The Steelers won’t have safety Jabrill Peppers in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Colts and they may not have Chuck Clark, but they should have the newest addition to their secondary available.
Peppers has been ruled out with a quad injury. He made his first appearance on the injury report on Thursday as a limited participant and did not practice on Friday. Clark, who has started the last two games, is listed as questionable after missing practice on Friday with an illness.
The Steelers traded with the Patriots for safety Kyle Dugger (knee) this week and he has no injury designation after a full practice on Friday.
Wide receiver Scott Miller (finger) and cornerback Cory Trice (hamstring, knee) have also been ruled out. Linebacker Malik Harrison (knee), linebacker Cole Holcomb (illness), and quarterback Will Howard (right hand) are listed as questionable.
The Steelers appeared to get a handle on things defensively during a three-game winning streak, but the last two weeks have shown few signs of things going well on that side of the ball.
They gave up 33 points in a Week 7 loss to the Bengals and they gave up 35 points to the Packers last Sunday, which isn’t where they’d like to be as they head into this Sunday’s matchup against the league’s top offense. A loss to the Colts would cut their lead over the Ravens in the AFC North to one game, so it would be the perfect time for the defense to rediscover its footing.
One of the group’s veteran leaders made that exact point on Thursday. Defensive end Cam Heyward criticized his team’s inability to handle adversity after the Packers loss and said that he’s challenged everyone to come up with a more complete effort this time around.
“Anything I say to y’all, I’ll say to them first,” Heyward said, via the team’s website. “We all have to get better. I challenge everybody. I challenge myself first and foremost. That’s always the way I’ve been raised. You can’t look at anybody else. You’ve got to look at yourself. The way to get this bad taste out of our mouth is just play better football. Let’s fight. Let’s play ball. I’m not going to shy away from it. I think we’ve just got to play better ball. If we have a problem with it, let’s handle it on the field. Everybody’s been open with me. I’m not running from it. Just know it’s coming from a good place, and I want our defense to be successful.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin dismissed the idea of making any significant changes to the defense after losing to Green Bay, but another poor showing will put that back on the table so that the Steelers can find a way to right the ship while it can still make a difference.
The Colts had nine players listed as out of practice on Wednesday, but two-thirds of them were back on the field on Thursday.
That group includes wide receiver Josh Downs (hip), who had three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown while appearing in seven of the team’s eight games this season. Defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis (groin), cornerback Kenny Moore (Achilles), guard Matt Goncalves (personal), safety Nick Cross (shoulder), and right tackle Braden Smith (rest) joined Downs in going from out of practice to full participation.
Defensive end Samson Ekubam (knee), wide receiver Anthony Gould (knee), and defensive tackle Grover Stewart (foot) remained out of practice. Cornerback Jaylon Jones (hamstring) was listed as a full participant for the second straight day.
The late Jim Irsay had amassed an extensive and impressive collection of memorabilia, much of which came from the world of music.
Via ESPN.com, Irsay’s family will be offering most of the items at auction next year.
“This decision was not made lightly, but with deep reflection and love for the legacy he built,” Irsay’s family said in a statement released by the Colts. “Our dad was a passionate collector, driven not by possession, but by a profound appreciation for the beauty, history, and cultural resonance of the items he curated. From iconic instruments to handwritten lyrics by legends to rare historical artifacts and documents, each piece in the collection tells a story -- and he was always so excited to share those stories with the world.”
In 2023, Irsay acknowledged the inevitability that the items he purchased would eventually be sold.
“Look, it’s not mine,” Irsay said. “I always say, ‘You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul.’ I mean, I don’t own anything. Someone else is going to own it, and someone else is going to be in here.”
Irsay, who served as owner of the Colts since 1997, died in May at the age of 65.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had an excellent October and has now received some recognition for it.
The NFL announced on Thursday that Taylor has been named AFC offensive player of the month.
Taylor rushed for 436 yards and nine touchdowns in four October contests. He also caught 12 passes for 93 yards with a TD, helping Indianapolis go 4-0 in the month.
This is Taylor’s third offensive player of the month award and the first time he’s won it since 2021.
He scored three touchdowns in three of the four contests. He also accounted for at least 132 yards from scrimmage in three of the four wins.
Entering Week 9, Taylor leads the NFL with 850 yards rushing, 12 rushing touchdowns, 1,056 yards from scrimmage, and 14 total TDs. He’s averaging a whopping 5.9 yards per carry.
Taylor is an obvious offensive player of the year candidate, but if his season continues on this trajectory, he’ll put himself in the MVP conversation as well.
