NFL preview capsule: Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
Trending
Records: Indianapolis (7-1) at Pittsburgh (4-3)
Kickoff: Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
BetMGM line: Colts by 3
Against the spread: Colts 6-2; Steelers 3-4
Series record: Steelers lead 33-11
Last meeting: Colts beat Steelers 27-24 on Sept. 29, 2024
Last week: Colts beat Titans 38-14; Steelers lost to Packers 35-25
Colts offense: overall (1), rush (6), pass (6), scoring (1)
Colts defense: overall (24), rush (8), pass (29), scoring (6)
Steelers offense: overall (25), rush (25), pass (19), scoring (11)
Steelers defense: overall (30), rush (18), pass (32), scoring (22)
Turnover differential: Colts plus-8. Steelers plus-4
Colts player to watch: RB Jonathan Taylor. Taylor leads the NFL in yards rushing (850), TD runs (12) and total TDs (14) all while averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He's hitting game-changing plays seemingly every week. Plus, he needs two TD runs to surpass Hall of Famers, Lenny Moore (63) and Edgerrin James (64) as the franchise's career leader. It could happen Sunday.
Steelers player to watch: LB T.J. Watt. Pittsburgh's defense tends to go the way its perennial All-Pro edge rusher goes. Watt has 3.5 of his 4 sacks in Pittsburgh victories. He has rarely gotten near the quarterback in each of the past two weeks, registering zero sacks and just two quarterback hits against Joe Flacco and Jordan Love. When Watt creates chaos, Pittsburgh's defense can be dangerous. When he doesn't, the Steelers look very, very ordinary.
Key matchup: Colts TE Tyler Warren against Pittsburgh LBs Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen. Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen has used his rookie tight end in multiple ways, sometimes lining him up in the backfield, sometimes splitting him out wide and even putting Warren behind center on occasion. Wilson, Queen or members of the Steelers' secondary were no match for Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft last week, letting him set career highs in receptions and yards. Warren's versatility makes him an even more difficult matchup for a defense that is reeling.
Key injuries: Colts: They played without DEs Samson Ebukam (knee) and Tyquan Lewis (groin) last week, and it's unclear if either will be ready to go this week and WR/KR Anthony Gould left last week's game with a knee injury. None of the three practiced Wednesday. Also sitting out were S Nick Cross (shoulder), WR Josh Downs (hip), CB Kenny Moore II (Achilles tendon) and DT Grover Stewart (foot). It's also unclear whether CB Jaylon Jones (hamstring) will be ready to go this week after opening his 21-day window to return from injured reserve last week. Steelers: S DeShon Elliott (knee) is out. Veteran LG Isaac Seumalo (pec) could play after leaving last week's game against Green Bay. WR Scotty Miller (finger) is likely to sit out a second straight week after undergoing surgery. Reserve DL Daniel Ekuale's season is over after tearing the ACL in his knee last Sunday night.
Series notes: The Colts and Steelers are meeting for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in six years … Indy has won two straight since snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series. Pittsburgh is 17-5 against the Colts since the franchise moved to Indy in 1984, a mark that includes playoff matchups following the 1995 and 1996 seasons. … The Steelers have won all five postseason games between these franchises that were among the AFC's elite teams during the first decade of the 21st Century. … Indy and Pittsburgh were two of the three teams that switched from the NFL to the AFC as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Stats and stuff: Indy enters Week 9 with a four-game winning streak and a league-high seven victories. Pittsburgh remains atop the underwhelming AFC North despite two straight losses, but is in the middle of a stretch in which five of its six opponents are .500 or better. … The Colts lead the league with a plus-118 point differential and have a league-best four wins by 20 or more points. … Indy averages 3.46 points per drive, the second-highest eight-game total since at least 1978. The 2007 New England Patriots averaged 3.57. … Taylor has 529 yards from scrimmage and 10 total TDs over the past four weeks. He's also scored three TDs in three of the four games. … QB Daniel Jones has thrown 13 touchdown passes, three interceptions and has a rating of 109.5 He needs two more wins to match a single-season career high (nine). … Jones was sacked a season-high three times last week but Indy has allowed just nine this season, tied for the second fewest in the league. … WR Michael Pittman Jr. has caught at least five passes and one TD in five of his past six games. He's also tied his single-season career best with six touchdown catches this season. The Colts have not had a receiver reach the 100-yard mark yet this season. … Tyler Warren needs nine receptions to pass Ken Dilger (42) and Dwayne Allen (45) to break Indy's rookie receptions record for tight ends. … Indy's defense leads the league with four red zone takeaways and has allowed the fewest points (three) following giveaways. … The Colts also are tied for second with 11 interceptions. … Rigoberto Sanchez leads the NFL with an average of 47.5 yards on a league-low 16 punts. … Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers' 16 touchdown passes are tied for third most in the NFL and are the most ever by a Pittsburgh quarterback through the first seven games of a season. … Rodgers enters Sunday with 5,511 completions, 40 behind former Falcons QB Matt Ryan for fifth most in NFL history.