The Pittsburgh Steelers host their second of three consecutive home games this week. Here is how The Action Network has them faring against the Colts.
After a troublesome start against the Dolphins on Monday Night Football, the Steelers eventually rallied to score 27 unanswered points and win on their home turf. Favored by 14 points prior to the start of the game, Pittsburgh was expected to win against Miami. In fact, 98 percent of experts had the Steelers taking care of business at home.
However, the heat is getting cranked up this week. Pittsburgh looked sluggish coming out of the bye week as they allowed the 0-6 Dolphins to march down for two quick scores and a 14-0 lead. This week, the Steelers face a much greater challenge against the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts.
With the Steeles playing well as of late, this contest is perhaps too close to call. Opening NFL lines would agree. In fact, the Colts vs. Steelers game opened as a ‘pick’em’ this week, courtesy of The Action Network.
The Steelers lost their first three games of the season, but have since gone 3-2 – their only losses coming against the 49ers and Ravens during that span. Meanwhile, the Colts have 5 wins on the season. To the surprise of many, they are currently tied for second in the AFC without Andrew Luck this year.
While it may seem like the Colts should be favored in this contest over Pittsburgh, Indianapolis has had one of the easiest schedules to start the season. Three of their five wins have come against the Titans (4-4), Falcons (1-7), and Broncos (2-6). They were, however, able to win two games against solid opponents in the Chiefs (5-3) and Texans (5-3), but also lost games against the Chargers (3-5) and Raiders (3-4).
It’s hard to get a good feel for just how good the Colts actually are this season, and Vegas would agree. It’s still hard to tell which type of quarterback Mason Rudolph is going to be for the Steelers. He looked terrible in the first quarter against the Dolphins, but he also possesses unmatched confidence and a short memory. Later in the game, he was slinging the ball down the field and allowing his receivers to make plays.
The Steelers and the Colts are similar football teams in a lot of ways. Pittsburgh currently has the 19th best scoring offense and 13th scoring defense, while Indianapolis has the 16th scoring offense and the 14th scoring defense, according to Team Rankings. Likewise, both squads had to look to their backups quarterbacks to lead them this year.
As a ‘pick’em’ this week, this game will be an interesting contest that may come down to the wire. This will be a true test for Pittsburgh. If they can beat the Colts, they could continue to climb the rankings in the AFC.