Indianapolis, IN

Winners and losers from Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts

Published

2 years ago

September 29, 2024

Winners and losers from Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts

INDIANAPOLIS — The Pittsburgh Steelers came out slow against the Indianapolis Colts and paid the price for it, falling 27-24 in a valiant comeback attempt. However, Pittsburgh still sits at 3-1 and will be atop the AFC North, so it’s not all bad for the Steelers. Regardless, this loss highlighted a lot of issues that bubbled to the surface despite some very good play all around the team through their first three wins.

Here are the winners and losers from the Steelers’ loss to the Colts:

Loser: Linebackers

You can put Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson in this bucket, especially. The Steelers’ linebackers have struggled throughout much of the year, but a dominant defensive line has made most of the issues. With the Colts having the offensive line to neutralize Pittsburgh’s defensive line. In the second half, the linebackers did step up their play against the run, but with consistent miscommunication across the defense, some of that comes back to Queen. Queen himself missed a few keys and struggled to fit the run early. Wilson struggled in coverage mightily, getting caught being too aggressive on too many reps.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen did an excellent job pitting the linebackers in conflict, which sank the defense for much of the day. Without the linebacker play to stay afloat, Pittsburgh could not secure themselves a win.

Winner: Darnell Washington

Washington continues to prove that he is fantastic. He has taken a second-year leap as a blocker and cleared out numerous lanes for the Steelers running backs, but the plus ones in the box, which we will get to in a bit, prevented much of that from mattering. As a pass catcher, there is untapped potential, and he can be deadly after the catch when given space.

Washington is a solid player who gets better each week. The Steelers will want to acquire that type of player as they continue to build their team into a contender.

Loser: Coaching Staff

The entire Steelers coaching staff deserves some flack. Mike Tomlin does for a poor challenge and awful clock awareness throughout the game. From that perspective, the way he called the game made no sense. Tomlin failed to challenge a third down where Najee Harris clearly got a first one. The Steelers came out extremely flat and that goes to the head coach.

Defenisve coordinator Teryl Austin struggled to adjust after the quarterback switch due to Anthony Richardson’s injury. The Steelers never blitzed or disguised their coverages, and instead let the Colts dissect their vanilla Cover 3 scheme. Pittsburgh needs to go deeper into its bag of tricks against clever offensive coordinators, something they have struggled to do. For the predictability, that falls on Austin.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith called a brutal game that put his team in tough spots. The Steelers ran on second-and-long five times throughout the game, and Smith’s insistence on running the football in bad situations hurt the team significantly. Pittsburgh’s run game continues to run in the mud, and their play-action game has shown no life down the field through four weeks of the season. All of that falls on him, and Pittsburgh’s struggles are, to a large point, on him.

Winner: DeShon Elliott

Elliott played well in this game, and the Steelers have themselves a legitimately solid safety. In a game where many players, including Joey Porter Jr. and Minkah Fitzpatrick, uncharacteristically struggled, Elliott was like a shining diamond in the sea. He continues to make the Steelers’ investment in him look smarter by the day.

Loser: Najee Harris

Harris averaged less than two yards per carry, posting 19 yards on 13 rush attempts. He did have a big play on the screen, but it did not make up the day. Harris is not a great schematic fit and Smith has done little to nothing to tweak it to him, even when the Steelers showed they could be a deadly pulling team last year.

However, Harris continues to show that his lack of burst, especially getting downhill with zone runs, is a huge issue for the Steelers. The icing on the cake was Harris not going out of bounds on the final drive, forcing the Steelers to rush their final play. He is a loser in this one, and is off to a disappointing start.

Winner: Cordarrelle Patterson

Patterson is efficient and fits this offense like a glove. Before his unfortunate ankle injury, the Steelers were working extremely well with Patterson taking much of the work from Harris, and his explosive, hit-it-quick style is just what the Steelers need. If he can get healthy, Patterson should take up even more time.

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Indianapolis, IN

Pirates farm report for April 18, 2026: Rafael Flores Jr. hits 1st homer in Indianapolis win

Published

10 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Pirates farm report for April 18, 2026: Rafael Flores Jr. hits 1st homer in Indianapolis win

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple A, 6-14) thumped Omaha (Royals), 11-3. 1B Rafael Flores Jr. (.206) went 2 for 3 with a double, his first home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. LF Tyler Callihan (.239) went 3 for 4 with a double and his first homer, a two-run shot. DH Enmanuel Valdez (.273) went 2 for 4 with his first homer and three runs scored. RF Esmerlyn Valdez (.258) went 2 for 5 with two doubles and a run scored. SS Davis Wendzel (.269) went 1 for 3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and two RBIs. RHP Carson Fulmer (2-0, 5.51) started, gave up three runs on three hits in five innings and earned the win. RHP Chris Devenski (1.50) and LHP Joe La Sorsa (3.24) each pitched two scoreless innings.

Next: Sunday at Omaha (Royals), 3:05 p.m.

ALTOONA (Double-A, 2-12) had two hits – both solo home runs – and beat Portland (Red Sox), 2-0. LHP Dominic Perachi (1-0, 1.80) started and went six innings, allowing three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. RHP Landon Tomkins (3.38) followed with two scoreless. RHP Jaycob Deese (3.00) worked the ninth for his first save. LF Titus Dumitru (.146) went 1 for 3 with his second homer. C Shawn Ross (.182) went 1 for 3 with his second homer.

Next: Sunday vs. Portland (Red Sox), 1 p.m.

GREENSBORO (High-A, 10-4) lost 8-3 to Brooklyn (Mets). C Easton Carmichael (.273) went 2 for 4 with an RBI. RF Shalin Polanco (.250) went 1 for 3 with a stolen base and an RBI. 1B Jared Jones (.277) went 2 for 5 with a run scored. RHP Carlson Reed (0-1, 7.36) started, recorded one out and gave up four runs on two hits and four walks. RHP Jose Garces (3.60) pitched two scoreless innings.

Next: Sunday at Brooklyn (Mets), 2 p.m.

BRADENTON (Low-A, 5-9) allowed seven stolen bases in its 6-5 loss to Tampa (Yankees). CF Edward Florentino, starting a rehab assignment as he recovers from an ankle injury, went 1 for 3 with a walk, double and run scored. LHP Reinold Navarro (6.43) started and gave up three hits, four walks and two earned runs over three innings while striking out five. SS/1B Eddie Rynders (.128) went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. DH Edgleen Perez (.238) went 1 for 4 and drove in two runs. LF/CF Josh Tate (.208) went 2 for 5 with an RBI. 2B/SS Antonio Pimentel (.154) went 2 for 4 with a double. RHP Greiber Mendez (5.40) and RHP Noah Murdock (0-1, 9.00), who took the loss, each gave up two hits and one run in one inning. RHP Treyson Peters pitched the final three innings, allowing five hits, one earned run and one walk while striking out two.

Next: Sunday at Tampa (Yankees), noon

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Indianapolis, IN

The Zone Extra | April 18, 2026

Published

22 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It was another busy week in high school sports in central Indiana and ‘The Zone Extra’ has it all covered.

Athlete of the week and Guerin Catholic senior outfielder Ian Taylor is off to a scorching hot start to the young season. Check out his interview as well as Guerin Catholic head coach Dave Schrage talk about Taylor’s success.

The Johnson County baseball tournament came to a close. See highlights from Center Grove’s tournament victory.

The 4A baseball coaches poll was released as well as the 3A softball coaches poll.

The former Columbus North gymnastics coach, John Hinds, passed away at 88 years old.

Center Grove head softball coach Alyssa Coleman joins the show for a coaches corner conversation.

See highlights from the Colts Local Pro Day, featuring several former Hoosiers and Purdue’s Devin Mockobee.

Girls lacrosse is in the first season as an IHSAA emerging sport.

All of that, and more, can be found in the full The Zone Extra show above.

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Indianapolis, IN

Tornado watches issued for counties north and west of Indianapolis

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Tornado watches issued for counties north and west of Indianapolis

(WISH) — A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday for counties northwest and west of Indianapolis, and into Illinois.

Indiana counties in the watch area are Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, La Porte, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Parke, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Starke, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren and White. The watch area includes the cities of Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Lafayette, Lebanon, South Bend, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued two watches in Indiana. The other one until midnight EDT Friday includes the Indiana counties of Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter. That includes the city of Gary. That watch also extends into Illinois.

Storms on Friday night in central Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota led to dozens of confirmed tornado warnings. The storms in central Illinois has gusts up to 80 mph, and tornadoes embedded in heavy rain.

An alert issued after 10:30 p.m. Friday from the National Weather Service at Indianapolis said, “A line of strong thunderstorms is nearing the state line with a history of widespread damaging winds and tornadoes. The line is expected to continue to produce damaging winds as it moves into Indiana with the potential for additional tornadoes. The line is then expected to gradually weaken as it moves further into the state.”

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