PITTSBURGH — Almost every important lesson learned by the 2025 Indianapolis Colts has come in the context of a thrilling victory.
They have had the NFL’s top-producing offense for weeks. They’d also enjoyed the largest point differential in the league, having been on the right side of several blowouts.
But on Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Colts left Acrisure Stadium trying to explain a six-turnover performance in their ugliest game of the season. The lessons from this 27-20 loss to the Steelers will be harder to swallow. But they can also be useful if put to use in the right way.
“Losing makes you better in the long run,” guard Quenton Nelson said. “As long as you f—ing learn from it. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
For just the second time this season, the Colts had a postgame scene that was not punctuated by the sound of blaring hip hop music, a clear indicator that things went well that day.
Instead, the locker room was defined by players’ measured words. There was urgency, but not panic.
And it wasn’t difficult to explain why they found themselves in this predicament: The turnovers.
“To turn it over as many times as we did today, we’re going to have a tough time winning,” said quarterback Daniel Jones, who was responsible for five turnovers in the game.
Jones committed two fumbles on blind-side sacks, one each allowed by offensive tackles Braden Smith and Bernhard Raimann. He also threw three interceptions, though one was a fluky occurrence off a tipped ball.
Still, Jones took the blame for the giveaways.
“Obviously, that’s on me,” he said. Jones, remarkably, had committed just three turnovers all season before facing the Steelers.
So much of the Colts’ offensive success this season stemmed from Jones playing clean football, protecting the ball and making smart, efficient decisions. Now, this performance is bound to raise questions about Jones, who famously spent an embattled six seasons with the New York Giants, who released him late last season.
Was this a one-off for Jones? Or is it cause for concern for a player who had changed his narrative before Sunday?
“We’re not all going to have a perfect game,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “I don’t have perfect games all the time. It’s the NFL. This game doesn’t define him as a quarterback.”
Said running back Jonathan Taylor, who had his worst game of the season (45 yards on 14 carries) because of limited running lanes: “We’ve got to give [Jones] time. The [offensive] line, running backs, we’ve got to be in the right spots as far as routes and being in our areas. It’s the entire offense. It’s a cumulative thing. We have to be better with the football.”
That dovetails into the easiest lesson to digest from this loss: Even the best offense in the league, one that had been averaging 33.8 points and 385.3 yards entering Sunday, can’t overcome six turnovers.
Consider: The Colts significantly outgained the Steelers on Sunday, 368 yards to 225 yards. Receivers Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. had 115 receiving yards apiece while Jones threw for 342 yards. It might have mattered more if the Colts managed to hold on to the ball long enough to finish many of those drives.
So, what now?
The Colts have to get back to being who they’ve been. They were efficient, protecting the ball with the NFL’s second-best turnover margin.
“I think if you take away the takeaways and we don’t turn the ball over, I think we’re moving the ball down the field, scoring a lot of points again,” coach Shane Steichen said. “So, I’ve got a ton of faith in our offense.”
They also were a team whose offensive line could be counted on. The unit got pushed around Sunday, both in the passing game and the running game. Taylor averaged 1.2 yards before contact, his lowest mark in nearly two years. He was hit at or behind the line on six of his 14 rushing attempts. Meanwhile, Jones was sacked five times in the game after being sacked just eight times in the previous eight games.
The Colts have a week to figure it all out before playing the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin in Week 10. Nelson suggested the music will be back during that postgame scene.
“We come to work for each other and grind for each other and love the guys on this team, love our coaches,” Nelson said. “And we will be back next week.”
