The Pittsburgh Steelers did not look like themselves against the Indianapolis Colts. They got pushed around on defense, letting the Colts jump out to an early 17-0 lead. Even after Joe Flacco had to come in at quarterback, they didn’t dominate like they had been. Analyst Chris Simms believes that the Steelers were playing scared on defense.
“When I was watching the game, I was like, I don’t see as much creativity and the crazy coverages, and wait Minkah [Fitzpatrick]’s down here, and now he shoots back here to this half of the field, and this guy blitzes,” Simms said Wednesday on his Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast. “They’re usually an amazing disguise football team.
“So, I’m sitting in the game going, they’re scared of something. This is not the way they normally play. Then I turn on the film and yes, the Colts and how Shane Steichen packages plays poses problems for the Steelers.”
Scared might not be the right word, but the Steelers might have been thinking too much about what the Colts offense was going to do next. Steichen is a great offensive mind, and he’s proven that his scheme can function even after the Colts have to make a change at quarterback. The Steelers were defeated schematically.
In 2023, the Colts’ offense had even more success against the Steelers. This year, because the Steelers are better defensively, there was hope that they would have more success, but they still didn’t take over.
The Steelers looked like they had the NFL’s best defense before playing the Colts, which makes their lack of success even more confusing. The Colts run an RPO-heavy scheme, which could have left the Steelers stretched thin on defense. Especially when Anthony Richardson is at quarterback, there’s a lot that needs defended on their offense.
Steichen was the architect behind the offense that powered the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season so it makes sense that he’s given the Steelers trouble. Now that they’ve seen his offense twice, maybe they’ll be better adjusted next time they play the Colts. Still, they did a better job in the second half, and they almost won the game. They didn’t live up to their own standard, but there’s always room for improvement.
