Historically, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the ones who impose their will against opponents, especially in the run game.
This 2023 team isn’t your traditional Steelers team though.
On Saturday, that was very evident as the Indianapolis Colts were the ones imposing their will, especially in the fourth quarter.
On an offensive drive after the Steelers passed up a chance at kicking a 57-yard field goal with Chris Boswell and instead called on Pressley Harvin III, who punted the ball 22 yards, the Colts marched right down the field on the Steelers’ defense.
Thirteen straight times, Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew turned around and handed the football to Trey Sermon or Tyler Goodson, a practice squad elevation on Friday, and it led to great success for the Colts. Gains of five yards, six yards, seven yards nine yards, 10 yards, and 19 yards pushed the Colts into field goal range.
They imposed their will, taking the fight right out of the Steelers.
For outside linebacker T.J. Watt, the Steelers simply had no answer, which allowed the Colts to dictate what they wanted to do offensively.
“They just continued to smash the run and we weren’t able to stop it. They were able to continue to dictate what they wanted to do,” Watt said after the loss, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “And when you’re not able to stop something, they’re gonna continue to do it. And that’s what you saw.”
That is certainly what everyone saw on Saturday in the fourth quarter. Holding a 24-13 lead, the Colts took the air out of the football and ran the football right down the Steelers’ throats.
The last time that type of dominance on the ground was seen against the Steelers was that Thursday Night Football loss to the Minnesota Vikings on the road in 2021 in which then-Vikings’ running back Dalvin Cook ran for more than 200 yards and obliterated the Steelers’ run defense. The Colts didn’t quite have that production on Saturday, but they rushed for 170 yards.
Sermon had 88 yards on 17 carries, while Goodson had 69 on 11 carries as both stepped into larger roles after starter Zack Moss was injured early in the game.
Getting carved up on the ground by two backup running backs, one of which was elevated off of the practice squad, is rather disheartening. It’s even worse when it’s over and over again like it was for 13 straight plays.
