PITTSBURGH, Penn. — In football, "bend, but don't break" can be a dirty phrase applied to a defense that makes coaches bristle when mentioned, even if it's the reality of the situation.

The phrase is probably used too commonly, describing units that break far more often than they bend, but there are instances where the term can be applied accurately without being derogatory, given the circumstances.

At its core, "bend, but don't break" should describe defenses that give up yards, but not points, making their share of plays so as not to be the reason for a loss.

The Colts just might have a "bend, but don't break" defense, but don't tell that to coordinator Lou Anarumo.

 “I don't ever want to be considered that way," Anarumo said this week. "I think we want to challenge and be aggressive. And there's times of the game where we're up some points and maybe we're a little softer there and don't want to give up a quick score, but that's certainly not our mentality.

"We want to be aggressive and dictate to people. We don't look at it as, ‘Hey, let's just give up a bunch of yards and don't let them score.’ That's not how we operate.”

To Anarumo's credit, of course, no defensive coach wants to give up yards. While the Colts have been far from bad on defense, they rank 24th in the NFL in yards allowed (345.1 YPG), but sixth in points allowed (19.3 PPG). 

Bend, but don't break.

It's not like this is all by design, though. In Week 1, the Colts' defense dominated what should've been an explosive Miami Dolphins offense. They held them to 211 yards and 8 points, sacked the quarterback 3 times, and took the ball away 3 times. Anarumo's play calls and the players' execution of them were flawless.

However, the Colts' defense has been dealt a tough set of cards with injuries, starting back in training camp. They've piled up enough by now that it's difficult to execute a smothering game plan like they had back in the opening week.

Charvarius Ward Sr. and Justin Walley, who are supposed to be the team's top outside cornerbacks, are both on Injured Reserve. Walley tore an ACL in camp and didn't make it to the regular season. Ward had multiple concussions in the first several games and is eligible to return in the next few weeks.

Xavien Howard, who was supposed to replace Walley, abruptly retired after a rough beginning to the season. Starting slot Kenny Moore II missed three weeks with an Achilles injury, and his replacement, Mike Hilton, injured his shoulder a couple of weeks into his tenure.

Jaylon Jones, who was the team's top outside corner for the last two years, landed on IR after Week 1 with repeated hamstring issues and has only just now been activated as of this week.

Jaylon Carlies and Hunter Wohler, a couple of players with safety/linebacker hybrid ability, likely would've played significant snaps by this point in the season, but neither has played a down during the regular season due to injury.

"So, I think where we're at with the youth in the secondary at certain positions and the newness, I don't want to say we're ever going to just allow yards," Anarumo said. "But some of that comes with growing pains.

"But as long as we're buckling down and not giving up points. I don't want to contradict myself and say but anything – I know somebody asked about bend, but don't break earlier, but that's not how we think. We don't think that way. We think about being aggressive. We think about dictating.

"Sometimes the younger guys can cause some things that you're not ready for during the game, but our guys have been great. They're getting better each week. The Johnathan Edwards of the world. And we've brought Cam Mitchell in here, who's not a young guy but has played. Mekhi (Blackmon), all those guys are just getting better. I think all this stuff, all the reps these guys are getting are only going to be beneficial to us later in the season."

In three of the last five weeks, the Colts have given up over 400 yards of offense to opponents, and those teams averaged 26.0 points per game. However, they've also had four games this season in which they've surrendered 20 or fewer points, including two under 10.

Still, the Colts' defense has been firm enough to complement what is turning out to be a historically efficient Colts offense. The defense has taken the ball away at least once in each game, ranking in a tie for third in the NFL with 12 overall. They're also tied for fifth in sacks with 23.

Things should be looking up for Anarumo's group soon. They got Jones back this week, and as they prepare to enter a rugged stretch of their season, players such as Ward, Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis, and perhaps Carlies could all be returning in the coming weeks.

Anarumo and the Colts visit the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

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.

ROLLING: Will Shane Steichen's Indianapolis Colts Keep Up Winning Ways vs. Pittsburgh Steelers? The Indianapolis Colts hit the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. Will Shane Steichen keep up his winning ways against Mike Tomlin and the Ste...