Are the Steelers’ defensive struggles against the Indianapolis Colts a blip on the radar or cause for concern?
The Steelers allowed all of 26 points through the first three games of the season. In the fourth game, the Indianapolis Colts put up 27 points against their defense. And they did so with three touchdown drives of 70-plus yards and long field goal drives.
While the Steelers eventually gained the upper hand in time of possession, it was too late. The Colts benefited from a penalty or two, but they still went 8-for-15 on third down. Despite all this, it’s not like the secondary played particularly poorly. There was a miscommunication on Beanie Bishop Jr.’s part, which led to a touchdown, but generally the back end wasn’t really the problem.
So the Steelers have played three good games on defense and one bad. That’s a 75-percent success rate, but with is more authentic? Now, they’re not going to give up 27 points every week, obviously. That’s something they rarely do more than three or four times a year, and they do have talent.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin loved to give QB Joe Flacco credit, but he is still a backup. They lost to a backup quarterback because they didn’t adjust to him quickly enough. But the Steelers haven’t really played the best quarterback yet, either. Even Justin Herbert came into Week 3’s game injured and left it injured, so that is not representative.
Outside of Alex Highsmith, the defense is pretty healthy, though they’ll have a problem if Nick Herbig is banged up. The Colts managed to do a good job of taking T.J. Watt out of the game on Sunday, or at least limiting his statistical production. The Cowboys surely noticed and will try to do the same against the Steelers this week.
In a vacuum, Dallas is arguably the best offense the Steelers have seen so far. That’s largely because Dak Prescott is the best healthy quarterback they have seen so far. While they have their issues, Prescott still has WR CeeDee Lamb to throw to, and that’s often enough.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
