Photo: steelers.com
The Steelers weren’t supposed to win this game. Coming off of back-to-back losses and facing a Colts team riding high with a league-best 7-1 record, Pittsburgh flipped the narrative with a 27–20 upset that caught nearly everyone off guard.
From defensive dominance to unexpected scoring bursts, the game delivered more than a few surprises. Here are five moments that shifted the tone and turned heads.
The Colts entered the game 7–1 and were favored by 3.5 points, riding a four-game win streak. Pittsburgh, coming off two straight losses, were expected to struggle. Instead, the Steelers pulled off a statement upset that snapped Indy’s streak and reignited their season.
Despite Indianapolis having more plays, more first downs, more yards and winning the time of possession battle, it was Pittsburgh that played a cleaner game.
For all intents and purposes the game was over after a second Jaylen Warren touchdown run put the Steelers up 24-7 with a little over 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Colts would score 13 fourth quarter points to close the gap, but the game was never as close as the final score would appear.
The game wasn’t that close because of the number of turnovers committed by the Colts. Pittsburgh’s defense, which had been under fire for inconsistent play, exploded with six takeaways—including three interceptions and two strip sacks of Colts QB Daniel Jones – one each by T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
A muffed punt early in the game also gave the Steelers favorable field position, though they wouldn’t capitalize on the turnover.
In all, it was the Steelers’ highest single-game turnover total since 2018.
In his previous three games, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor ran for 370 total yards and six rushing touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 73 yards and an additional score.
Taylor came into Acrisure Stadium Sunday with 850 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns: including three individual games with three rushing touchdowns each.
An inconsistent Steelers defense was tasked with stopping Taylor, who averaged 5.9 yards-per-carry heading into the matchup. Pittsburgh was up to the task, taking Taylor completely out of the game, as the Colts back carried the ball 14 times for a total of 45 yards: a season-low 3.2 average.
The Steelers third-year tight end is getting more usage each week, with his Week 9 performance against the Colts standing out especially.
Washington would play 66% of the game and was heavily featured throughout, including targets – that were not converted – in the aforementioned muffed punt turned Steelers possession.
However, Washington would make other critical plays, with four receptions for 43 yards. Three of those catches would convert for first downs.
He was also utilized in a fourth down “tush push” with fellow tight end Connor Heyward, who took a direct snap and converted for a first down with the large “Mount” Washington pushing Heyward from behind for additional yardage.
Steelers Nation was a bit baffled when, with momentum in the favor, kicker Chris Boswell sent a kickoff out-of-bounds following their game-securing lead of 24-7. However, a 15-yard Unnecessary Roughness penalty during the previous extra point attempt would be enforced on the kickoff.
With the NFL’s new dynamic kickoff rules, the ball was moved up during the kickoff and the penalty would be enforced from the spot of the return.
Rather than allow a potential return, the Steelers opted to intentionally send the ball sailing to the sidelines, where another penalty was enforced for doing so. However, instead of Indianapolis securing their next offensive drive starting from their 40-yard-line, the 15-yard enforcement of the Unnecessary Roughness set the Colts back to their 25.
Special Teams coach Danny Smith could be seen celebrating from the sideline, as those in attendance live didn’t have the benefit of TV commentary to assist with intentional, bizarre nuances of the kickoff.
