Cheat Sheet: Steelers at Colts

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

• TV coverage: Broadcast nationally on CBS, (KDKA-TV locally in Pittsburgh).
• Steelers Radio Network - Game coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET; Pregame programming begins at 9 a.m; Postgame coverage starts immediately following the game.
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SERIES HISTORY

These two franchises have met 34 times since their first game in 1950, but only two of those games took place before 1968. The Colts and Steelers split their first four meetings, but the Steelers are 25-4 since, and overall, Pittsburgh leads this series 27-7. Twelve of the games have been the Steelers against the Baltimore Colts. The Colts won just three of those 12 matchups. The Colts have won just two games against Pittsburgh in the 2000s, none in the 1990s, one in the '80s and two in the '70s. The Steelers were on an eight-game winning streak against the Colts and had won five in a row in Indianapolis, but lost this matchup last season, 30-13, at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts and Steelers have met five times in the postseason with Pittsburgh undefeated in those playoff battles.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• Pittsburgh has won six-straight regular season games.
• This is the fourth 3-0 for the Steelers under head coach Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh has made the playoffs each time previously (2007, 2010, 2020). Since 1990, teams that start 3-0 make the playoffs at a 75.2% clip and win their division 51.5% of the time. If Pittsburgh wins on Sunday, it will be the second time in Tomlin's tenure the Steelers started 4-0 and the fifth time in franchise history. Teams that start 4-0 go to the playoffs 84.2%, win their division 65.3% and win the Super Bowl 12.6% of the time.
• The Steelers are the first team in the last 20 years - and only the eighth since 1970 - to allow 300 or fewer yards and 10 or fewer points in each of their first three games.
• Pittsburgh has outscored its first three opponents by 25 points - only four teams are better. The Colts have been outscored by three points.
• Last week in the second half, Pittsburgh produced 234 yards and allowed -5 yards to the Chargers.
• Pittsburgh is 11-3 in its last 14 regular season road games. The Steelers have won their past 14 road games when leading going into the fourth quarter. That is the longest current streak in the NFL.
• Since 2022, the Steelers are 19-4 in games in which they did not throw an interception and are 3-11 with at least one interception thrown. Pittsburgh is 8-1 in games it has forced multiple turnovers since 2023 and 1-3 when forcing no turnovers. That win came last week. Over the past three seasons and now including the three games in 2024, the Steelers are 30-7 when they won or tied the turnover battle. Pittsburgh is 1-15-1 when they lost that turnover battle over that stretch with that one win coming last week. Going back to the start of the 2020 season, the Steelers are 22-3 when they don't turn the ball over.
• Pittsburgh's plus-4 turnover margin is only behind the Packers and Bills, while the Colts' minus-2 margin is only better than four teams. Only the Titans have given the ball away more than Indianapolis, while the Steelers have just one giveaway all season. The Colts have thrown the league's most interceptions (6) while Pittsburgh has thrown just one.
• Indianapolis possessed the football for just 24:59 last week. The Steelers held the ball for 33:51 against Los Angeles. For the season, only the 49ers (35:38) have a better time of possession than Pittsburgh (33:55). Meanwhile, Indianapolis is dead last at 21:36 with Atlanta, who is 31^st, at 24:36.
• Not only is Indianapolis running the fewest plays per game (50) in the league, but the Steelers' opponents are also running the fewest plays per game (50.3).
• Indianapolis is producing a full yard more per rush attempt than it has allowed, but 93 fewer total yards per game than it gives up. On the other hand, the Colts opponents are completing 70.4% of their passes compared to Indianapolis' completion rate of 49.3%.
• The Steelers have produced and given up exactly 475 passing yards but have 178 more rushing yards than their opponents.
• The Colts are averaging a league-high 7.5 yards on first downs compared to 5.3 on all other downs (15^th).
• Pittsburgh has converted 23.6% more third downs than their opponents into first downs, the best differential in the league.
• Steelers' games this year are averaging a league-low 25.7 points per game as well as a league-low 518.7 yards per game.
• Pittsburgh has gotten 10 first downs this year via penalty. Their opponents have just one.
• This is the first three-game winning streak of Justin Fields' career as a starting quarterback.
• The Colts opponents have produced 23 more first downs than Indianapolis.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• The Steelers offense averages 4.6 yards per play. The Colts defense gives up 5.3 yards per play.
• Pittsburgh leads the league in usage of 14 Personnel (3%) as well as 13 Personnel (28%) and is still 10^th in their usage of 12 Personnel (26.5%).
• Pittsburgh played with three or more wide receivers on the field in Week 2 29.2% of its snaps, the lowest rate in the league last week.
• The Colts allow a series of downs to convert into a new series of downs or a touchdown 78% of the time. Only the Commanders are worse.
• The Steelers are converting 43.2% of their third down attempts, seventh-best in the league. The Colts defense ranks 28^th on third downs, allowing a 50% conversion rate, and Indianapolis' opponents are 6 of 7 on fourth downs, as well.
• Fields started last week's game with 11-straight completions and ended up with a 78.1% completion rate. He was 22 of 24 on throws under 10 air yards. His 73.3% completion percentage is sixth-best in the NFL. Fields is completing 85.5% of his passes of 10 yards and under.
• Fields attempted zero passes between the numbers in Week 1 in Atlanta. Last week, more than half his attempts were to this area of the field. On those attempts, Fields was 12 of 16 for 147 yards with a touchdown and interception and his average time to throw on those attempts was just 2.27 seconds.
• Just 5.3% of Fields' pass attempts have come four seconds or longer after the ball was snapped. Last season, his rate was 18.4%. In 2022 it was 21.1%, and 12% for his rookie season in Chicago. His 5.9 average depth of target is only higher than Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield and Aaron Rodgers. Fields is one of 12 quarterbacks with one interception or less.
• The Colts allowed Caleb Williams to throw for 363 yards last week. Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and DJ Moore combined for 287 receiving yards.
• Indianapolis is allowing the highest yards per route run and fourth-most receiving yards per game to pass catchers aligned outside the numbers.
• George Pickens accounts for 49.9% of the Steelers' air yards. Only two receivers that have played in all three games have a higher air yard share than Pickens. Yet, Pickens has yet to clear seven targets in a game this season. He still has two more receptions this season than all other Steelers wide receivers combined.
• Tight end Pat Freiermuth ran a route on 89% of the Steelers drop backs last week, his season high. Freiermuth has 11 career touchdowns. All have come in a red zone. Freiermuth is the only tight end in the league with 4-plus catches in every game this season.
• Fields' sack rate of 6.7% is below league average and well below his previous career best of 9.6%. His 1.3% interception rate is also the lowest of Fields' career. Fields ranks 10^th (tied with Mahomes) among qualified quarterbacks in sacks and interceptions per drop back at 7.7%. From 2021-2023 Fields ranked dead last in the same metric at 13.2%.
• Only the Broncos and Falcons (two teams the Steelers have played) are blitzing at a higher rate on third downs than Indianapolis. But on early downs, only the 49ers blitz at a lower rate than Indianapolis.
• Last week, Fields was 8 of 9 against the blitz for 119 yards and a touchdown.
• The Colts defense allows 4.17 yards after the catch per reception, fourth best.
• Through the first two weeks of the season, Indianapolis' defense gave up 474 rushing yards, the most by any team through two games since 1978. However, Indianapolis held the Bears to just 63 rushing yards in Week 3. Chicago had four negative rushes in that game that totaled minus-20 yards. Even after last week's game, the Colts have given up the NFL's second-most rushing yards (241) before first contact. Indianapolis has faced 33, 43, and 25 running back rush attempts to start the season.
• Najee Harris now has 70-plus yards from scrimmage in six straight games.
• Last week, Fields only scrambled on one of his 35 dropbacks. Fields is averaging 3.2 yards per carry in 2024. That number was never lower than 5.3 during his first three seasons in the league. His rushing production has dipped from 57 yards in Week 1 to 27 yards in Week 2 to six yards last week.
• Against the Chargers, Cordarrelle Patterson was on the field for 16 plays with either Harris or Jaylen Warren. The Steelers averaged 8.0 yards per play on those 16 snaps.
• The Colts defense was on the field for 90 snaps last week. Julian Blackmon, Zaire Franklin, EJ Speed, Nick Cross and Jaylon Jones played all 90 snaps. Franklin, Jones, Cross, Speed and Kenny Moore have played the most defensive snaps of any players in the league, all having logged 220-plus snaps over three games.

WHEN INDIANAPOLIS HAS THE BALL

• The Colts average 6.3 yards per play, behind only Baltimore and Green Bay. The Steelers defense allows just 4.6 yards per play. Only three defenses are better. In terms of EPA per play, Pittsburgh has the best defense in the NFL as well as the best against the run. The Colts offense is third-best in the league per EPA. Pittsburgh's 26 points allowed is the NFL best as are its 229.7 yards per game allowed.
• The Indianapolis offense has only employed two personnel groupings this season, 11 Personnel (78%) and 12 Personnel (22%). Its usage of 11 Personnel is the seventh highest in the league.
• The Colts have scored on a league-low 14.3% of their first half possessions.
• The Steelers allow a series of downs to convert into a new series of downs or a touchdown 63% of the time, best in the league.
• The Colts are running the fewest offensive plays per game. On average their offense runs just 50 plays per game. The next lowest is Buffalo at 54.3.
• Indianapolis is converting 32.3% of their third down attempts, 26^th in the league. The Steelers defense is the best in the league on third downs, allowing 21.9% to be converted.
• Richardson has attempted just 157 career passes in the NFL, 84 as a rookie and 73 through three games this season. Richardson's 8.0 yards per attempt ranks sixth in the NFL. His 2.97 seconds time to throw is sixth-highest and his 12.6-yard average depth of target is the highest in the league. Richardson's 36 completions are the lowest among all quarterbacks that have started all three games.
• Last week was Richardson's quickest time to throw of his career at 2.62 seconds. But on drop backs with 2.5 or more seconds to throw, Richardson completed just four of 11 attempts for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He is completing just 33% of his passes 12-plus yards downfield and overall, just 49.3% of his pass attempts in 2024 - last in the league. Richardson has thrown six interceptions and lost two fumbles this season. He completed a season-high 50% of his passes in Week 3.
• Only five defenses have a better completion percentage allowed than Pittsburgh.
• In all three his games this season, wide receiver Michael Pittman has less than five receptions and fewer than 36 receiving yards after recording more than 100 catches in 2023. Dating back to last season, Pittman has been held scoreless and under 50 receiving yards in five-straight games. He has just 88 yards on 20 targets in 2024. Pittman has aligned out wide on 79.8% of his snaps.
• Josh Downs returned to the lineup in Week 3 and received a team high 25% target share with five passes thrown his way while running just 16 routes. He played 32 of a possible 41 snaps in 11 Personnel while not appearing on the field in any other personnel grouping against the Bears. With Downs returning, Adonai Mitchell ran a route on just 9% of the Colts drop backs last week.
• Alec Pierce's 22.5 average air yards per target is the highest in the NFL, and 41.7% of his targets have come 20plus yards downfield, which is only behind Rashid Shaheed.
• The Steelers have allowed just one catch this year 20plus air yards downfield, that coming on a trick play against the Broncos.
• Last week, the Colts had three tight ends play between 20 and 31 snaps.
• Jonathan Taylor didn't see a target in Week 1, but in each subsequent game, he has received a double-digit percentage target share. He had a 91% route participation share in Week 3.
• Only the Bengals are blitzing a lower percentage of the time than Pittsburgh on third downs. On early downs, only four defenses blitz at a lower rate than the Steelers.
• TJ Watt now has 99.5 career sacks. Reggie White got to 100 career sacks faster than anyone in history, doing it in 96 games. Watt has played 107 career games and if he can record half a sack in his next five games, White will be the only player in history to get to 100 sacks quicker than Watt. Watt is one of five players with a sack in every game this season. His 50 sacks since 2021 leads the NFL.
• Cameron Heyward now has 81.5 career sacks, which moved him past James Harrison for second place on the Steelers' all-time list behind Watt.
• Taylor has 100-plus scrimmage yards in 4 of his past 5 games. He has five games in a row at home with a rushing touchdown, scoring twice on the ground last week.
• Taylor played 49 of a possible 56 snaps in Week 3. Of the 35 running backs with 25 or more touches, Taylor ranks seventh in yards per carry (5.2), fifth in explosive run rate (15.7%) and third in rate of runs that gain a first down or touchdown (31.4%). Only JK Dobbins averages more yardage before first contact per attempt than Taylor.
• Taylor didn't play when these teams met last year, but the Colts rushed for 170 in that game.
• Richardson has 35-plus rushing yards in 5 of 7 career games with rushing touchdowns in 4 of 7. Richardson has nine designed runs (sixth among quarterbacks) and his 7.3% scramble rate (on designed pass plays) is 11^th at the position.
• Only the Ravens (2.83) allow fewer yards per rush attempt than Pittsburgh (3.51) and just 1.6% of the rushing attempts vs. the Steelers go for 15 ore more yards - only the Patriots are better.
• The Steelers are the last remaining team that has yet to surrender a rushing touchdown.
• Watt has played at least 88% of the snaps in every game this season.
• The Steelers have yet to give up a second half touchdown, allowing just two field goals in the second half of games through three games. On average, Pittsburgh's opponents are generating just 93 yards of offense in the second half of games.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• The Steelers have just one kickoff return through three games.
• There has only been one field goal missed in a Steelers game this year.
• The Colts 83.3% touchback percentage is the fourth-highest in the league.
• Pittsburgh's 51.9-yard punting average is the fifth-highest in the NFL, but the Colts lead the NFL with 10 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. The Steelers have three punts that ended up in touchbacks, the most in the league.

Most Memorable Moment:

AFC Divisional Playoffs, RCA Dome, Jan. 15, 2006: Steelers 21, Colts 18

This game had one of the most memorable moments in the Steelers' great history when Ben Roethlisberger was able to tackle Nick Harper to save the game and advance Pittsburgh to the AFC Championship. The usually ultra-reliable Jerome Bettis, one of the best goal-line runners in the history of the game, fumbled the football, which was recovered by Harper. With all sorts of open space to win this game in heroic fashion for Indianapolis, instead Roethlisberger clipped Harper's foot putting him on the ground. Even after that, Indianapolis still could have tied the game, but Mike Vanderjagt missed a 46-yard field goal. The Colts were 14-2 that season, but it was Pittsburgh that won its next two games including the Super Bowl. That was Bettis' first fumble of the season.

KEY MATCHUPS

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor vs. Steelers LB Patrick Queen - Week 2 showed that Taylor can be sent to the sidelines if Indianapolis is playing from behind, but last week implies that the Colts are planning on running their offense through Taylor, one of the NFL's very best true ball carriers. Indianapolis has a very good run blocking offensive line and Richardson's rare running skills complicate defending the Colts running game overall.

Steelers LT Dan Moore vs. Colts DE Laiatu Latu - Latu was very impressive last week. He rushed the quarterback on 28 occasions, registering a sack and was credited with seven pressures. The Colts first-round pick, he entered the league very NFL-ready with a wide array of pass-rush moves and the ability to set up blockers with a diverse pass-rush plan.