The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Indianapolis Colts 34-22 after an embarrassing loss on the road to the Cleveland Browns. This win moved the Steelers to 3-2 on the season, and they will travel to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pittsburgh played four very solid quarters against the Indianapolis, and despite how close the game was, it seemed like the Steelers dominated from start to finish. With that being said, let’s take a look at what went right for the Steelers in their Week 5 victory over the Colts.
Analyzing the Steelers’ Performance
Steelers Played A Complete Game Offensively
The Steelers’ offense came to play today as they scored 34 points against the Colts. The offense is starting to heat up as they also scored 30 points just two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only did they play well against the Colts, but they played well for all four quarters, which is incredibly rare for today’s Steelers. Aaron Rodgers started the game 10/10 and also threw for over 100 yards in the first quarter. He threw three touchdown passes, including two to Pat Freiermuth. Rodgers finished the game 22/31 with 235 passing yards and three passing touchdowns while also having zero turnovers. If the Steelers can keep it up, they will be very tough to beat.
Warren Continues To Prove Why He Is RB1
Rodgers played well for the Steelers today, but Jaylen Warren was the star of the show. Warren turned a short pass into an 80-yard touchdown and then later in the game, he broke a 50-yard touchdown run. Warren finished with 188 total yards and continues to make the most of all his opportunities while Rico Dowdle remains sidelined.
Warren even rushed for 93 yards in the loss to the Browns last week, and he is having an outstanding year. The key now for Warren is consistency; he and the Steelers’ offense struggled to run early in the year but with Warren now heating up, Pittsburgh has a chance to become an offensive team for the first time in a long time.
Steelers’ Defense Came Out Hungry and Ready To Play
The last thing that went well for the Steelers is indeed their defense. They allowed 22 points, which is not bad, but it is even less bad when basically all of their points were scored off of field goals. The Steelers allowed just one rushing touchdown from Tyler Warren, and they also held Jonathan Taylor to under 50 yards.
Taylor finished with 15 rushes for 45 yards and averaged just three yards per carry. The Colts live and die their star running back, and the Steelers understood the assignment and completely shut him down, which prevented the Colts from reaching the end zone more than once. The Steelers’ passing defense still has to improve, but if they are allowing just one touchdown a game, then they should be able to win a lot of games.
Pittsburgh played one of their best games so far this season, and it resulted in a 34-22 win over the Colts. They now improve to 3-2 on the season and will look to keep that success going when they play the Buccaneers, who are coming off a win over the Dallas Cowboys. Do you think the Steelers’ performance showed signs of moving in the right direction, or will their inconsistency hold them back?
Main Image: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
