PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers rookie outside linebacker Jack Sawyer recorded his first career turnover in Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts .
Late in the third quarter, linebacker Payton Wilson deflected Daniel Jones ' pass and the ball landed in the Ohio State alum's hands.
Seven plays later, Jaylen Warren rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 24-7 lead with 14:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Sawyer's interception was the fourth forced turnover by the Steelers on the afternoon. In total, the Steelers have scored 21 points off the turnovers.
The defense allowed 68 points and 858 yards in their last two games. They also did not force a turnover since the Week 4 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland.
The defense was trending in the wrong direction, on track to be the worst in franchise history , but they have bounced back in a major way on Sunday against the league's No. 1 offense.
Sawyer had six tackles (4 solo), two tackles for loss and one sack against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. He also recorded his first sack in that game.
Sawyer's strong performance early in the season caught the attention of head coach Mike Tomlin.
"I thought it was a significant improvement in the quality of his play on defense and in [special] teams," Tomlin said during his weekly press conference following the Seattle game. "But I think that's a reasonable expectation for a lot of young people. He had been in stadium. I thought he played with more emotion, I thought he was more vocal, I thought he was more productive, probably because of the comfort.
"I'm excited about the extended opportunities that he's gonna continue to get, particularly with [Alex] Highsmith being out now. Oftentimes, one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity. He's gotten some opportunity because of [Nick] Hebig's lack of availability and now that Herbig's back, he'll continue to get some more opportunities because of Highsmith's lack of availability."
Sawyer backed up his head coach's comments with his first career takeaway on Sunday. Sawyer has certainly progressed well in his rookie campaign.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Rookie Edge Rusher Records First Career Turnover
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