The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 3-0 at Acrisure Stadium this season by outlasting the Indianapolis Colts by a 34-22 margin on Oct. 11.
It was a another big day for the offense, which has averaged nearly 30 points in the past three games after a slow start to the season under first-year coach Mike McCarthy. The defense, meanwhile, got some timely stops to force the Colts into five field goal attempts, which helped keep their scoring down.
Here’s a look at some notable numbers from the day via Pro Football Focus, the scouting website for whom evaluators grade players for every snap of every game on a 1-100 scale.
Jaylen Warren (76.8)
He’s not just passing the eye test
as the most difficult Steelers skill player to stop right now after his 80-yard touchdown catch and 50-yard touchdown run against the Colts. All of his core stats are significantly boosted over career averages through five games in 2026. He’s averaging 5.9 yards per carry compared to a career number of 4.8. He’s averaging 4.09 yards per carry after contact, up from 3.35 yards for his career. And in the passing game, his yards per route run average is 1.87 compared to 1.46 for his career. Those are major efficiency boosts fueling understandable calls for him to touch the ball more often. With Rico Dowdle injured, however, he’s already on pace to set a career high for touches in the running game, so the Steelers seem to be managing his usage effectively.
Jalen Ramsey (75.1 season grade)
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has had very different ideas about how to use the former All-Pro cornerback than former coach Mike Tomlin did. Ramsey has been deployed as a slot cornerback 44.3% of the time in 2026; as a box safety 28.6% of the time and as a free safety 18.9% of the time. A year ago, he was primarily at the free safety spot – 38.3% of the time. The results have been noticeable. Ramsey is allowing a career-low average of 5.8 yards per catch when targeted. He’s allowed just 75 yards when targeted all season and is on pace to cut the production against him in half over the full year. As a result, his season grade has improved 10 full points from 2025. That’s a big win for the front office, which invested heavily in Ramsey when trading for him last offseason. He still has two lucrative seasons remaining on his contract, so finding ways to use him effectively helps achieve some bang for that proverbial buck.
Pat Freiermuth (73.1)
The veteran tight end had a big day with a pair of touchdown catches that pushed his total for the season to four. At this rate, he’ll quickly shatter his career high in a season of seven, so it’s clear that the Mike McCarthy offense likes to use him as a red zone threat. It also likes using him further downfield than the previous regime led by former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Freiermuth’s average depth of target (ADOT) has spiked to a career high of 8.6 this season vs. 7.1 for his career. That hasn’t translated to bigger volume numbers yet – his yards per reception average has actually dropped from 12.0 to 8.9 year over year. But a higher volume of deeper passes is likely to help his production in the long run and is worth monitoring.
Asante Samuel Jr. (60.6) and Daylen Everette (57.6)
It wasn’t a perfect day for the Steelers’ unlikely cornerback duo that took over starting roles from the injured Jamel Dean and departed Joey Porter Jr., who was traded to the Dallas Cowboys on Oct.4. Samuel was beaten badly on a 42-yard Colts pass play from quarterback Daniel Jones to receiver Josh Downs that sparked a touchdown drive. Everette later gave up a 29-yard pass play that led to a Colts field goal. Both players rallied to some impressive numbers by the end of the day, though. Samuel ended up allowing just two receptions despite being targeted 10 times. His three pass break ups came on third and fourth down to help generate stops for the unit. The rookie Everette, meanwhile, allowed just three catches on eight targets. That adds up to solid work in considerable volume, even if the Colts were able to hit for some big ones at times.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steelers PFF grades: Jaylen Warren's stats surging in Mike McCarthy offense
