Know Your Enemy: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts, Week 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a long losing streak and are facing the most historic collapse in the history of professional football. Winning this game could set the Steelers up for playoff success. A fourth consecutive loss could put the Steelers in an unrecoverable tailspin. Somehow the last few weeks of the season mean way much then they should ever have, and the Steelers are in full on desperation mode.

Location/Time

1:00 PM EST Sunday, the Steelers will play what could be their final home game of the 2020 season. From home field advantage to the possibility of being a road wildcard team you can see how the Steelers have slipped. Nonetheless they will play the home team against the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers have had the Colts number in recent years but history was also on the Steelers side against the Washington Football Team, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals. I think we can throw history out of the window this week.

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Colts Best Player

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This came down to two defensive players, in 2020 the Colts defense have been spear headed by their defense and no-one has been brighter than Derrious Leonard and DeForest Buckner. My pick for this category is the ladder who has completely changed this defense and pushed the Colts into being a Super Bowl contender. Buckner is going to cause problems for the Steelers ravaged offensive line, and he’s potentially the best defensive player the Steelers will play this season. He’s a beast and he’s just hitting his stride now.

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Weakest position group

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No, not the entire offensive line but the Colts are face with major concerns with their tackles. Anthony Castonzo has been ruled out with an ankle injury and Braden Smith has been placed on the Covid/reserve list. With both tackles out the Steelers will turn to their NFL leading pass rush to win this game and make Philip Rivers day uncomfortable.

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Coaching

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Frank Reich is one of the brightest offensive minds in football today. He has fixed the culture in Indianapolis and made them a winner once again. Not only this but he kept the club competitive even after the surprising retirement of Andrew Luck. He will have his guys ready to go on Sunday.

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How will the Colts attack the Steelers defense

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The Colts have talent at every position on offense and Philip Rivers can still deliver the ball to his players. They will attack this team where they have been beat before this year, but luckily for the Steelers Rivers isn't a mobile quarterback and they won't have to worry about the zone read. Jonathan Taylor could see a load of carries but I’m more worried about his fellow rookie Michael Pittman Jr.

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How will the Colts defend the Steelers offense

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Well right now the Colts should just sit back and let the Steelers beat themselves again but unfortunately for the Steelers the Colts have one of the best front sevens in the NFL today. Consider that non-existent run game gone this week too. The Colts will make James Conner and companies day miserable. This game is going to fall on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger again. Roethlisberger will have to find his accuracy again, and find it quick.

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X-Factor

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The two oldest guys on the Colts roster will be the players to watch in this one. Justin Houston will go up against a struggling Alejandro Villanueva, who nearly got Big Ben killed a week ago. On the other side, Philip Rivers has typically struggled against the Steelers in recent years. If Rivers can avoid turnovers I’m fairly certain the Colts will win this game.

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Sunday, 1:00PM EST. We will see if the Steelers can finally win the AFC North and defeat the Colts!