For those who are unaware, the Horseshoe Theory is used in politics to describe how the two polar opposites of the political spectrum might actually be closer to each other than they are to the political center.
Now, allow me make a huge reach here, but this idea makes sense to me, so I hope I can articulate it well enough to you.
Here it is.
The vibe surrounding this Steelers team, and this defense in particular, was awful after the last two weeks.
They had just lost a key piece of their team in DeShon Elliott. They were suffering from a plethora of injuries. They had two of the worst performances one could imagine for this group, and they were scarcely picked to have much of a chance against the AFC-leading, 7-1 Indianapolis Colts.
For a defense that had “historic” expectations heading into the season, we suddenly didn’t think they were capable of just about anything.
In a way, the feeling surrounding this team was so bad, that maybe, it actually turned good. On Sunday, the defense looked like a unit who was playing a lot less tense, somehow more confident, and maybe playing with a little house money.
We expected them to get blown out and ran over, and instead, they did their part and created splash plays when needed. After all, isn’t it a little more fun when there’s no real expectations?
At least, that’s how I saw it.
Anyways, that’s my attempt to get philosophical about things. I have some more simplified thoughts as well, so let’s get into those.
1: Bring The Heat
Like I said before, the defense had some truly rancid vibes surrounding them after their performance over the last two weeks. And it was deserved.
Pittsburgh’s most prized unit had surrendered 33 points, 470 yards, and the game to Joe Flacco and the Bengals two weeks ago in Cincinnati. They then followed that up with allowing 35 points, 454 yards, and 20 straight completions to Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.
On back-to-back weeks, the Steelers’ defense was embarrassed in primetime in front of a national audience. Their collapse had a once-hopeful 4-1 team now on the ropes, and the side of the ball that was supposed to win them games was actively costing them.
So naturally, this is the type of performance we all expected from them, right?
Indianapolis had just four turnovers all season prior to Sunday. Pittsburgh forced six total turnovers: three interceptions, two traditional fumble recoveries, and one off a muffed punt.
The pass rush was so effective at getting home to Jones, with both TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith recording a strip sack. Watt recovered his own, and rookie first rounder Derrick Harmon nabbed Highsmith’s forced fumble.
And the turnovers didn’t stop even if the pass rush didn’t get home.
Payton Wilson, with one of his best games of the season, recorded an impressive interception in coverage, and was responsible for batting another ball in the air that landed in the hands of Jack Sawyer.
Then late in the game, Joey Porter Jr. made up for some of his penalties when he caught the game-sealing pick.
The pressure from guys like Watt, Highsmith, and Wilson, along with guys like Sawyer and Porter being at the right place at the right time, all combined to make Jones implode.
2: Jonathan Taylor, Or Lack Thereof
I’ll be honest, I expected the Colts running back and potential NFL MVP candidate Taylor to run all over the Steelers in this one.
Given how good of a rusher he is, how banged up Pittsburgh’s defense was, and just the trends of both sides coming into Sunday, I thought it would get really ugly, really fast.
Instead, the Steelers put together their best rush defense of the year against the league’s leading running back. Taylor finished with just 45 yards on 14 carries, for an average of 3.2. All three of those figures were season-lows for Taylor. He was almost a complete non-factor, and without a solid running game for Indianapolis to rely on, Jones was forced to throw the ball 50 times.
The Steelers held the Colts to 55 total rushing yards, which is the lowest the Steelers have allowed all season long and lowest since Week 7 of last year, when the New York Jets put up just 54 on them.
I really just can’t give enough credit to the run defense in this game. They played so much better than I, or virtually anyone else expected. They deserve a lot of praise for their effort on Sunday.
3: Mt. Washington
Man, it’s really fun seeing the big man gets some targets, isn’t it?
Washington had a career-high six targets and caught a career-high four passes for 43 yards. It was the most the Steelers have involved the human tank in the passing game so far, and he finished second on the team in receiving yards, behind Calvin Austin.
Washington showed yesterday too that he is more than just a catch and run guy. Sure, it might look a little odd to see him lining up and running routes, but the tight end can twist and turn in space and come down with contested catches if he needs to.
I do hope the Steelers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith continue to work Washington into the game plan more. It’s just so hard to bring down a guy like him once he gets moving. He’s a true weapon if you use him the right way.
4: Bend And Bend, Just Don’t Break
For as pleasant a surprise this win was, one thing that was still concerning about this team overall was their lack of ability to close out wins.
After Jaylen Warren ran a touchdown in early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers had a comfortable 24-7 lead over the Colts with less than 12 minutes to go in the game.
The game ended 27-20.
At the end of the day, this upset win will go in the tremendous one-score games record. But just like that win over Minnesota in the Dublin game, the Steelers should have never let this game become a one-score contest. Pittsburgh was outscored 13-3 in those final 12 minutes, and the Colts still had a path to victory up until that second failed onside kick.
Part of that was the defense laying up a bit. Part of it was the offense not taking advantage of avenues to kill as much clock as possible. The Steelers didn’t break, but they sure bent a lot. Again.
Look, a win is a win. And for all the struggles we watched over the last two weeks, perhaps we should just be content with what we saw today. But there’s a pattern there, a truly worrying pattern.
The Steelers allergic to comfortable wins.
5: The Roman Wilson Experience
Last week, one of the few bright spots in the loss to Green Bay was Roman Wilson. The wide receiver had a career-high four catches for 74 yards, which more than doubled his career receiving yards through that point. He also nabbed his first touchdown in the NFL, and it felt like perhaps the start of an offense that involved Wilson more.
Well, after this week, I fear those highlights from the Green Bay loss might be his only for a while.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Steelers up ten points and looking to wind down the clock, Aaron Rodgers threw a quick pass to Wilson for a sprint up the field. Wilson then loses the ball as he tries to make a herculean play.
This is just an example of a player not playing to the situation at hand. All Wilson, or any receiver getting the ball in this scenario, needs to do is get a few yards and make sure that clock keeps running.
Instead, Wilson tries to do way too much, hurdling an opponent and losing the ball in the process. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Wilson stapled to the bench for a while after that.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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