The Colts are showing all the traits of being a contender. Another challenge awaits in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Shane Steichen believes championship-level teams share a common DNA.

What the Indianapolis Colts coach believes constitutes that specific type of DNA is hardly new.

Creating takeaways on defense, having a balanced offense that can score in a variety of ways and a coaching staff able to make the adjustments necessary in real time have been a part of the game practically from the moment it was invented.

What is new is that Steichen’s team has spent the first half of the season consistently showing it might have that DNA in abundance.

Only Chicago and Jacksonville have forced more turnovers than the dozen the white-hot Colts (7-1) have through the season’s first eight weeks heading into Sunday’s game at suddenly reeling Pittsburgh (4-3).

And no offense has produced more yards or more points than the group guided by Steichen and coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, who credit a sense of collaboration among the staff for setting Indianapolis on a trajectory few outside the building saw coming.

It’s been a fun and frenetic two months. Yet the Colts, who haven’t made the playoffs in five years, are hardly getting ahead of themselves.

“Don’t get complacent with anything because we know, like I’ve said before, it’s a week-to-week league and we got to come ready,” Steichen said. “I mean we’re going to play a hell of a football team on the road in a hostile environment so we’ve got to be ready to roll.”

Technically Steichen is right, Acrisure Stadium can be a hostile place. Of late that hostility has been directed at the home team, which has dropped two straight and looked like the first-place group it is in name only.

The NFL’s highest-paid defense is dead last in the league against the pass and 30th overall. It hasn’t produced a takeaway in a month and last week let Green Bay’s Jordan Love complete 20 straight passes on his way to a near flawless performance in a 35-25 loss that didn’t feel as close as the final score would indicate.

Still, Mike Tomlin is hardly panicking. He’s weathered plenty of storms in his 18-plus seasons in Pittsburgh, all of which ended with his team .500 or better and in the postseason more often than not.

Are there things the Steelers need to correct, and quickly, considering a daunting November schedule includes four games against teams with winning records, three of which are in playoff position? Yes. The details of how that happens are immaterial to Tomlin.

“The fix happens in stadium,” Tomlin said. “And the rest of it is just talk.”

Taylor’s trends

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is the hottest player on the league’s hottest offense.

He scored three more touchdowns last week — the third time he’s done that in four games and the fourth time he’s done it this season — needing just 12 carries to produce 153 yards rushing. Taylor leads the NFL with 850 yards rushing, 12 TD runs and 14 total touchdowns, and he’s shown no indication of slowing down.

“His vision has been off the charts,” Steichen said. “But the physicality, the way he’s running through these arm tackles and spinning 360 (degrees) off these guys and getting the extra yards and toe tapping on the sidelines. I mean, it’s hard to really explain because it’s so impressive to watch.”

E for effort?

Longtime Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward raised eyebrows inside and outside the locker room when he questioned his team’s fight in the second half against Green Bay, when the Packers scored on five straight possessions to win going away.

The 35-year-old didn’t back down in the aftermath, putting the onus on the group to stick together during a difficult stretch.

“I challenge everybody, I challenge myself first and foremost, that’s always the way I’ve been raised,” Heyward said. “You can’t look at anybody else, you’ve got to look at yourself. And the way to get this bad taste out of our mouth is just play better football.”

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers brushed aside the notion that the Steelers need to “rally the troops.” They’ve played good football. Just not lately.

“I don’t know if we need to (rally the troops),” the league’s oldest active player said. “I think you got to stay the course.”

Homecoming week

Colts rookie tight end Tyler Warren became a breakout star when he helped lead Penn State to the college football semifinals.

A little over 10 months later, Warren returns to Pennsylvania looking every bit the dynamic playmaker he was for the Nittany Lions. Warren is on pace to smash the club rookie records for catches and receiving yards by a tight end and will be facing a Steelers defense that will be without injured safety DeShon Elliott, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

“They do all kind of things with (Warren) because he’s really versatile and he’s a really good player,” Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “So it’s going be a big challenge. Obviously, losing DeShon will make it harder. But that’s the NFL.”

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AP Sports Writer Mike Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

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