The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts. Here are my thoughts on the game as it unfolded and beyond.
Offense
-Things were going poorly when James Daniels went down. Spencer Anderson joined two rookies on the interior and it showed.
-Down 14 and 17 and it appears the Steelers do not trust Justin Fields to throw downfield.
-… George Pickens then fumbled inside the Colts’ five yard line.
-Najee Harris will always have his detractors but I don’t know how anyone could question his toughness. He played far less than 100% today.
-Justin Fields (22/34 312 yards 1TD, 10 CAR 55 yards 2TD) literally did everything he could to bring the Steelers back. His effort is to be applauded. He was not without fault today and he would be the first to say it. He hung onto the ball too long at times leading to four sacks (none of this excuses the OL either) and he has to take off with the ball more often. That said, he’s also a victim of some poor play-calling and even worse design.
-When James Daniels left early in the game, that meant the offensive line consisted of a rookie center, a rookie left guard, a second year guard with little experience and a second year tackle. And Dan Moore. You are asking a lot of this many young guys especially when you are trailing by 17 points as they were.
-George Pickens had a solid day with seven receptions for 113 yards but his fumble inside the five yard line was a back-breaker. You just can’t do that any time let alone when you’re down two scores.
-You CANNOT have snap issues this late in the season. This was a problem in the very first preseason game and the fact that it hasn’t been fixed falls on players and coaches alike.
-Cordarrelle Patterson literally put the Steelers on his back from inside their own five yard line in the second quarter. He picked up 46 yards on six carries and caught two balls for 19 yards. Then he suffered an ankle injury.
-Najee Harris ran 13 times for just 19 yards but did pick up 52 yards on three receptions. He’s playing hurt right now. That’s no excuse but he’s not 100%.
-Good to see Pat Freiermuth get back into the end zone. That was a great play to get the six.
Defense
-Want to see what getting punched in the mouth looks like? That was our defense in the first quarter.
-Last week, Justin Herbert proved that when the Steelers’ pass rush isn’t getting home there are a ton of guys running free in the secondary. Saw that again today.
-Colts picking apart the secondary largely with timing routes. Teryl Austin didn’t adjust at all to disrupt this until the second half.
-T.J. Watt was largely invisible today. Yes, he gets held all the time but that happens every week. He needed to be more of a factor especially against Joe Flacco.
-Third down defense was atrocious. The Colts constantly converted and in many cases these were third and long situations.
-Joey Porter, Jr was exposed today. Forcing him to play off while the pressure wasn’t getting to the QB. They’ve got to let him be more physical at the line of scrimmage.
-Don’t be surprised if the Steelers look for OLB help. Nick Herbig twisted his ankle and I’m not sure how effective he and DeMarvin Leal were. T.J. Watt had to play more snaps too and that’s not good either.
-Minkah Fitzpatrick is correct. “You can’t hit anybody hard anymore.” He said that today after the game. He was penalized for unnecessary roughness for a hit on the sidelines. It is beyond me how a guy running full speed is supposed to change his angle to react to the offensive player changing his body position. The two players came together shoulder-to-shoulder yet Fitzpatrick was flagged. It’s bullshit.
Special Teams
-No surprise that the first points on the board came from Chris Boswell.
-Huge return from Calvin Austin IIIin the third quarter the offense literally goes backwards.
Coaching
-Mike Tomlin’s challenge early in the second quarter was ill-advised and desperate. Could someone please take the red flag from him?
-Down 14-0 and facing fourth and one inside his own territory, Tomlin chose to go for it. He was betting on those young O-Linemen and he lost.
Officiating
-As expected, Land Clark’s crew was terrible. Bad calls on both sides.
Closing Comments
You cannot come out like that against any team in the NFL. The Steelers were flat and the Colts were clearly tired of hearing about how good the Steelers were. At the end of the day, you can’t inflict the type of wounds on yourself and expect to win. Simple as that.
Up Next
The Steelers host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
