3 things we learned from Steelers win against the Colts

The Steelers defense essentially ‘held serve’ in the second half against the Colts

So when I say the Steelers defense essentially ‘held serve’ in the second half, after surrendering 21 points in the first half, we gave up only 3 points the rest of the way.  Whatever adjustments Keith Butler, our DC, made, either ‘on the fly’ or at halftime, seemed to have worked.

What I would have liked to have seen is us not give up 24 points considering how ineffective the offense was in the first half, but the fact that the defense ‘stiffened up’ in the second half gave the offense the opportunity to ‘get it together’ and to start scoring enough points to win a game.

In any event, Butler was able to ‘rally the troops’ to the point where we were able to generate 2 turnovers, 1 INT, and 1 forced fumble.  Butler’s unit also generated 5 sacks against a QB who generally gets rid of the ball rather quickly. Honestly, had it not been for the stellar defensive performance in the second half, we may not have won this game; had we lost another game at home heading into the playoffs, it would have been disastrous.

Fortunately, the above did not come to fruition.  So what’s the lesson here?  I don’t really know that there is a lesson, per se, but I think there is something to be said for ‘knuckling down’ and playing the way we are capable of playing. We are going to need the defense to play that way the rest of the regular season and beyond if we are going to achieve the ultimate goal that the Steelers set out to achieve this and every season.

Let’s take a look at the third thing we learned.