The Pittsburgh Steelers are spending the week by preparing to face the Indianapolis Colts. Even though numerous Colts players will miss the game due to injury, it is still paramount that Pittsburgh does everything they can to figure out each player's strengths and weaknesses. Head Coach Mike Tomlin still has a lot of work to do to avoid getting embarrassed by them like he and his team did in 2023. Even with the injury bug hitting Indianapolis hard and their constant struggles to begin the season however, there is still one huge issue that they need to quickly figure out.
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Head Coach Mike Tomlin yells in the direction of one of his players during warmups prior to a 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers' preseason game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Brian Batko made an appearance on Steelers Nation Radio to give a preview of the upcoming matchup. In the process, he gave a very concerning fact to the hosts of the show.
"So, I think it's a little bit of a sneaky matchup against the head coach / play-caller Shane Steichen, who's had the Steelers' number, whether he's been in Indy or whether he was on Nick Sirianni's staff in Philly, and even before that, he was on the offensive staff of those Chargers teams that gave the Steelers fits, specifically at Heinz Field back then as it was as I recall. So he's kind of seen a lot of Mike Tomlin's defense, should have some good tricks up his sleeve."
It's never good when a coach has your number. Tomlin may have to watch a lot of film to pick up on Shane Steichen's tendencies before their Week 4 matchup against each other, or he may have to make some major adjustments to his defense to throw him in a loop. Either way, the Steelers have to do something to keep the Colts from dissecting their defense all game long.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin roams the sidelines of Lucas Oil Stadium during a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Steelers' History Versus Steichen
As mentioned already, their most recent matchup was in December of 2023. After taking a 13-0 lead, the Steelers completely shut down om both sides of the ball. They failed to score after that and lost 30-13. It was rough at first for Steichen and the Colts, but they made the necessary adjustments. Tomlin will have to put a lot of emphasis on in-game adjustments to counteract anything that Indianapolis throws at them come Sunday.
Before becoming a head coach, Steichen was the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. When his team faced off against Pittsburgh in 2022, it was a bloodbath. The Eagles had an easy 35-13 win, which included AJ Brown scoring a hat trick of touchdowns in the game. The Steelers had no answers at all for their dual-threat offensive attack, and the offense was nowhere near good enough to help the defense out.
Steelers Get Their One Moment
In a crazy 2019 season, the Steelers traveled to face the newly relocated Los Angeles Chargers, who employed Steichen as their quarterbacks coach. For three quarters, Pittsburgh had their way on both sides of the ball. The first score of the game was a fumble returned for a touchdown by Devin Bush. The Steelers led 24-0 at the end of the third quarter. The Chargers would attempt to mount a comeback, but it fell just short as Los Angeles lost 24-17.
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The Steelers did defeat Steichen once, but he was just a position coach, and the offensive coordinator of that Chargers team, Ken Whisenhunt, was fired in the middle of the season. As a play-caller, he has had his way with Tomlin and his defense. Even though they defeated Los Angeles, they still had issues all throughout Steichen's tenure as an offensive coach on the team. The Steelers likely have the better roster now, but they still have to do their homework to make sure they don't fall victim to the Colts' head coach yet again.
What do you think about Steichen's history against the Steelers? Let us know in the comments.
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