The start was awful. Then things got worse. All too soon they were staring down the barrel of a 17-0 deficit, and by then they realized that it was their own finger on the trigger. Boom. Just like that, the Steelers 3-0 start to this season was blown up by a 27-24 loss to the Colts at Lucas Oil Field.
And while the "win as a team, and lose as a team" has been ingrained in them since pee-wee ball, there had to be a sense after this one that the defense had let them down. The defense that was supposed to be their strength, the unit most responsible for them arriving in Indianapolis undefeated, and the rock upon which all of their success this season was to be built.
Yes, that defense, the one that was just plain bad in the first quarter and then not good enough in the fourth.
Leading up to this game, the Colts appeared to offer a matchup that would be challenging for the Steelers defense but seemingly manageable because Indianapolis' primary weapons were just versions of what the unit had kept under control in the wins over Atlanta, Denver, and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jonathan Taylor was the best running back they would face so far, but Bijan Robinson of the Falcons posted 1,463 yards from scrimmage as a rookie in 2023, and J.K. Dobbins of the Chargers owned a 6.0-yard average per carry through 27 regular season games and went into last weekend's games leading the NFL with a 7.4-yard average per carry. Colts QB Anthony Richardson owned a skill-set that helped had him be the fourth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, and yes he had thrown for 6 touchdowns and run for 5 more in his 7 NFL starts, but he also had been sacked 11 times , thrown 7 interceptions, and fumbled 5 times in those same 7 games.
But inside Lucas Oil Stadium, the run defense was shredded early, and Richardson made more plays than mistakes before leaving with a hip injury, and then 39-year-old Joe Flacco took over and proved to be painfully effective in critical situations.
Indianapolis first possession started at the 30-yard line after the obligatory touchback on the opening kickoff, and the Colts needed 8 plays to go 70 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. They began the drive with a 32-yard pass play to Michael Pittman and then followed that with a 14-yard run by Taylor. The Steelers had 2 opportunities to get off the field with a third-down stop. But the Colts converted both, and Taylor's 2-yard run got the ball into the end zone.
Their second possession ended with another touchdown after 9 plays covered 86 yards. Again, a 26-yard completion started things off, but starting with that catch by Pittman the Colts had 5 plays gain 10-plus yards on the way down the field with Flacco capping things with a 4-yard pass to Josh Downs. On this drive, the Colts moved so efficiently that they faced only 1 third-down situation, which of course they converted.
At the end of the first quarter, the Colts not only owned a 14-0 lead, but they also had advantages over the Steelers in first downs (10-2), total yards (159-38), rushing yards (70-1), passing yards (89-37), and third-down conversions (3-for-3 vs. 1-for-3).
"I don't know," said Cam Heyward about the defense's slow start. "We didn't do great at stopping the run early, and I thought in the second half we were better. But (allowing) 85 (rushing) yards in the first half is unacceptable."
After arriving for this game shorthanded in the first place, with RT Troy Fautanu on injured reserve, plus LG Isaac Seumalo, RB Jaylen Warren, and OLB Alex Highsmith all ruled out with injuries, the roster leaked more oil when RG James Daniels (ankle) and RB Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) both were sidelined before the end of the first half. The Steelers' interior offensive line was being manned by a rookie fourth-round pick, a rookie second-round pick, and a second-year seventh-round pick who's on the 53-man roster primarily because of his position flexibility.
But hey, the Colts were banged up, too, because they had their best defensive lineman on injured reserve, and then ended up putting three more starters – their center, a defensive end, and their nickel cornerback – on the inactive list.
Faced with a 17-0 deficit early in the second quarter and a defense that suddenly was toothless, the Steelers seemed to be biding their time before a defeat that was shaping up to be both embarrassing on the scoreboard and costly on the depth chart.
But then the offense woke up. Once they hit bottom at 17-0, from that point Justin Fields completed 18-of-29 for 275 yards, with 1 touchdown, no interceptions, and a rating of 104.8, and the rushing attack gained 121 yards on 23 carries (5.3 average) and scored 2 more touchdowns.
Even with that, though, the defense couldn't do enough and/or create enough splash to flip the scoreboard, and then the offense picked that time for some self-inflicted wounds. A couple of turnovers, and a breakdown in procedure during a silent count in shotgun formation turned into a 12-yard loss in a 3-point game with about 90 seconds and 1 timeout left.
Close, OK, but you know what they call almost winning.
"I thought (Indianapolis) really brought it, particularly at the beginning of the game, but the beginning of games don't really kind of define games. It's just the beginning," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "I thought we had plenty of opportunities. I appreciate the fight of our group. I just told them that, but not that I'm congratulating them for it. Fight is required in this business, but I am acknowledging it, and it is appreciated."
But as Tomlin would go on to say, the Steelers lost because of a minus-2 in turnover ratio; because they dropped interceptions, including in the end zone; because they didn't cover an Indianapolis fumble; and because they were flagged for some damaging penalties. In other words, maybe the feel-good helps you get to sleep at night but the kicking-your-own-butt stuff cannot continue. It's a certain path down the tubes.
"You fight your tail off to get back in position, but we have to start faster," said Heyward. "This game was 17-0, so you can dig yourself out of a hole but you have to be damn near perfect. We missed opportunities too – turnovers, not getting off the field on third down, and as a defense a lot of self-inflicted wounds. But you have to tip your hat to them, they executed better and got out with the win."
This loss counts just 1, and they still stand atop the AFC North Division, 1-game ahead of the Ravens, and 2 games ahead of the Bengals and Browns. But this loss stings a bit more because something that you had total faith in before the game isn't the case anymore. Hopefully it's not an omen.
