Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts were rolling before taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joey Porter Jr. and the Steelers' defense had Jones turning back the clock.
Pittsburgh came away with a 27-20 victory. While Jones threw for 342 yards, he also had three interceptions. Porter said the Steelers went into the game with a clear plan in mind. Playing with confidence, Pittsburgh was able to execute to their expectations, via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
“We know what we’re trying to do. We know we’re capable of winning a chip [championship],” Porter Jr. said. “One-play focused, one-game focused, we’re really just trying to go back to that Steel Curtain defense, that gritty defense. We are going to take one step at a time, and we put it on tape today.”
“We made it tough for them, and we let our D-line eat,” Porter continued. “The boys got back there and made it hard for Daniel to execute. He had to get the ball out quick. … We know they are a good team and move a lot to confuse the defense. We had that already in mind and it wasn’t really hard when they started doing that—we were ready for it.”
The Colts struck first, on a Jones rushing touchdown. However, the Steelers answered by forcing a fumble on their next drive. Pittsburgh recorded their first interception in the second quarter. It was sandwiched between a pair of Steelers touchdowns.
Indy came up with their second pick in the third with their final interception being the most crucial. The Colts had scored a touchdown, cutting the lead to 27-17. Then, they forced a Steelers fumble. But a third interception from Jones halted the Colts in their tracks. Pittsburgh's job wasn't finished, but they managed to extinguish Indianapolis' flames.
The Steelers have done plenty of shuffling in their secondary, trading for Kyle Dugger after seeing DeShon Elliot suffer a potentially season-ending injury. They'll need to limit the yardage, but Pittsburgh proved they can still make plays when it counts.
