Entering their Week 9 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts were the favorites in every scenario possible. But heartbreaks are an inevitable part of this sport. On Sunday, the visitors lost their first AFC matchup 27-20. However, their second loss of the season hasn’t budged the atmosphere in the locker room, and their running back, Jonathan Taylor, has confirmed it.

“Just left the Colts’ locker room. There was a strange sense of … calm. They know they’re good and are keeping perspective,” ESPN’s Colts reporter Stephen Holder tweeted his reaction to seeing the team after their road loss. But it wasn’t just him saying that. Even the Colts’ No. 28 RB believes the same way.

“It doesn’t feel good in the moment, but in the NFL sometimes these things happen. The great teams find a way to… overcome this,” Taylor said after the game.

It is an interesting perspective to have despite the defeat for several reasons. Entering this game, all factors hinted at why the Colts must have won the matchup:

• The Steelers had been inconsistent against the run game entering this week. Adding to their problems was Jonathan Taylor. In their previous win over the Tennessee Titans, the RB became the first player in the NFL to have three TDs in three consecutive games and is the league’s leading rusher.
• The hosts were also doing poorly against tight ends and had their work cut out in Week 9. They had to face the NFL’s leading receiver in TE Tyler Warren.
• The Steelers’ secondary entered the game allowing the most passing yards, and they were going against the first-ranked offense in the NFL.
• The Steelers had not forced a turnover since Week 4, and Jones had only 3 TOs entering Sunday.
• Pittsburgh was missing three safeties — DeShon Elliott, Chuck Clark, and Jabrill Peppers, forcing them to start strong safety Kyle Dugger just days after he was acquired.

However, the Steel Curtain woke up at the right time.

Heading into the Week 9 matchup, the Colts had been one of the most careful teams in the league with the football. We’re talking about just four turnovers in their first eight games. On Sunday as well, the team opened with a 7-0 lead and seemed to have the game under control.

But things unraveled fast.

The Indianapolis team repeated what Peyton Manning did in 2007: they had 6 turnovers. The Steelers, on the other hand, scored 24 points off those takeaways.

Their offense piled up 368 total yards, thanks to an efficient passing game by QB Daniel Jones that tallied 313 yards through the air. The rushing game, however, was somewhat average. Overall, the Colts managed only 55 rushing yards on 19 carries. Unsurprisingly, Taylor still led the run game. But he was limited to 45 yards on 14 carries, a 3.2 yard per carry average. He also had no touchdowns.

“It’s obviously hard to win when you turn it over like we did,” head coach Shane Steichen said after the game. “Credit to the Steelers and their defense and what they did, but obviously could have been better for our guys today, losing the football up and down the field.”

The Colts are now 0-2 this season in games where they’ve committed multiple turnovers. Back in Week 4, they also fell 27-20 to the Los Angeles Rams after giving the ball away thrice.

While this loss certainly stings, Jonathan Taylor and Co. remain confident that they will bounce back like they always have. Even Holder agreed to their mentality. And rightfully so! They have eight games as evidence to suggest that this defeat was a one-off instance.

The team is still on track to contend for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. However, they will now head into the Week 10 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin after learning from those six turnovers. For one, Jones certainly will.

Daniel Jones addressed his costly turnovers

The turnover storm for the visitors started when WR Josh Downs committed the first turnover in the first quarter, and the Steelers’ CB Brandin Echols recovered it. But the next five came on Jones, where the Steelers converted three of his TOs into TDs to snap Indy’s four-game winning streak. To his credit, the QB didn’t shy away from owning the mistakes.

“That’s on me,” the quarterback said. “I gotta protect the ball better and make sure we’re giving ourselves a chance. I thought we did some good things at times, but just, you know, turnovers and some of those things, I gotta clean up, make sure we’re not hurting ourselves.”

Jones completed 31-of-50 passes for 342 yards and one touchdown. But in the process, he took five sacks to add to his total of five in the last eight matchups and including three interceptions. Here’s how they all went down:

• Strip-sack / fumble: With the Colts leading 7-0 and driving near midfield in the second quarter, the Steelers’ T.J. Watt strip-sacked Jones and recovered it himself, resulting in the Colts’ first turnover since the second quarter of Week 6. It eventually led to a 12-play, 56-yard touchdown drive for the hosts.
• Interception: Two plays later, linebacker Payton Wilson intercepted and returned it to the Colts’ 14, which also then led to a Steelers’ TD.
• Second-interception: In the third quarter, a pass tipped by Wilson at the line of scrimmage fell into the hands of rookie outside LB Jack Sawyer, resulting in another Jones interception and another quick swing of field position ending in a TD for the Steelers.
• Strip-sack and fumble: Alex Highsmith pressured Jones in the final quarter, stripping the ball on the sack as rookie Derrick Harmon recovered it, turning into another turnover that stalled an Indianapolis drive. Chris Boswell’s field goal then extended the Steelers’ lead to 27-10.
• Third-interception: With the Colts trying to rally late, Joey Porter Jr. picked off Jones with only 2:51 remaining in the regulation, effectively sealing Pittsburgh’s 27–20 win after the Colts went for a 53-yard field goal with only 9 seconds left.

That said, Daniel Jones and the Colts will return home to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. And if there’s one thing you can bet they’ll be focused on, it’s protecting the football.