PITTSBURGH, Penn. — "Obviously hard to win when you turn it over like we did. Credit to the Steelers and their defense and what they did."

That was one of the first things that Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said after the team's 27-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.

The Colts turned the ball over six times, including five by the offense, which were attributed to quarterback Daniel Jones — he threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles on sacks. Josh Downs also touched the ball on a punt return without fielding it, allowing Pittsburgh to recover deep in Colts territory.

The Colts only had four turnovers in the previous eight games leading into Sunday.

"I think fundamentally it's always about keeping the ball tight and securing it, something that we work on," Jones said. "I've just got to make sure we do a better job of that and getting the ball out on time. That's always my job. They have a good pass rush and guys who can move rush. Knowing that, I've got to get the ball out."

The game actually started out perfectly for the Colts. They scored a touchdown on their first drive, and the Steelers' first three offensive drives were a pair of three-and-outs and a four-and-out, but then that's when the Colts' offense began turning the ball over.

After Downs' muffed punt, which yielded nothing for the Steelers, the Colts' next five turnovers gave the Steelers' offense an average starting field position at the Colts' 44-yard line, allowing Pittsburgh to start five extra bonus drives in excellent field position.

All but one of those turnovers led directly to points — touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal, and a punt — as the Steelers scored 24 of their 27 points off turnovers.

"Obviously mistakes pile up, and it's hard to win versus a good football team when you do that," wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. reflected.

The Colts also had some consequential penalties, with five enforced against them for 53 yards. Two penalties on the offense occurred on a single drive, during which they lost a fumble. There were also two 15-yard penalties on the defense on separate drives in which the Steelers got a field goal and a touchdown.

"Yeah, I mean turnovers were just disruptive," Pittman added. "You know, like when we get going and then we have a turnover. That and then also penalties — like I had a drive-killing penalty where I just lined up a little too far. So there's a lot of things to clean up."

"Definitely, we've gotta play better football," running back Jonathan Taylor said in frustration. "Penalties, turnovers, I mean, it's gonna be hard to win an NFL game playing like that... When you play behind the sticks, turning the ball over just puts you in a different situation."

Taylor leads the NFL in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage but was held to just 45 yards rushing and 12 receiving in Pittsburgh.

The turnovers destroyed a day in which many other things went right for the Colts. The offense outpaced the Steelers' offense by nearly 150 yards. The Colts also hadn't had a 100-yard receiver at all on the season, but both Pittman and Alec Pierce eclipsed the mark on Sunday with 115 each.

Defensive end Laiatu Latu also had a career day with 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss, and the defense held the Steelers to just 38 rushing yards and under 2.0 yards per carry.

All that considered, the Colts still lost by gifting the Steelers extra possessions, and ultimately, bonus points.

"It happens. You don't want it to happen," Taylor said. "It sucks. It doesn't feel good, but we do understand it's a long season, and the great teams, they find a way to bounce back and find a way to get better from this. But in the moment, it definitely does not feel good at all."

The Colts are now 7-2 on the season and no longer have sole possession of the top spot in the AFC, now sharing the lead with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos (the Colts do hold the tiebreakers on both).

They will now turn their attention to a matchup with the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday in Berlin, Germany.

Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL. 

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