Takeaways: Steelers claw back, fall to Colts
Steel City Underground offers post-game takeaways for every 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers NFL regular season games, focusing on the black and gold, just for members of Steelers Nation.
After going 3-0 over the course of the first three weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had an opportunity against a statistically inferior Indianapolis Colts team at Lucas Oil Stadium to move to 4-0. Instead, sluggish play on both sides of the ball culminated in a comeback riddled with errors. Despite clawing their way back into the game, they ultimately fell to the Colts, 27-24.
A league-leading Steelers defense allowed themselves to be dominated in both the run and pass game despite playing one of the worst-rated offenses as of Week 3. The Colts were allowed to convert 8-of-15 third-down conversions. The inability to hold continually set Pittsburgh back, especially with running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Anthony Richardson chewing up 70 yards in just the first quarter alone.
By halftime, the Steelers were down 17-3 and looked perplexed and gassed.
After Richardson was forced out of the game, due to a hip injury suffered in a play with Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers defense tightened but didn’t suffocate the Colts. Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, no stranger to the Steelers, surgically dissected them through the passing game.
“We didn’t do great stopping the run early…In the second half, we were better, but 85 yards in a half is unacceptable.” – Cameron Heyward
The offense got off to a very slow start. It didn’t help that offensive guard James Daniels was injured, requiring Spencer Anderson to play right guard. The run game couldn’t get rolling initially and the receiving game was unable to open up due to pressure the Colts applied by stacking the box.
In the end, the Steelers offense scored a season-high 24 points.
It could have been more had receiver George Pickens not lost his hold on the ball on a great reception that the Colts recovered; that play would have put Pittsburgh in the red zone for a touchdown opportunity.
They might have scored a game-tying field goal or a winning touchdown had Zach Frazier not snapped the football into the side of Justin Fields‘ helmet during a final-minutes drive.
“It was my fault. We were supposed to go on the first leg kick and Zach was IDing stuff… I was trying to get that final picture of where the DBs were going. It was supposed to be the first leg kick, so after I give that first leg kick, I’ve got to be ready for the ball, no matter when it’s going to come or not. It’s on me.” – Justin Fields
Fields, himself, lost a ball while being sacked by not falling on it as he went to the turf.
Mistakes were deadly on Sunday. For a team that had taken care of the ball through three games, they didn’t appear as able to do so against the Colts. Execution includes taking care of the ball.
“We’re the Pittsburgh Steelers. We should be playing like it. We did not play like it today.” – DeShon Elliott
The Steelers did have fight left in them. In the second half of the game, both the offense and defense found ways to be more successful. Fields had two rushing touchdowns and threw another to Pat Freiermuth; it was the tight end’s first touchdown reception of the season.
With a 3-1 record, the Steelers still top the AFC North. They’ll have some injuries to address before they play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. Cordarrelle Patterson earned 43 yards on just 6 carries but left the game early. Linebacker Nick Herbig, filling in for an already injured Alex Highsmith, also left the game due to an ankle injury, but was able to return. The offensive line is a bit thin, too, due to the injury Daniels suffered.
