After some recent struggles defensively, the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to rack up six turnovers against the Indianapolis Colts with three fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Those splash plays carried the team to a 27-20 victory, as 24 of those points came off turnovers, and it could have been more if Darnell Washington did not drop an early touchdown pass. There are still a bunch of issues with the team on the field, but when you can get that many takeaways in a single game, you have to get the win.
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Steelers' Alex Highsmith celebrates with Payton Wilson during a home win over the Indianapolis Colts in 2025.
During a mid-week media availability, rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon explained what allowed the Steelers to gain confidence in themselves and play faster, leading to most of those takeaways.
"Play calls are a lot simpler and guys are playing freely," Harmon said. "Trusting the guy next to him, make a play, watch the guys make a play, having energy out there as a defense."
Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin have taken a lot of heat for their play calls recently, and it seems like they finally got the memo. Their overly complicated gameplan had been a detriment to this defense, and it caused lots of miscommunications that led to allowing 30+ points on a regular basis and being statistically one of the worst units in the league.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin yells at his team during a regular season game.
These simpler play calls now allow for the defense to have better communication and play faster. The Steelers can be more instinctual and run their routes instead of constantly having doubts that the individual or teammate is doing something wrong. They can just do their jobs and not worry about what's going on around them.
This was even a major talking point in 2024. Austin spoke about how the Steelers were going to add a new scheme to prevent that from happening afterwards, but we rarely saw it in the first half of 2025. It seemed like a lot of talk with no real substance to it. After Week 9, there seemed to be some actual substance to everyone talking about needing to be better.
Steelers Can't Get Too Comfortable
While the Steelers had a great game against the Colts, they should know that that kind of performance is not sustainable. Pittsburgh still allowed 368 total yards in that game, as well as letting the Colts go 5/5 on fourth down attempts. You can't just expect to get 5+ takeaways in every single game. There will be times where the team needs to win with just one turnover forced, or maybe even none.
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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey (5) makes a bone crushing hit on New York Jets star wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) to help get the Week 1 victory in New York.
If this pace keeps up, the Steelers will be the fourth seed in the AFC, and they will have to host the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round. The odds of them forcing that team to cough up the ball a lot, let alone at all, are almost zero. Even if they do win, they will have to run into the Kansas City Chiefs at some point. They definitely will have to find a way to win without multiple takeaways there.
If the Steelers want to win the Super Bowl, they will have to win games against four teams that excel at protecting the football. Maybe this simpler defense will allow for that, but one game does not determine who is a contender and who is not. We will see if this new fast paced defense has what it takes. Early signs look promising, but fans and pundits will need more.
What do you think about Derrick Harmon's reasoning for why the Steelers played so well defensively in Week 9 against the Colts? Can they build off this performance moving forward starting in Week 10? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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