The Pittsburgh Steelers have had over a week to shake off the cobwebs of a brutal road loss to the Cleveland Browns to start Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season. From poor tackling to the offense struggling to execute at times, there was a lot to clean up following the contest. Now the team will welcome the Indianapolis Colts to town on Sunday for an AFC showdown of 2-2 teams. Indianapolis may be the perfect opponent for Pittsburgh to get things back on track against given some numbers it has put up. On Friday, one team insider revealed some hidden issues with the AFC South foe.
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Oct 1, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy reacts in the first half at Huntington Bank Field.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy has plenty of experience in the NFL to know what to correct given how much time his group has had to do so ahead of this matchup. The Colts defense has been one reason they have struggled to get going so far in 2026. The unit ranks 30th overall in total defense, allowing an average of 392.2 yards per game to opponents through four games.
On Friday, Steelers insider Jim Wexell hosted an episode of the Steel City Insider Podcast to discuss the upcoming matchup. During the episode, he mentioned that there are some massive underlying issues with Indianapolis, despite a 2-2 start. He feels that Pittsburgh can really capitalize on these weaknesses in Sunday's game.
“Boy, I tell you, these numbers are hideous,” Wexell said. “That's a team coming back from London. They should run into a buzzsaw here. Even though they’re on a two game winning streak, there’s some hidden ugliness underneath that 2-2 record and I look for the Steelers to expose that.”
While Wexell was a bit vague with his comments, the numbers he was referring to were the defense for Pittsburgh's Week 5 opponent in the Steel City. On top of their ranking of 30th in the league in total defense, they sit near the bottom in both passing and rushing defense.
They rank 29th in passing defense with 261.2 yards allowed per game and 26th in rushing with 131 yards allowed per contest. This is one advantage that gives McCarthy's group an edge heading into Sunday's matchup that it must expose to get back on the right track.
One factor that could play big into this advantage is the weather in the Steel City on Sunday. It is expected to be a rainy day, with rain hitting early and often, to make for some potentially sloppy conditions at Acrisure Stadium. However, that plays more into favor for the Steelers than it does this Colts as they are used to playing here and Indianapolis is used to playing in a dome.
Steelers Offense Can Lean On One Person In Sunday's Matchup
Given the Colts have struggled with both passing defense and rushing defense, Pittsburgh can take advantage any way they want if its offense gets back into rhythm on Sunday. However, given the sloppy conditions expected, the ball is most likely going to be very slick.
With that being said, running back Jaylen Warren could be leaned on early and often in the Week 5 matchup. He has provided a lot of optimism so far this season for an offense that has otherwise been very inconsistent week-to-week. He has rushed the ball 55 times for 309 yards this season, good for a 5.6 yards per attempt clip.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) during a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers, on Thursday August 21, 2025 in Charlotte, NC.
While Warren has still not been able to find the end zone on the ground in the 2026 season, he has been a huge positive on offense for the team. With the play-callers knowing the playing surface much better than their opponent on Sunday, they should look to feed him the ball early and often given the amount of rain expected to fall throughout the contest.
This is a huge advantage pointed out by Wexell that McCarthy's group can capitalize on to get back on track in Week 5.
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