The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of four NFL teams to have started 3-0 (the Bills can make it five on Monday night), but their latest win against the Los Angeles Chargers came at a cost. The Steelers suffered a litany of injuries on Sunday, and could be missing some starters when they take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4.

Pass rusher Alex Highsmith left the game after re-injuring his groin, which has been bothering him since training camp. Both of their running backs, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, are also dealing with injuries after the win, according to Nick Farabaugh of PennLive.com.

“Najee Harris had a sling on his right arm in the Steelers locker room today. Jaylen Warren is getting an MRI on his knee,” Farabaugh reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The top two RBs for Pittsburgh are banged up.”

Harris got a lot of work in Sunday’s win, rushing 18 times for 70 yards. On the other hand, Warren was pulled from the game in the second half due to his knee injury, and carried the ball just three times for five yards.

If the two of them are forced to miss time, journeyman Cordarrelle Patterson would presumably assume a large part of the running back duties. Patterson rushed four times for 33 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards on Sunday.

Steelers off to 3-0 start on the back of their defense

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) and linebacker T.J. Watt (90) sack Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Taylor Heinicke (8) during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh won 20-10.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Steelers are one of the few teams that are off to a 3-0 start in 2024, and they’re doing it with an elite defense that has been one of the top units in football this season. Through three games, the Steelers’ EPA/play on defense is -0.252, the best mark in the NFL.

Opponents are generating a successful play just 37.7% of the time against Pittsburgh so far this season, and the Steelers haven’t been matched up with a cupcake slate of quarterbacks. They shut down Kirk Cousins and the Falcons in Week 1, the Broncos offense in Week 2 and the Chargers in Week 3.

There will be tougher slates of opponents, but the Falcons offense has shown signs of life, the Broncos looked good in Week 3 and the Chargers have been running the you-know-what out of the football. By comparison, the Seahawks are second in EPA/play and they have played against Bo Nix, Jacoby Brissett and Skylar Thompson/Tim Boyle.

The loss of Alex Highsmith will hurt this unit if he is forced to miss any time, but the Steelers will have a chance to make more plays in Week 4 against the Colts. Indianapolis has been running the ball really well, but Anthony Richardson has been very wild to start the season and is putting the ball in harm’s way a lot (six interceptions in three games). Look for the Steelers to take advantage and have another big week on defense.