After looking like the NFL’s best defenses through the first three weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers crashed back to Earth Sunday’s in a 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Coming out swinging, the Colts quickly built a 14-0 lead. While the defense righted the ship for the middle portions of the game, it failed to get key third-down stops in the second half and allowed the most points in a regular-season game since playing the Colts in Week 15 last season. Charlie Batch thinks it’s a case of a hot start offering a false sense of security and the NFL’s way of humbling those who start feeling too good about themselves.
“I think they started reading their press clippings,” Batch told 93.7 The Fan Tuesday morning.
Pittsburgh came into the game expecting to face Anthony Richardson, the league’s most volatile quarterback of 2024. Though he has a big arm and is a rushing threat who must be accounted for, he also entered Week 4 completing under 50 percent of his passes with a league-high six interceptions. His success against Pittsburgh was strong but brief, the former first-round pick exiting early in the game due to a hip injury. The Colts turned to veteran Joe Flacco, a much different type of quarterback who kept the Steelers off-balance.
“So the whole game plan changed from that particular perspective. So I just really truly believe they thought they were bigger than their [britches]. And now it’s time to reel everything back and get back to details,” Batch said.
The Steelers particularly struggled on third down, allowing more conversions to the Colts than they had their first three games combined. Indianapolis also nearly ran as many plays in Pittsburgh territory as the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers the first three weeks.
A lack of communication and playing unsound football was a problem. Pittsburgh showed poor zone landmarks, coverage busts, and rush-lane integrity while failing to capitalize on the plays that were there, a forced fumble it could not recover and two potential interceptions by CB Joey Porter Jr. that ended up as incompletions. While Batch’s claims are weighty, he thinks they’re reinforced by postgame comments from the players.
“You start seeing quotes like DeShon Elliot is saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need to get back to practicing more, pay attention more to details.’ That’s speaking volumes as it relates to the focus and the attention that they gave to the Colts and the lack of respect that they gave them,” Batch said.
While we never got an exact quote, Elliott reportedly told reporters that the Steelers weren’t detailed enough in practice leading up to the Colts game, though he made clear it wasn’t out of overconfidence. Only the players know if they took their foot off the gas for this game and it’s probably hard to assume so as a collective even if some players felt like this game would be a cakewalk. Ultimately, the Steelers weren’t going to play flawless defense for 17-straight games. This is a veteran group less likely to be tripped up by a hot start than, say, an inexperienced and immature group.
No matter if Batch’s assertion is right or wrong, losing has a way of re-focusing a team in a way that winning does not, and the Steelers’ defense must make corrections before the Dallas Cowboys come to town Sunday night.
