Fans had low expectations for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9. Coming off back-to-back losses against the Bengals and Packers in primetime action, Mike Tomlin's team was set to face a 7-1 Indianapolis Colts team that has been winning comfortably in the first half of the season.
With the way Pittsburgh's defense looked the past few games, it was hard to believe that the Steelers would have a shot at holding the league's best offense and rushing attack at bay. Somehow, this team made it work.
In the second quarter, the Steelers outscored the Colts 17-0. From that point on, Tomlin's team held control of the scoreboard. Eventually, Indianapolis fought back late in the fourth quarter, but the game was never in doubt. The Steelers ultimately advanced to 5-3 on the season as they claimed an impressive 27-20 victory over the AFC's top-ranked team.
However, it wasn't because Pittsburgh dominated in every facet of the game; it was simply because they took the football away often.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't rely on takeaways to win like they did against the Indianapolis Colts
What many Steelers fans didn't realize watching the game is that Pittsburgh was outpaced in almost every statistical category, per ESPN stats. They fell short to the Colts in yardage gained (368 to 225), first downs (26 to 17), yards per play (5.7 to 4.9), and time of possession (31:55 to 28:05).
So how did the Steelers hold such a comfortable lead since the second quarter? It was because of the takeaway battle.
Mike Tomlin's team finished plus-five in takeaway against the Colts in Week 9. The Steelers' defense accounted for a whopping six takeaways—three fumble recoveries and three interceptions. It's hard to lose a game when you steal the ball from the opponent this many times.
Here's the issue: takeaways are not reliable from game to game and week to week. Sadly, this is what Mike Tomlin's winning philosophy is built on. But what happens when his defense isn't taking the ball away?
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If you exclude the turnover-worthy plays, the Steelers were outperformed in this contest. While 27 points for the offense is certainly a respectable number, this doesn't come without the excellent starting field position the offense was routinely gifted with in this contest.
Aaron Rodgers averaged a dismal 4.9 yards per dropback, while the rushing attack was good for just 1.7 yards per carry. This wasn't a strong performance overall by Pittsburgh; it was only strong in one category: turnover differential.
I don't want to diminish the Pittsburgh Steelers' performance against the top team in the AFC, but we know that getting six takeaways in a game just isn't repeatable week in and week out. Let's just hope this team can start winning with consistent and convincing defensive performances, not just with takeaways.