Colts vs. Steelers: Full Indianapolis Game Preview

Indianapolis has been on a fantastic run of form. Overcoming big deficits and injures, the Colts have done everything they can to win and keep their playoff hopes alive this season.

But the thing Indianapolis hasn’t faced in its recent run of three straight wins has been a top-tier quarterback playing at his best. Peyton Manning was showing signs of age and injury, Matt Ryan has not been the same player this year and Jameis Winston is still incredibly green, but none of those things can be said of Ben Roethlisberger.

Despite missing a big chunk of the season with a serious injury of his own, Roethlisberger has had a fantastic year, having thrown for 389.7 yards per game in his last three outings, and is set for another big game against a brutal Colts secondary.

But the Colts' veteran starter, Matt Hasselbeck, has shown this season that age hasn’t impacted him in the slightest, coming off a 315-yard game of his own. Like the Colts passing defense, the Steelers have been unable to stop anybody through the air this year, setting up a shootout on Sunday night.

So who will come out on top, and who holds the advantage between the Steelers and the Colts? Let’s take a look at Sunday’s matchup.

Viewing Info

Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Date: Sunday, Dec. 6

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Week 12 Results and Recap

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Indianapolis’ Week 12 can be boiled down to two words: Matt Hasselbeck.

The unlikeliest of stories this season, Hasselbeck continued his undefeated run as the Colts starter this season in relief of Andrew Luck, doing so in spectacular fashion against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Going 26-for-42 for 315 yards and two touchdowns, Hasselbeck more than made up for the Colts' lack of a running game and had his biggest statistical performance since 2011, when he was the starting QB for the Tennessee Titans.

After struggling all year, both the Colts' pass rush and offensive line bounced back in big ways against the Buccaneers as well, and Indianapolis managed to barely stay on top of the tightly contested AFC South.

Across the division, the Jaguars lost a close game to the San Diego Chargers and are now two games in back of the Colts, but the Houston Texans won their fourth straight game—destroying the New Orleans Saints, 24-6—to stay in a dead heat with Indianapolis at 6-5.

AFC South Standings

1. Indianapolis Colts (6-5)

2. Houston Texans (6-5)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)

4. Tennessee Titans (2-9)

News and Notes

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Running back problems for Indianapolis

Let’s start with the obvious one.

After making his return a few weeks ago and quickly becoming a key part of the Colts passing game, Ahmad Bradshaw finds himself back on season-ending injured reserve, leaving the Indianapolis running back rotation in a state of disarray.

The Colts have been rotating heavily all season, trying to keep starter Frank Gore healthy for a possible playoff run. It hasn’t been paid off, as according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, head coach Chuck Pagano said he has been “beat to crap.” Now things are even worse.

Even if Gore is 100 percent for the rest of the season, and it doesn’t sound like he is, the loss of Bradshaw will put a serious dent in the Colts offensive game plan. His pass-catching ability provided a short passing game that Indianapolis has needed to protect a weak offensive line, and without him in the backfield, there isn’t a running back on the roster who provides that same type of skill set.

Can the Colts' pass-rush success continue?

The Colts pass rush has been tough to watch at times this season. While most of the attention has been directed at the struggling secondary, the lack of pressure on the quarterback carries an equal amount of blame for the struggling pass defense.

After another terrible half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Jameis Winston picking his targets with ease, something completely unexpected happened: The Colts started to get pressure on the quarterback.

Led by Erik Whalden, the Colts recorded five sacks on the day—more than 25 percent of their season total—and prevented the Tampa Bay offense from finding a footing in the second half, leading to a comfortable win for Indianapolis.

The Colts need for the pass rush to keep up with what it did in the second half against Tampa Bay against Pittsburgh, because if Ben Roethlisberger is given too much time in the pocket, he could be deadly.

Latest Injury News

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

QB Andrew Luck, Did Not Practice

After missing the last two games with an injury, Andrew Luck is throwing the ball this week for the Indianapolis Colts, which is a good sign.

It still seems like it will be another couple of weeks before the quarterback is able to play, but that might not be a bad thing with the way Matt Hasselbeck has been performing lately.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw, IR

Ahmad Bradshaw has had tough luck with injuries in his career in the NFL. After missing the end of last season with a serious knock, the veteran running back made his return for the Colts in midseason and was a big part of the passing game in the past two weeks.

But late in the game against Tampa Bay, Bradshaw picked up a wrist injury that now has him back on injured reserve and done for the third consecutive season. Losing the veteran back is a big blow for a Colts running game that has been struggling of late and needs to improve to help create offensive balance.

S Mike Adams, Did Not Practice

Another week, another tough matchup for the Colts, who are still without top defensive back Mike Adams. Although he sat out Wednesday's practice with an ankle injury, Pagano is hopeful the safety can return to practice by Thursday and play for the first time since before the bye week.

All injury reports via Kevin Bowen of Colts.com

Key Matchups

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Steelers secondary vs. Colts receivers

Last week was a perfect example of what the Colts had envisioned before the season for their passing attack, even if it was Hasselbeck under center instead of Luck. Both T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief had huge games, with the tight ends and even Andre Johnson getting at least marginally involved.

With the Colts receivers hitting their stride, they get a relatively easy matchup against a Steelers secondary that is ranked No. 30 in the league in passing yards allowed per game. Last week, Russell Wilson threw for five touchdowns against Pittsburgh, setting the stage for what could be a big day for Indianapolis through the air.

Steelers front seven vs. Colts running backs

But while the Colts hold a distinct advantage with their passing attack going up against the Steelers secondary, the opposite can be said of the ground game. Pittsburgh comes into the matchup ranked No. 7 in the league in rushing yards allowed per game, and the Colts have a slew of issues at running back.

Bradshaw is done for the season, again, after establishing himself as a threat at running back, while Frank Gore has been struggling mightily during the past few games, with his 1.3 yards per carry against Tampa Bay last week his lowest since 2013.

Indianapolis hasn’t had much of a run game since its bye week, and against the Steelers those numbers might drop even more.

Matchup X-Factor

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

CB Vontae Davis

The Indianapolis Colts are on a three-game winning streak, so pointing out the poor play of one of their players doesn’t seem like the pertinent thing to do. Still, the struggles of Greg Toler have been impacting the team since he returned from injury earlier this season.

Against the Steelers, Toler is going face another tough matchup, having to cover either Martavis Bryant or Markus Wheaton, and if he continues to play like he has in recent weeks, a win could be out of reach for Indianapolis.

But he has it easy compared to Vontae Davis.

Always paired up with the opposing team’s top receiver, Davis has had poor games this year against the likes of DeAndre Hopkins and Julio Jones and faces yet another impossible task in the form of Antonio Brown.

Ranked second in the league in receiving yards this season, Brown has quickly become one of the top receivers in the NFL over the last two years and could be too much for Davis to handle on Sunday.

If Davis is up to the task, as he has proved in the past he can be on his best day, the Colts will be set up for a fourth straight win. If not, it could be a long day for Indianapolis and its porous secondary.

Prediction: Colts 35, Pittsburgh 31

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

With the Houston Texans immeasurably hot right now and on a roll of their own, the Colts have needed each and every win over the past three weeks to stay on top of the division, and now they will be hoping to continue their streak against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In a matchup with two great passing offenses and two struggling secondaries, there are bound to be a lot of points scored in this one. But while most people would take Ben Roethlisberger to win a high-scoring matchup against Matt Hasselbeck, the nature of the game should tilt quite favorably toward the Colts.

As its running game has continued to struggle at times this season, Indianapolis has found success running its late-game passing offense from behind or just ignoring the run altogether, as it did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Colts have proved time and time again this season that the team is at its best when the coaching staff releases the reins and lets the passing attack take over, and with a matchup favoring that style of play Indianapolis should be able to keep its run of wins alive.

Pittsburgh should be able to keep it close, and if the Steelers can force the Colts to run the ball things will drastically change, but as long as Indianapolis has the chance to air the ball out, Hasselbeck should remain undefeated this season.

Prediction: Colts 35, Pittsburgh 31