The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts in the Monday Night matchup of week twelve. The Steelers come into the game with a record of 3-7 and currently sit in last place in the AFC North. After drafting quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, it was clear that the Steelers would be entering a rebuilding phase as the team adjusted to the loss of Ben Roethlisberger. Pickett has struggled through his rookie season and in turn, the Steelers have struggled as well. While there is a lot of work to do in Pickett’s game, he has also shown some bright spots already in his young career. On the flip side, the Colts enter the contest with a record of 4-6-1 and are currently only 2.5 games behind the Tennessee Titans for first place in the AFC South.
Pittsburgh Steelers Attempt to Avoid Being In Outright Last Place of the AFC North
Coming into week 12, the Pittsburgh Steelers shared the same record with the Cleveland Browns, however, after Cleveland took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Steelers must win this week or they will hold last place in the AFC North outright. As previously mentioned, this was partially to be expected coming into the season with a rookie quarterback, however, Pickett has not yet proven that he can be the Steelers’ franchise quarterback moving forward. Despite this, the matchup against the Colts could be a winnable one for the Steelers. Both teams are very similarly constructed and rely on running the ball and defense rather than outscoring the opposing team through the air. This game will likely come down to which defense shows up to play at a higher level as neither team does not bring too much to the table on the offensive side of the ball.
Indianapolis Colts Hope to Make Up Some Ground on the Tennesee Titans in the AFC South Divisional Race
The Indianapolis Colts have had a slightly disappointing season, however, most of that is due to the Matt Ryan experiment blowing up in the Colts’ face, and Jonathan Taylor appearing to take a step back after arguably being the best back in the league last season. Despite things not quite going the Colts’ way this season, Sam Ellinger has arisen as a serviceable option at quarterback for the time being. Along with this, in recent weeks Taylor has begun to look like himself again and looks like an elite back again after a concerningly slow start from him this season. If he can have an elite performance against a tough Steelers defense, it could be all that the Colts need on the offensive end to close out week 12 with a win. This game against the Steelers is one that the Colts should win and will have to win if they want to have any chance of catching the Titans in the divisional standings by the end of the regular season.
