Scouting the Colts: Steelers' opponent leads the NFL in points, yards

SCOUTING THE COLTS

Last meeting

The Colts beat the Steelers, 27-24, on Sept. 29, 2024, in Indianapolis

Key matchup

Colts TE Tyler Warren vs. Steelers safeties

Last week, the Steelers allowed Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft to have catches of 59, 33, 24 and 16 yards and score two touchdowns. A rookie, Warren leads all NFL tight ends in receptions. The Steelers lost starting strong safety DeShon Elliott to injury and will be without Jabrill Peppers, leaving a position group of Juan Thornhill, Chuck Clark and newly acquired Kyle Dugger to piece together a plan. It would figure to behoove the Steelers to assign defensive backs to Warren in lieu of linebackers.

Key injuries

The Steelers will be hurting in the secondary after Elliott was placed on IR and Peppers (quad) and fellow safety Chuck Clark (illness) were ruled out. The Colts will be without defensive end Samson Ebukam (knee) and receiver Anthony Gould (knee).

Series record

Steelers lead 26-8

Series notes

This marks the third consecutive season the teams will meet but the first time they will do so in Pittsburgh since 2020. Despite not residing in the same division, the Steelers and Colts are playing for the 10th time over a 12-season span. … Five of the seven most recent Steelers-Colts games were at Lucas Oil Stadium. … The Colts have won the past two meetings, snapping an eight-game Steelers series winning streak in the process. … The Steelers are 20-2 against the Colts in Pittsburgh, including 17-2 during the regular season and 5-1 at what is now called Acrisure Stadium. … Led by Peyton Manning, the 2008 Colts won at what was then called Heinz Field. The organization’s only prior win in Pittsburgh was at Pitt Stadium in 1968 when the Colts were based in Baltimore. The Colts never won over the 30-year life of Three Rivers Stadium (11 games, three in the postseason). … Thirty years ago this winter, the Steelers and Colts met for the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh, a 20-16 Steelers win that came down to a failed Jim Harbaugh Hail Mary as time was expiring. … The Steelers have won all five postseason games between the teams — but the most recent meeting was 20 years ago when the Steelers upset No. 1 seed Indianapolis on the road en route to Super Bowl XL.

Notable

The Colts lead the NFL in yards per game (385.3) and points per game (33.8) and show balance via being ranked sixth in passing and rushing yards per game. … Indianapolis is tied for second in turnover differential (plus-8), tying for third in most takeaways (12) and fewest giveaways (four). … Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in rushing yards (850) and total touchdowns (14). … Receiver Alec Pierce is looking to lead the league in yards per reception for a second consecutive season — after a 22.3 yards-per-catch rate in 2024, this season he’s at 21.4. … Indianapolis’ Michael Pittman Jr. is tied for second in the NFL in touchdown catches with six. … Quarterback Daniel Jones is among the top four in the league in completion percentage (71.2%), passing yards (2,062), yards per attempt (8.5), yards per completion (11.9) and QBR (79.3). … Only one team has allowed fewer sacks than the Colts (eight).

Fantasy tip

Taylor ranks second and Jones sixth among all NFL players in fantasy point scorers (standard scoring) this season. The Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers is the highest-scoring Steelers player at 25th — but he is 17th among quarterbacks while Jones is fifth among quarterbacks.