PITTSBURGH — The franchise quarterback hasn’t taken a snap since the middle of Week 2 and has essentially become the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL. The guy tasked with taking over left his third career start after getting knocked unconscious. The running game is a bit of a mess. The wide receivers have struggled to find any sort of identity or consistency.

And yet the Pittsburgh Steelers reached the midpoint of a chaotic season very much alive following a 26-24 victory over Indianapolis on Sunday. Their third straight win pushed them to 4-4.

“We will work forever trying to get that September stench off of us,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “But that is life in this thing, and I appreciate the effort and fight.”

Pittsburgh’s resurgence has been led by a defense that’s regained its swagger behind the kind of “splash” plays it missed so desperately in 2018. The Steelers managed just 15 takeaways last season, next-to-last in the NFL. They’ve already produced 22 in 2018, including safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 96-yard pick six in the second quarter against the Colts, his fourth interception since arriving in a trade with Miami in mid-September.

Pittsburgh raised eyebrows when it sent a 2020 first-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for Fitzpatrick, a move made just hours after a right elbow injury ended Ben Roethilsberger’s season. The message was clear: The Steelers had no intention of bailing on 2019 with Mason Rudolph taking over. Tomlin stressed the team’s standards wouldn’t change regardless of the personnel and while the offense remains a work in progress, Pittsburgh has found a way to survive.

“We’re just in the conversation,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said. “Ain’t nothing written in stone.”

Maybe, but Pittsburgh’s remaining schedule is decidedly user-friendly. Only two of the Steelers’ remaining opponents currently have a winning record. Then again, the margin for error is slim. Five of Pittsburgh’s eight games have been decided by a touchdown or less, and if Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri hadn’t snap-hooked his go-ahead 43-yard attempt in the final minute on Sunday, the Steelers could be two games under .500 and fading.

But Vinatieri missed. And the Steelers survived.

“Four-and-four is a good spot to be at,” Fitzpatrick said. “Could be better. It’s not where we want to be at, but it’s all we could be right now. It’s a good spot for us.”