Steelers - 27, Colts - 20
Q. Alex, how do you explain the defense being so dominant? You've had your struggles. Sacks, takeaways, shutting down a high-powered team. Simple explanation?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: First and foremost, glory to God for the win. I think we just came out and we did what we know we can do this week. We came out and we obviously stopped the run. That's where it starts. And then our culture came alive. We had five turnovers, I think.
Q. Six.
ALEX HIGHSMITH: Six. When we do that, man, we're an amazing defense. We got to put more performances like that together. I'm confident we'll continue to stack this and play like this every week from here on out. We've got to continue to play like that.
Q. One thing you did really well was take Jones' eyes away and bat the ball a few times. You're often very good at that. Sort of waned these last couple weeks when you were getting beat with the quick pass. Emphasis on that this week?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: Absolutely. We knew if we stopped their run in second and long, they would try to get back on schedule with rhythm passing, quick game. I think we did a good job getting the hands up. One of them led to a pick.
I think we did a good job of just recognizing when they were in those quick game formations and then, you know, executing, getting tipped balls, you know, relating to guys in those zones. So I think we executed that plan.
Q. Alex, how much does it fire you guys up when you're getting so many contributions, so many plays from guys across the board?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: It's awesome. We know that whenever we are creating turnovers, our culture comes alive. Everybody feeds off that. I think these last couple weeks, we hadn't got any turnovers. We weren't really feeding off of each other.
We know to be a great defense, you've got to be a defense that plays to energy, plays with passion. We did that today. Obviously, they still had 20 points on the board, which is something we can't let happen. We've got to get back in the film and see what happened towards the end of the game.
Like I said, I'm proud of these guys and proud of the way we just responded because the past couple weeks, it had been not our standard. So the way we responded today I think shows how resilient we are as a unit.
Q. To that point, T.J.'s play started it. When that happens as a defense, is that you guys talking? Does it bring confidence?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: Absolutely. I think we always say they come in bunches. Usually I feel like if we have a turnover in the game, we have multiple. His started it off, and we kept feeding off of that. Kept feeding on the energy. We've got to continue to do that week in, week out.
Q. What went into stopping Jonathan Taylor? He came into the game on pace to put up historic numbers this week. What went into stopping him?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: I think we had a good plan going into it. At the end of the day, the plan doesn't work until we go out and execute it. Unless we're going out being physical, making blocks and making plays. We did that. We got out, made blocks and made tackles. That's where it started.
Q. How much was a priority of stopping him?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: Absolutely. We know when their offense is rolling, watching film, we knew if they get started with the run game, they're a dangerous offense. They are a really good offense, but we had to make sure that he wasn't running that ball today.
Q. Were you surprised that they threw so many times on the first two possessions?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: No. I think early in the game, they were trying to take shots to try and start the game off well. I think we did a good job coming out. We've got to finish better, like I said. 7 points at the end of the first half, they shouldn't have had 20. We've got to finish better.
Q. How much of an added spark did it provide to have the '05 Super Bowl team here and the celebrations?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: It was awesome. Those are legends in the black and gold. You see guys like that, see guys in the Steeler fraternity, it adds emphasis to the game. So seeing all those guys yesterday at the walk-through and stuff was cool. So added some extra juice to our performance.
Q. It's been a frustrating year with the injury. That play, that strip sack you had, what does it do for you?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: It brings a lot of confidence. I continue to still believe in who I am as player, who I am as a rusher. Just knowing that my identity is in the Lord and him alone. So I'm just continuing to know who I am week in, week out, and continue to do what I can to help the team win.
I retweaked it in the first quarter, but I wanted to get back out there and fight. I was feeling it for the rest of the game. I wanted to get out and just be able make a spark, make plays for my team.
Q. Do you think you'll be all right?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: I'm going to be good. Like I said, we'll see what happens this week. I'll definitely be good.
Q. When Payton is playing with that type of confidence, what does it do for the defense?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: He's a heck of a player. He's getting better week in and week out. For him to make the plays that he did today and also being our special teams captain, it shows how he's grown as a player and as a leader. He's a special player for us.
Q. How would you describe the resilience of this defense?
ALEX HIGHSMITH: Just not listening to the noise, just staying locked in, knowing that we have the players on our defense to be able to be one of the best in the league and so we just got to play like it week in, week out and create turnovers just like we did. So we've just got to continue to build on what we did today.
Thanks, guys.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports