Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers defense was carrying plenty of baggage entering Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
A defense hyped as potentially historic had been shredded in consecutive weeks by the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers, evaporating much of the Steelers’ lead in the AFC North in the process while the team’s undermanned offense suddenly surged, but the defense let them down.
Then, injuries started to pile up in the secondary, where DeShon Elliott will miss the rest of the season and Jabrill Peppers and Chuck Clark.
As if that wasn’t enough, hovering behind the team all weekend was one of the greatest defenses in team history. The Steelers were honoring the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Super Bowl XL squad on Sunday, with about 30 members of that team coming to town, starting with walkthrough on Friday.
James Harrison, one member of that squad, ripped the defense to shreds this week on his podcast after its last two performances. You do not ever want to make James Harrison angry with you. Especially when he’s in the room.
Joey Porter Jr. knows that all to well. The son of legendary Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr., the younger Porter grew up around the team, and was a regular fixture in the locker room in 2005.
He said the entire defense felt the pressure of the last two performances, the injuries and the challenge of incorporating Kyle Dugger.
“It was a lock-in point for us,” he said. “I feel like we all knew what we had to do on the field and what we’re capable of. We were really just talking about going back to that Steel Curtain, that gritty, that mean-mouth football that we’re trying to get back and we’re trying to find. We’re looking for that and we’re finding that slowly.”
Somehow, the Steelers found a way to turn all of that into a positive, stopping top NFL running back Jonathan Taylor and forcing six turnovers in a 27-20 win over the Colts at Acrisure Stadium.
As far as the pressure of the 2005 team looking over their shoulders, that might have been more acutely felt by Porter himself — who came through with four pass breakups, his first career sack and an interception in the contest.
He said his father had been hyping him up all week.
“Definitely,” Porter said. “My dad’s been in my ear all week about his boys coming to town. He said you gotta make your dad proud. I’m glad I got that pick for him and did what I did. Shout out to all my uncles that came today.”
The alumni joined the team on the field for pregame warmups, with some of them even taking part in the pregame huddle.
“They were amped up,” Porter said. “If they could put on pads today, they would have. All those guys were ready. They just gave everybody juice. They had us fueled up. …
“Being around that locker room since I was a...
