and did it all, winning in the quick game, over the middle and after the catch. He’s quickly becoming one of Rodgers’ favorite targets, and he showed that on Sunday.
Metcalf was a bit of a disappointment. He had just two catches for six yards and was largely taken out of the game. He did draw a key penalty on one run play, getting Colts CB Jaylon Jones to lose his cool.
Roman Wilson had a disastrous moment late in the game after hauling in a quick throw and trying to hurdle a defender. With the Steelers trying to milk the clock and ice the game, Wilson was stripped of the football. That won’t earn him any love from the coaches.
TE — B+
When Darnell Washington is on the field, good things happen for the Steelers. Washington was used as a huge receiving option on Sunday and finished with four receptions for 43 yards, tying with Austin for the team lead in targets with six.
He was a good blocker, and was a real weapon in the passing game, making some great plays in space.
Freiermuth had a nice game, too, finishing with three receptions for 27 yards and the score. He’s been dependable in recent weeks and is starting to generate more and more chemistry with Rodgers. Jonnu Smith has been a bit of a disappointment and started the game in ugly fashion, dropping a downfield throw from Rodgers when he was wide open. But he bounced back to finish with three receptions for 25 yards.
OL — C-
The Steelers’ inability to consistently run the football, especially with a lead, is a bit concerning. Losing Isaac Seumalo in the second half was a big blow, too, as it took away the opportunity to utilize the jumbo package. The Steelers rushed for just 38 yards on the afternoon, and while the two touchdowns were big, managing just 1.7 yards per carry is not good enough.
Pass protection was decent, though Rodgers was sacked three times. We’ll see what the coaches tape shows with the offensive line, but nothing all that good to say about the group.
DL — B
With a major emphasis on stopping the run, particularly the NFL’s best running back in Jonathan Taylor, the defensive line stood tall Sunday. The Steelers held Taylor to just 45 yards on 14 carries and miraculously kept him out of the end zone, too.
Cameron Heyward was quite good all game. He batted two passes at the line of scrimmage, continuing to show why his Clamps Heyward nickname is fitting. He finished with four tackles and had a quarterback hit, too, pushing the pocket while rushing the passer and holding his spot consistently in the run game. Oh, and he hustled to the football time and time again, too, setting the standard for the defensive line.
Keeanu Benton had a nice performance with an impressive sack on his usual club-over move. He finished with five tackles and was around the football a ton. Very encouraging showing.
Rookie Derrick Harmon recovered a fumble and was steady against the run with two stops. He was strong at the point of attack and helped form a wall against the run.
LB — A-
At times it was very concerning when guys like Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison were missing tackles, and coverage wasn’t always sharp. But a T.J. Watt strip-sack changed the game and the rest of the linebackers started to ball out.
Payton Wilson had a career day with 14 tackles, two passes defensed and one interception. His one pass defensed led to Jack Sawyer’s interception, the first of his NFL career. Wilson was all over the place, playing the best game of his career. He flew sideline to sideline, was a force against the run, and made plays in coverage. That’s what the Steelers expect from him.
Queen had some decent moments, too, and continues to be a good blitzer. The missed tackles have to get cleaned up, though. He finished with five stops in the game. Malik Harrison returned from injured reserve and had three tackles, though he missed a big stop behind the line of scrimmage on a 4th and short, allowing the Colts to convert.
Outside, Watt had a huge strip-sack and fumble recovery. He got after the quarterback all day and finished with three tackles and one quarterback hit. With so much attention on Watt, Alex Highsmith had a field day opposite him.
Highsmith shook off an early injury and had a great game, recording four tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a pass defensed on third down. Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer provided serviceable reps with Sawyer picking off a pass.
Secondary — B-
Yes, the splash is good, and it was great to see Joey Porter Jr. pick off a pass late, making up for some plays he left on the field. But there was still some communication issues in coverage with cornerbacks, and guys just getting lost in coverage at times. The Colts had two 100-yard receivers, so there were a lot of plays being made on the field.
Without a trio of safeties due to injury and illness, Jalen Ramsey stepped up and locked down the back end. So, too, did trade acquisition Kyle Dugger, helping Pittsburgh largely keep a lid on things. They were assignment sound and provided a physical element, which was very encouraging.
Brandin Echols had some moments in coverage, including a big pass breakup over the middle. But he got lost on a late Colts touchdown in which he was confused by the release concept and got caught flat-footed. Still, he had six tackles, broke up a pass and had a quarterback hit.
Darius Slay continues to be a liability. He’s always hurt, too. Slay was a mess early in the game and the Colts took advantage, hitting a couple of hole shots against Cover 2. James Pierre stepped in for him at times and made a big play in coverage breaking up a pass intended for Alec Pierce.
Special Teams — A-
A really nice job from special teams. Chris Boswell drilled two field goals and converted on all three extra points. He was clutch late, connecting on 46-yarder to make it a 17-point game in the fourth quarter.
Punter Corliss Waitman was good again, too. Waitman averaged 50.4 yards on five punts and helped create a muffed punt return early in the game from the Colts’ Josh Downs. The Steelers weren’t able to take advantage of the recovery, but it was still a great punt from Waitman. Two of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line, and he had a long of 67 yards.
In the return game Ke’Shawn Williams looked good once again. He ripped off a 30-yard kickoff return and had a 15-yard punt return. He makes plays happen, even if it’s a bit nerve-wracking how he catches the ball and how he spins so often. Coverage units were good for the Steelers, too.
The only real concern with special teams was the fake punt the Colts converted for a first down. It was a surprise, but it caught the Steelers off guard.
Also, shoutout to Danny Smith for the heads-up decision to have Boswell kick the ball out of bounds after one scoring play for the Steelers, which saw the Colts draw a personal foul penalty, moving the kickoff up. Boswell drilled it out of bounds, and it put the ball at the 25, rather than the 35 as what would normally happen on kickoffs. Heady stuff there.
Related Items:Aaron Rodgers, Alex Highsmith, Indianapolis Colts, Jalen Ramsey, Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr., Kyle Dugger, Pat Freiermuth, Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers, T.J. Watt, Trending, weekly
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