Steelers vs Colts: Breakdown, matchups and prediction

It’s week 13, and the Steelers are hoping to rebound from a disappointing road trip to Seattle.

Oct 26, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of their game at Heinz Field. The Steelers won the game, 51-34. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers host an Indianapolis Colts team Sunday night that will be without Andrew Luck who is still recuperating from a lacerated kidney and partially torn abdominal muscle.  Matt Hasselbeck has filled in admirably for Luck, winning all four games that he has started and posting a  94.4 passer rating.  Both teams have 6-5 records and desperately need a win to stay in good position for a post season spot.

Breakdown

Pittsburgh enters week 13 with the 13th ranked offense and an average of 398.8 yards per game.  Even with Ben Roethlisberger sidelined several games this year, they have averaged 278.9 yards of passing per game and boast the #6 ranked passing offense in the league.  On the ground the Steelers average 119.9 yards a games and have the 8th ranked rush offense.

Defensively, the Steelers rank 23rd overall and have struggled throughout the season with continuity and consistency.  On the ground Pittsburgh has been tough, especially on the perimeter.  They have only allowed opposing teams an average of 93.6 rush yards per game.

Their pass defense has been a completely different story, allowing 283.6 yards through the air.  The 30th ranked defensive secondary has shown signs of life at various points throughout the season but those flashes have been few and far between.  Pittsburgh will have to shuffle some players around if they want to shore up their porous pass defense.

The Colts have been dealing with some of the same problems offensively that the Steelers have faced.   They have been without their franchise quarterback for several games and he wasn’t 100% during some of the games he did play.  The Indianapolis offense is ranked 22nd in the league.

Hasselbeck has kept the team in the running and maintained an air attack that is ranked 14th overall with 253.0 yards per game.  On the ground the Colts have struggled. They average 92 yards a game and their rush offense has fallen to 26th in the NFL.

The Colts rank 26th overall defensively, having some of the same consistency problems that Pittsburgh faces.  They give up an average of 272.8 passing yards a game which makes them the #27 ranked pass defense.  Their run defense also ranks towards the bottom of the league at #24, giving up 115.1 yards a game.

The team’s defense has stepped up in the past couple of games . Although they rank in the bottom third of the NFL on most defensive categories, the Colts’ defense has recently started  to create turnovers and have preventing teams from scoring a lot of points.

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