PITTSBURGH – The Colts hadn't had much of an issue scoring touchdowns from the red zone heading into Week 5. They had, though, had a couple games in which issues tackling cost them.
In Sunday's 34-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, those two problems were the defining reason behind the Colts sinking back under .500 with a 12-point defeat.
The Colts scored a touchdown on just one of their three trips inside the Steelers' 20-yard line; the Colts had a first-and-goal set of downs on each of those three possessions. Another drive stalled out at the Steelers' 22-yard line.
"We got to do a better job," Steichen said regarding the red zone. "I got to do a better job calling plays. We got to do a better job executing. Credit to Pittsburgh in those situations, but we got to do a better job overall to get it cleaned up and the score touchdowns down there."
Pro Football Focus tagged the Colts with eight missed tackles, and several came in critical situations – including on running back Jaylen Warren's 80-yard touchdown reception and 50-yard touchdown run.
"We definitely shouldn't let that happen," defensive end Laiatu Latu said.
The Colts had markedly improved their tackling over the last two weeks, in which they held the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders to a combined 30 points. But the Colts' tackling in Pittsburgh was closer to what was on tape in Weeks 1 and 2, when this defense allowed the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs to score a combined 74 points.
"We got to get that cleaned up too," Steichen said. "Go back to the fundamentals of technique. It was good last week, and then this week it wasn't as good as it needs to be, and so we got to keep working hard on that."
Tackling, then, is back in the spotlight as a major issue that needs to get fixed as soon as possible. The Colts' red zone woes on Sunday, though, felt more like an aberration than the start or continuation of a trend.
Entering Week 5, the Colts were sixth in the NFL in red zone touchdown rate, with Steichen's offense crossing the goal line on 75 percent of their trips inside the 20. The Colts had also scored touchdowns on all nine of their goal-to-go drives.
But after tight end Tyler Warren punched in a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal in the first half, the Colts left points on the board despite getting to the Steelers' three- and 10-yard lines in the second half.
"We can't afford to do that," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "We've been good in the red zone. I think that's been a strength of ours, so we have to go back and see where we fell short, where the opportunities were and how we can improve."
Those eight points squandered on short Spencer Shrader field goals changed the complexion of the second half, and allowed the Steelers to pull ahead by two scores halfway through the fourth quarter.
"When you get chances in the red zone, you got to capitalize on it," running back Jonathan Taylor said. "And we know it's tough, we know it's tough to score touchdowns, but in this league, touchdowns (are) how you win games."
Making matters more disappointing for the Colts on Sunday is they did plenty of things on the margins that could've been the difference in a closer game. Shrader banged home field goals from 56 and 57 yards, Anthony Gould and Seth McGowan had impressive days on kickoff returns and the Colts' kick and punt coverage units were stellar.
Jones wasn't sacked and didn't turn the ball over, too.
But ultimately, not coming away with red zone touchdowns and missing several key tackles wound up tipping Week 5 in favor of the Steelers.
