By admin 
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers move to 3-2 on the season and regroup in a big way after a loss to the Cleveland Browns. Leaving Acrisure Stadium for the third time in 2026, the Steelers defeat the Indianapolis Colts 34-22, moving to 3-0 at home this year.
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The game wasn’t the smoothest victory for the Steelers, but they seemed to be in control from start to finish. Jaylen Warren put the team on his back from start to finish, just like he has throughout the season. Aaron Rodgers helped, though, adding three touchdowns of his own.
This team remains a mixed bag, but one with a winning record. They’ll take it.
Opening up the notebook afterward, there are plenty of takeaways that stand out. Let’s dive into them.
Jaylen Warren is Still a Superstar
How many times do these takeaways need to include Jaylen Warren before it becomes too normal for him to play the way he has been. Warren may not just be the best player on the Steelers’ offense this season, but the best player on their team.
Warren got things started for the Steelers with an 80-yard touchdown catch-and-run on the opening play of the offense’s second drive. Aaron Rodgers got drilled as he dumped it off to Warren, who took it to the outside, beat the defense and took off down the sideline.
In the second half, he got things moving with a 50-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Pittsburgh a 24-16 lead.
He’s the first player in the NFL to have an 80-yard touchdown reception and a 50-yard touchdown run in the same game since Herschel Walker did it for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15 of the 1986 season.
Warren finished the first half with 81 receiving yards and 13 rushing yards on four carries. He finished the day with 101 rushing yards, 87 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Warren remains one of the best running backs in the NFL and continues to climb up that list. He’s playing at an All-Pro level and is keeping Pittsburgh’s offense alive in crucial moments. Whether it’s being a reliable checkdown or the player who needs to carry the offense through the ground, he’s there to be a force.
The Steelers need this to continue, but they also need to be cautious about keeping him healthy. When you have a player as impactful as Warren is, you need to treat them like the superstar they are – and the key piece to the team’s success that he is.
Side note: Rodgers’ pass to Warren was also history. He tied Ben Roethlisberger for the most career touchdown passes of 80 yards or more with nine.
Jaylen Warren is on a whole other level this season pic.twitter.com/DZ9YDmnLPG
– Noah Strackbein (@NoahStrackbein) October 11, 2026
Danny Crossman’s Group Isn’t Working
The Steelers need to fix their special teams. Kaden Wetjen isn’t exciting but was selected in the fourth round to be a star kick returner. Chris Boswell is missing field goals, including a few before the game, which brought just as much concern as missing them in-game. And somehow, coverage for kickoffs and punts has gotten worse by the week.
The special teams unit as a whole is bad, right now.
It’s hard to identify where the changes need to be made, and what’s more concerning that is there are some big names within this group in terms of special teams recognition. Ben Skowronek, Jack Sawyer, Travis Homer, Brandin Echols and Cole Holcomb are players known around the league for their special teams play. This season, they aren’t getting it done, most of the time.
This group needs to improve or they’re going to cost this team games. And Danny Crossman should be feeling the pressure for how poorly his group has performed.
Side note again: This is all outside of Cameron Johnston, who has been phenomenal all season. He’s playing like the punter the Steelers have been trying to find for the last 20 years.
When Aaron Rodgers is Clicking…
Sometimes, Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers. He did it in the first game of the season, putting on a show against the Atlanta Falcons. He did it again against the Indianapolis Colts, and it’s always fun to watch.
At 42-years-old, Rodgers was more mobile than he’s been in a while and on multiple occassions extended the play with his legs, finding open receivers after leaving the pocket and keeping his eyes down field.
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He was accurate, collected and outside of one missed pass to Pat Freiermuth, there weren’t many moments when you were thinking he made a poor play or poor decision.
Hoopin’ @AaronRodgers12 | @oti_germiepic.twitter.com/7qWJG3k5hi
– Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 11, 2026
It was a nice reminder that the Steelers do have a legendary quarterback running the show. He doesn’t always have the ability to win with his physical traits, but whenever he’s feeling good, he can do some magical things.
This was one of those games where the Steelers know if he plays this well, they have a good shot to win.
Steelers Secondary Still a Big Problem
The Steelers haven’t fixed anything in their secondary despite changing, well, nothing. This team tried to give Asante Samuel Jr. another chance, and maybe they plan on giving him more, but he may not be the answer. Right now, he can’t stop anyone or any route. He’s the biggest liability on the field for the Steelers, but he’s not the only one.
Everyone outside of Jalen Ramsey wasn’t on their A-game against the Colts. Daylen Everette didn’t play terribly, but he couldn’t keep up on every route. Jaquan Brisker continues to go backward instead of forward, and the team has lost so much faith in Rayshawn Jenkins that he didn’t play – and Robert Spears-Jennings barely took any snaps to replace him.
When he was on the field, he spent a lot of time pre-snap telling people where to be. That’s a seventh-round rookie telling veterans where to be.
It’s time for the Steelers to listen to Jalen Ramsey and get Sean Murphy-Bunting on the field. Brandin Echols should also be an option, and it’s pretty surprising that he hasn’t been. This team needs to find a solution to the opposite side of Everrette/Jamel Dean.
They also need to figure out Brisker, though. The local star has been a liability in coverage over the last few weeks and is seemingly getting further behind by the game. Maybe he just needs DeShon Elliott back to support him, but something needs to be figured out.
It’s Germie Bernard Time, But Steelers Need More
The Steelers lost Roman Wilson right at the end of the first half after he suffered a hand injury. How quickly the team ruled him out for the game raises concerns, and if Wilson is set to miss time because of the injury, he leaves Pittsburgh with two starters – DK Metcalf and Germie Bernard.
He wasn’t alone, though. Ben Skowronek left the game with a calf injury and was unable to return. It’s unknown what he’s exactly dealing with and if he’ll miss time as well.
That leaves the Steelers with Metcalf, Bernard and Kaden Wetjen. That’s their only three healthy wide receivers on the active roster. Brandon Smith is expected to be called up to help off of the practice squad.
That’s not enough, even with Smith. This team needs to add help immediately. Maybe they start by seeing if Wetjen can be part of the offense and if Smith is good enough to contribute consistently. Brandon Johnson is another veteran on their practice squad they can utilize.
Names like Tyreek Hill, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Gabe Davis may need to be on their radar leaving this game, though.
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Today’s best reads
- Add Chris Boswell to Steelers’ Growing List of Problems
- Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Must Improve in One Area
- Steelers’ Jamel Dean Injured vs. Browns
- Steelers vs. Browns Takeaways: Things Are Getting Really Bad
- Jalen Ramsey Reveals Problem With Steelers
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi as Steelers vs. Colts Takeaways: Offense Just Exploded .
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 1:09 PM.