Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-20 win against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday afternoon.
WINNERS
LBs T.J. Watt/Payton Wilson + CB Brandin Echols
All the playmakers getting lumped together on this list. After a 13-quarter drought, Steelers takeaways came in droves today. The Colts came into the game with four turnovers all season and eclipsed that figure before the game ended. Six turnovers on the afternoon.
Echols, playing gunner for the first time all season with Ben Skowronek shifting to the team’s personal protector, recovered a punt that bounced off Colts returner Josh Downs. Pittsburgh unfortunately failed to get points on the drive. Echols gave up a late touchdown on miscommunication but had a key breakup earlier in the game over the middle.
Watt made his name known with a strip/sack fumble recovery later in the half. The vintage play he’s been known for – and one missing too often this season. The Colts left him 1v1 more often than most teams and he whooped RT Braden Smith throughout the afternoon. Ending a 14-play drive, Pittsburgh turned that into a touchdown.
Wilson did what the Steelers said they needed to do – get hands up in throwing lanes to take away the quick-passing game. He tipped a Daniel Jones throw high into the air, and it was picked off by rookie Jack Sawyer. A big-time play to stop another Colts drive. The Steelers used the chance to pull away with another touchdown drive to take a 24-7 lead. That came after stepping in front a Daniel Jones pass, looking more like the Giants’ version than the Colts’ one.
Joey Porter Jr. capped things with an interception for the team’s sixth takeaway of the day. Which really tells you the kind of outing it was when Porter is picking them off.
Big plays are needed to beat really good teams like the Colts. The Steelers are at their best when creating splash and chaos.
EDGE Alex Highsmith
I initially had Highsmith listed separately as a non-member of the takeaway party. But he joined the club with a strip/sack fumble for the Colts’ fifth turnover of the day. Still, he deserves a separate shoutout for an excellent performance. He was excellent in all areas. Run defense as the Steelers stifled RB Jonathan Taylor. An 11-man effort but Highsmith chipped in tackle for loss. In coverage, he broke up one underneath throw. And as a rusher, he got regular pressure and picked up two sacks, including one that caused a fumble and stomped out any chance of a Colts comeback.
A great all-around game for Highsmith, who has become forgotten among the Steelers’ EDGE rushers. He was loud today.
QB Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers’ stat line wasn’t gaudy, but he was effective. His best moment came on his touchdown pass to TE Pat Freiermuth. Precisely placed away from the coverage where only Freiermuth could make the grab. A nice snag but Rodgers put it on the money.
Rodgers showed continued command of the offense and made good decisions throughout the game. His day would’ve been better had TE Darnell Washington held onto one or two end-zone chances after Echols’ fumble recovery.
Offensive Line
Hard to pinpoint any one player but the entire unit was strong. Pittsburgh’s pass protection was excellent in muting Indianapolis’ pass rush, giving Rodgers plenty of time in the pocket. He still got the ball out quick, but his jersey hardly needs washed after today. The sacks he took were more of the coverage variety, though Broderick Jones did get beat inside on one play (it’s possible he was expecting inside help). Rodgers also took one late, which was mostly just to eat the clock unless something was Big 12 open.
In the run game, the group got a push. Troy Fautanu was an effective puller. And Isaac Seumalo put his hand in the pile, surely playing at less than 100 percent with his pec strain. A vet toughing it out, though he sat out the fourth quarter. Good job by the front five.
P Corliss Waitman
A strong day for Waitman. He boomed the ball all game and helped influence Downs’ muff to set up the team’s first of six takeaways. His left-footed punting that creates a different spin on the ball makes it harder for players to find and field. His gross average was excellent, and he averaged over 50.4 yards on five punts.
Run Defense
Don’t take it for granted. Jonathan Taylor had been a hot knife through butter in nearly every game this season and his more modest box scores were largely due to the Colts blowing out the opponent and pulling him. Pittsburgh shut him down. Building a big second-half lead played a role but when the game was competitive, Taylor fond little running room. His “long” was a paltry 9 yards and he managed just 3.2 yards per carry.
Really good team showing that no doubt put the pressure on Daniel Jones and led to all those takeaways.
Credit to the coaching staff, including Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin, and players for a really good plan.
S Kyle Dugger
Dugger seemingly played most if not all the snaps today. Not easy to do on three days of practice. But he stepped in partially because Pittsburgh had few other options. He wasn’t part of the splash but seemed to play a sound and solid game. Credit to him.
LOSERS
4th-Down Defense
Not many losers here, especially after TE Darnell Washington redeemed himself with a strong second half. Pittsburgh’s defense was stout against Indianapolis’ No. 1 offense, but the Steelers struggled on fourth down. We noted in our scouting report that the Colts are aggressive on fourth-and-short. That showed today with repeated success. Indianapolis added a fake punt on top of it.
Later, the Colts hit a fourth-down pass to wide-open WR Michael Pittman.
Some of those plays were difficult to stop, but preventing even one of those moments would’ve been big. The takeaways, though, won the day.
WR Roman Wilson
For most of the day, Wilson was quiet. He could only wish he could’ve ended it that way. Wilson foolishly attempted a hurdle on a simple smoke screen to the left, fumbling it over for a Colts recovery.
Fortunately, Joey Porter Jr. saved him by picking off Jones. Still, two days before the trade deadline where Pittsburgh is in hunt of a receiver, this isn’t the note Wilson wants to go out on. He could be buried on the depth chart for Week 10.