Steelers tasked with figuring way to slow down high-flying Indianapolis Colts offense

A popular television commercial in the 1970s and ’80s told the tale of the Maytag repairman, billing him as the loneliest person in town. The reasoning was that the appliances were so reliable, he simply never got any work.

The NFL equivalent in 2025 is Rigoberto Sanchez.

He is the punter for the Indianapolis Colts, the highest-scoring team in the league whose offense also ranks first in total yards.

The Colts got off to such a hot start this season that Sanchez never punted in the first game. Or the second. And just once in the third. Except when he was required to hold for extra points and field goals, Sanchez never went on the field in those games.

Through eight weeks, the Colts are 7-1 and Sanchez has punted just eight times, an NFL low. His inactivity is a metaphor for how high-powered the Colts offense has become, be it through the passing of resurrected quarterback Daniel Jones, the running of NFL’s leading rusher Jonathan Taylor or the pass catching of tight end Tyler Warren, one of the league’s top rookies.

“They have a lot of things going right for them,” Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said this week.

The Colts’ visit Sunday to Acrisure Stadium comes at the worst time for the Steelers. They are coming off back-to-back losses in which the defense allowed a combined 68 points and 929 yards.

Now, they face a Colts team that opened the season by scoring on 10 consecutive drives to set an NFL record. The Colts are averaging 33.8 points — three more than any other team. They have four wins by at least 20 points — no other team has more than two. They also have scored 270 points, the most through eight weeks since the franchise moved from Baltimore after the 1983 season. Which means they’ve scored at a rate not even the Peyton Manning-led Colts could attain in the 2000s.

“I love challenges, and I think our group does, too,” Heyward said. “To go out and play against arguably the best team in football right now, I’m looking forward to that.”

So is fellow defensive captain T.J. Watt. Just not for the same reason. He doesn’t view the Colts game as a litmus test for the Steelers defense, which entered the season with high expectations only to rank No. 30 overall through the NFL’s first two months.

“I feel like when you have this many problems yourself, you don’t look into stuff like that,” Watt said. “We’re trying to fix what we have wrong and there are a lot of things that have to be fixed, and we’re trying to chip away with it.”

After losing starting strong safety DeShon Elliott to a knee injury for at least the next four weeks, the Steelers will face the Colts without two other safeties: Chuck Clark and Jabrill Peppers. That could be ominous for a defense that has allowed the most passing yards in the NFL through eight weeks.

“There is a way of simplifying things so we can play fast,” Watt said. “We’ve had a good week of that (in practice).”

Susceptible to giving up big plays in losses to Cincinnati and Green Bay, in which both quarterbacks got rid of passes with rapid-fire precision, the Steelers face Jones for the second year in a row. A year ago, on a Monday night, Jones was the starter for the New York Giants, who were on the wrong end of a 26-18 decision at Acrisure Stadium.

A few weeks later, Jones was traded to Minnesota, where he sat for the rest of the season. Indianapolis took a chance on Jones in free agency despite his 24-44-1 record with the Giants. With a 71.2% completion percentage and 13 touchdown passes against just three interceptions, he has justified the “Indiana” Jones nickname bestowed upon him.

“He’s at the sticks of a really good offense,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “They’re running the ball, and they are taking care of it. He’s got some eligibles who have been together. He just looks really comfortable in the structured system, and it’s going really well for him.”

The Colts have turned the ball over four times with Jones at the controls. Only two teams have fewer giveaways, and Jones has directed an NFL-high 38 drives inside the opposing 20-yard-line.

Jones is aided by the Colts having the NFL’s leading rusher in Taylor and a dynamic young tight end in Warren, the team’s first-round pick from Penn State. It also helps that Jones is protected by a formidable offensive line that is led by seven-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson.

Taylor is off to his best start since 2021, when he led the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Not only has he rushed for 850 yards, the next-closest rusher trails by 97 yards. Taylor also has scored an NFL-high 12 times on the ground, and he’s added two more touchdowns as a receiver.

“Jonathan Taylor should be leading the race for offensive player of the year and MVP,” Heyward said. “I think he requires everyone’s focus. He’s lighting people up, he’s bouncing off blocks. His contact balance doesn’t get talked about enough.”

Stating his case to win the award for top offensive rookie is Warren, whose first year in the NFL has served as an extension of what he did in his final year at Penn State. Warren leads the Colts with 492 receiving yards, and his 37 receptions rank second on the team. He’s also scored three touchdowns.

Warren faces the Steelers defense a week after Packers third-year tight end Tucker Kraft torched them for seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

“He hasn’t warmed up to it at all,” Tomlin said. “Man, he’s plug and play not only in terms of his playing ability but their utilization of him. They use him in a variety of schemes. Get the ball in his hands early and often.”

The Colts also feature dependable receivers in Michael Pittman Jr., who has six touchdowns among his 43 receptions, Josh Downs (29 catches) and Alec Pierce (21.4 yards per catch on 18 receptions).

“The way they’re getting it done is pretty black and white,” Tomlin said.

The mission for the struggling Steelers defense is not to be black and blue after their game Sunday.