The Pittsburgh Steelers faced a challenge this week that seemingly no team has been able to handle so far this season, as they welcomed OPOY front-runner Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts to Acrisure Stadium. Taylor came into this contest leading the NFL in rushing yards and total touchdowns, with 850 yards and 14 scores.
The sixth-year running back was understandably confident heading into the matchup, and many anticipated that this could be an ugly game for the struggling Steelers defense.
Instead, it turned into a vintage performance for Pittsburgh's defense, forcing the Colts into six turnovers on their way to a 27-20 home victory. Taylor struggled to get anything going all afternoon, and it completely ruined any chance of the Colts staying competitive in this game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense shuts down Jonathan Taylor, Colts in dominant fashion
Nobody, not even Steelers fans, expected this game to play out the way it did. It was total doom and gloom following their two-game losing streak, especially their crushing loss in Week 8 to the visiting Packers. The defense looked gassed not even halfway through the season, and it didn't look likely that any significant changes were coming.
Despite all of that, the defense stood tall. They played smart, disciplined run defense and swarmed to the football all day, allowing just 55 yards on the ground in total. It wasn't just the run defense either, as the pass rush exploded for sacks and forced two fumbles on quarterback Daniel Jones.
The job they did on Taylor, however, is definitely the most impressive feat they accomplished on the day. He was comfortably the favorite Offensive Player of the Year, and the Steelers made him look average at best. He had a season-low 45 rushing yards and no touchdowns after scoring nine times in his last four games.
Many criticized Mike Tomlin's focus on stopping the run against the Packers last week, as it didn't lead to success for his defense. That wasn't the case this week, and it's thanks to his pass rush showing up this time around.
Only time will tell if this was just another one-off performance by an aging and injured defense, but Steelers fans should be feeling good for the first time in weeks. With the high-powered Chargers offense up next, we should find out quickly if this defense is actually back.