Despite an ugly first half with several self-inflicted wounds that have the Pittsburgh Steelers trailing the Indianapolis Colts 17-3 at the break, Mike Tomlin isn’t pressing the panic button. In a halftime interview with CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala, Tomlin says the Steelers must settle down and stop beating themselves.
“We’re not overly concerned, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin told Kinkhabwala. “We turn the ball over in the red zone. We got the ball to start the second half. There’s a lot of ball in front of us. It requires an adjustment, obviously, between [Anthony] Richardson and [Joe] Flacco. But other than that, we just gotta perform a little bit more solid than we have.”
Pittsburgh had missed opportunity after missed opportunity in the first 30 minutes. CB Joey Porter Jr. could’ve picked off two passes, the team failed to recover a fumble, couldn’t convert on 4th and half-a-yard, and WR George Pickens fumbled while the Steelers were in range for their first points of the game.
Defensively, the Steelers have settled down a bit, aided by the Colts losing QB Anthony Richardson to a hip injury. That’s allowed Pittsburgh to focus on RB Jonathan Taylor, whose early success has been subdued. He enters the half averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
Injuries have also been a factor, the team losing OG James Daniels early in the first half due to an ankle injury. EDGE Nick Herbig missed some time due to an ankle injury, though he’s come back into the game, and RB Cordarrelle Patterson hurt an ankle of his own, leaving on a cart. He was the Steelers’ best source of offensive success in the first 30 minutes.
A late first half drive produced Pittsburgh’s first points of the half, K Chris Boswell hitting a 50-yard field goal as time expired. Now trailing by 14, the Steelers will look for a hot start to get back into the game after half.
