The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday with both teams missing a key part of their offense.
Steelers Pro Bowl running back James Conner did not practice Friday, and he has been ruled out of Pittsburgh’s Week 9 home matchup against Indianapolis. Likewise, the Colts announced that receiver T.Y. Hilton is out for 3-4 weeks.
Hilton is the Colts’ top receiver, with 360 receiving yards, 32 receptions, and five touchdowns. The torch now passes to Zach Pascal, who has put up 245 yards, 14 receptions, and three touchdowns.
Conner’s absence is smoothed a little bit by the return of Jaylen Samuels, who will lead Pittsburgh’s running game.
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The experts at NFLPickWatch like the favored Colts to cover the one-point spread with 72 percent electing to go with Indianapolis over the home team. 73 percent of experts favor the Colts to win straight-up.
Pittsburgh’s offense, although it still sits at 28th in the league rankings, has shown it can put up points, and that’s due to the offensive line as much as it’s up to the skill players. The Steelers have put up point totals in the 20s in their last two games.
It can be said that the Colts are a tougher challenge than the Dolphins, but the Chargers’ defense (12th) is actually ranked higher than the Colts’ unit (15th) at the moment.
On the defensive side of the ball, Pittsburgh is ranked tenth, and against the (admittedly non-representative) Dolphins, the defense put up four sacks and two interceptions, the latter stat exclusively belonging to Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Pittsburgh’s defense can keep points off the board, and the Colts’ middle-of-the-road offense (18th in the league) wasn’t going to be the biggest challenge the defense faced, even before the loss of Hilton.
Expect to see Indianapolis turn to the ground game more on Sunday, with their rushing attack led by Marlon Mack, who is averaging 4.3 yards per rush attempt. The Colts do have the 11th-ranked rushing attack in the league, but this shouldn’t be a major threat against a capable Pittsburgh defense.
My pick is Steelers 21, Colts 17.