Jim Wexell

• Gamebook

It was only fitting that the Steelers -- playing in front of their Super Bowl XL championship team -- played some old-school defense in beating the high-flying Indianapolis Colts, 27-20, at Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers, now 5-3 atop the AFC North Division, took away the league's leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor, with their new, and old-school, 4-3 defensive alignment and intercepted three passes and forced two fumbles to feed an efficient offense that put the game away with a touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter.

"Renegade" was played with 14:16 left.

Old school indeed.

The Steelers -- with a forced fumble on special teams -- forced 6 turnovers altogether, and had 5 sacks.

The Colts entered the game with an NFL-best 7-1 record and were leading the league in both total scoring and offense.

But the Colts also came into the game with a 2-17 record in Pittsburgh and were facing a Steelers team intent on ending a two-game losing skid.

The Colts opened the scoring with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Daniel Jones. Two converted two fourth-and-1s, including the touchdown run, were the key plays. But the Steelers came close to completing a goal-line stand. After a first-and-goal at the 5, Cam Heyward batted two passes, the first of which was nearly intercepted by a diving T.J. Watt. But the touchdown gave the Colts a 7-0 lead with 8:05 left in the first quarter.

The Steelers had a chance to answer after Brandin Echols recovered a muffed punt at the Indianapolis 11, but failed to come away with points after a fourth-down pass to Darnell Washington fell incomplete.

The Colts moved the ball from their own 2 and moved into Steelers territory with the help of a successful fake punt at their own 25. On first down at the Pittsburgh 38, Daniel Jones dropped back to pass, and was sacked and stripped by Watt, who also recovered the fumble to give the Steelers the ball at their own 44.

The Steelers took the turnover and turned it into a Jaylen Warren 1-yard touchdown run. The drive's key plays were a fourth-and-1 sneak by Connor Heyward (4 yards) and a third-and-7 Aaron Rodgers pass to Calvin Austin III for 11 yards that put the ball at the Indianapolis 2. Warren scored by running left out of the I-formation behind fullback Heyward.

The touchdown with 6:09 left in the half tied the game 7-7.

Another Colts turnover two snaps later resulted in a 14-7 Steelers lead with a 12-yard Rodgers touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth. Peyton Wilson intercepted a Jones pass thrown directly to him, off pressure by Alex Highsmith. Wilson returned the interception 17 yards to the Indianapolis 14, and two snaps later Rodgers threw a back-shoulder pass to Freiermuth, who simultaneously turned to catch the ball and spin into the end zone with 4:22 left in the half.

The Steelers added to their lead with a 25-yard Chris Boswell field goal with no time left in the first half. The 75-yard drive consumed all 3:19 of the clock with the help of a 16-yard pass to Kenneth Gainwell, a 15-yard Colts penalty, and a 12-yard pass to Smith on third-and-4. Boswell's kick at 0:00 gave the Steelers a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Steelers, for all intents and purposes, put the game away early in the fourth quarter with a Warren 2-yard touchdown run. The drive was set up by a Jack Sawyer interception. The rookie edge-rusher was the recipient of a batted pass by blitzing inside linebacker Payton Wilson. The Steelers drove the 59 yards with intermediate passes to Washington, Kaleb Johnson, and Austin. A 13-yard slant to Washington put the ball at the Indianapolis 1, and Warren scored two plays later for a 24-7 led with 14:16 to play.

The Colts answered with a 52-yard Michael Badgley field goal to cut the Steelers' lead to 24-10 with 10:45 left, and then got the ball back with 8:28 left. But on second-and-1, Highsmith, roaring off the right edge, belted Jones and forced a fumble that was recovered by rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon.

With the ball at the Indianapolis 34, an 11-yard pass to Gainwell set up Boswell's 46-yard field goal to set the Steelers' lead at 27-10 with 6:51 left.

The Colts -- like their high-flying predecessors from the 2005 era -- made a late rally with a 4-yard Jones touchdown pass to Josh Downs that cut the lead to 27-17 with 4:30 remaining.

Connor Heyward recovered the onside kick, and the Steelers appeared to be in the process of killing the clock, but Roman Wilson caught a pass, hurdled a tackler, and fumbled back to the Colts with 3:34 remaining. However, Joey Porter Jr. -- fittingly, with his dad watching along with the rest of the 2005 Steelers Super Bowl XL team -- intercepted a Jones pass to finish off the Colts, who added a 53-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining.

The Steelers now own a 18-2 record against the Colts in all series games (including playoffs) played in Pittsburgh.

Statistically, Rodgers completed 25 of 35 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over. His passer rating was 95.3. His favorite target was Austin, with 5 receptions for 56 yards.

But it was the Steelers' defense that took top billing. Wilson led the way with 13 tackles and an interception. Highsmith had 2 sacks and forced a fumble.