The Pittsburgh Steelers defense didn’t have the best game Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. But the unit did two things very well.
First, the Steelers didn’t allow Jonathan Taylor to run for many yards. Secondly, Pittsburgh’s defense stiffened in the red zone. The Colts scored only one touchdown on three red zone drives. Indianapolis also had three other drives into Steelers territory end in just two field goals.
Steelers All-Pro defensive lineman Cameron Heyward pointed to Indianapolis’s drives stalling in their territory as a major key in the game. And for the team’s defense to do that, Heyward gave credit to one of the team’s rookies making his debut Sunday — Gabriel Rubio.
Heyward called Rubio out by name in his postgame press conference after the 34-22 victory in Week 5.
“Hats off to a lot of our guys. When you have these long drives, we get other guys to step up. Gabriel Rubio, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black. There’s just a multitude of guys who stepped up in those instances,” said Heyward. “I think just really hit home getting off the field when we can.
“Especially in the red zone. Them scoring only one touchdown was huge.”
The Steelers selected Rubio at No. 210 overall in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. While Rubio made the Steelers roster after the preseason, he was a healthy scratch in the first four weeks of the regular season.
Rubio dressed for the first time Sunday. He finished the contest with three tackles.
Steelers’ Cameron Heyward Gives Credit to Defensive Line Depth in Week 5 Win
It was pretty clear even before Sunday’s game that defensive line depth was going to be key for Pittsburgh. The Steelers lost Derrick Harmon to a left foot injury during Week 4 and placed him on injured reserve last week.
Without Harmon, Rubio received his first opportunity to dress.
But with the long Colts drives, the defensive line depth was even more important for the Steelers. Indianapolis had three possessions that lasted at least 10 plays and another two drives that were eight or nine plays.
All of the linemen Heyward called out appeared to have strong outings. Benton posted three total tackles, including two solos. He also had one pass defense and one quarterback hit.
Black had four total tackles, including one for loss.
With those young defensive linemen playing well, the Steelers held Colts running back Jonathan Taylor to only 45 rushing yards. Taylor averaged three yards per carry, both of which were his lowest of the season.
Taylor had at least 68 rushing yards in each of his first four games. He also scored six touchdowns in the first quarter of the season.
The Steelers also excelled at stopping Taylor in their matchup versus the Colts during the 2025 campaign. In fact, last year during Week 9, Taylor had the exact same amount of rushing yards, 45, on 14 attempts.
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