The Indianapolis Colts may be massive underdogs to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s matchup in Indy, but the Colts have the personnel to win the game.
From here on out for the Indianapolis Colts, it’s uphill climbing. That rings true as the Colts come home after narrowly defeating their AFC South rival Houston Texans on the road (without Deshaun Watson and several key defensive players).
Indy comes home to face a dreaded foe in the juggernaut Pittsburgh Steelers. While Indianapolis has its eyes pointed to next season already, the Steelers have their focus set on an the playoffs and an AFC Championship potentially against the rival New England Patriots.
However, the Colts have a unique opportunity to put a wrench in Pittsburgh’s plans with a potential win this Sunday. While Pittsburgh is the better team on both sides of the ball, the Colts have the players and scheme needed to stop the high-powered offense and play around the stellar defense. Here are four things the Colts need to do to stop the Steelers and get a home win this weekend:
Contain Le’Veon Bell
After coming out of the gate a little lackluster, Bell has hit his stride as the season progresses. He currently sits at third in the NFL with 760 rushing yards to this point in the season, but has a chance to reclaim first place with only Kareem Hunt (bye) and Ezekiel Elliott (suspension) ahead of him.
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Notice the verbiage “contain Le’Veon Bell.” We’ve seen that entirely neutralizing Bell isn’t exactly possible. Only Jacksonville has come even close this season, and he still wrecked them in the passing game. Cleveland also had an incredible game against him in the season opener, but Pittsburgh was able to ride the arm of Ben Roethlisberger to a victory in that one.
Stopping Bell takes a full team effort and execution at every level of the defense. The up-front guys Johnathan Hankins, Al Woods and Margus Hunt can’t allow Pittsburgh’s offensive line to win every matchup like they’ve become so accustomed to doing. Also, Jabaal Sheard and John Simon will have to do a good job at setting the edge on outside runs, something that Bell has made a staple of his game.
Perhaps the most important job in stopping Bell belongs to the inside linebackers. Known for his patience and precision in choosing the correct cut, Bell makes defenses pay with good decision making rather than sheer athleticism. If the inside linebackers Jon Bostic and Antonio Morrison can watch Bell’s eyes and predict his decisions, he can be held to three-yard gains instead of seven.
Cover Antonio Brown
The last time that Pittsburgh came to town last year on Thanksgiving day, Antonio Brown had a field day with five catches for 91 yards and three touchdowns. And before that in a 2015 matchup in Pittsburgh, Brown torched the Colts for eight catches and 118 yards along with two touchdowns. Prior to that in an offensive shootout in 2014, Brown logged 10 receptions for 133 yards and two scores to help Roethlisberger have a career 522-yard, six-touchdown day.
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This can’t happen again if the Colts want to win. All the aforementioned games were massive Pittsburgh victories. If the Colts want to stop Brown, they will have to get creative. No. 1 cornerback Vontae Davis was released from the team recently and it’s next-man up in Indy. Rashaan Melvin has done admirably in his role as the team’s primary cornerback, but he hasn’t faced anyone of Brown’s talent. He’ll have a heck of a job covering the NFL’s leading receiver in this one.
Safety help will be necessary to neutralize Brown, but inside linebackers will also have to hold their assignments when Brown runs slants into the middle of the field, one of his signature plays. Brown and Roethlisberger have made a career of nickel and diming the opposing defense down the field, and this Sunday’s matchup is no exception.
Involve Frank Gore…for Four Quarters
The Colts have this nasty habit of playing Frank Gore very well in the first half of games only to forget he exists in the second half. Typically, Gore is running extremely well for a man of his age and his continued running would give Indianapolis a higher chance to win games. In fact, Indy is 2-1 so far this year if Gore has gotten above 50 yards rushing, the only loss being the heartbreaker to Cincinnati in Week 8.
While the Colts can’t forget about rookie phenom Marlon Mack, Gore is the head guy and they need to continue feeding him the ball. While Pittsburgh may boast an elite pass defense at second in the NFL, the rush defense is only ranked at 15th, meaning Indy needs to rush the ball hard to get the chains moving on offense. Relying on Jacoby Brissett in this one is not an option. Speaking of the second-year signal caller…
Fewer Mistakes from Jacoby Brissett
I get it, he’s a young quarterback who’s still trying to figure out the game. However, while Brissett enjoyed one of his better days offensively last week against Houston, he gave away a fumble that was brought back for a touchdown. This has unfortunately become a commonplace thing for Brissett to give away a defensive touchdown. In order to beat Pittsburgh, the offense needs to cut down on silly mistakes like that one.
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Pittsburgh’s pass rush is no joke, meaning the offensive line will have to have a huge day in order to keep Brissett upright. It’ll be on them to give the young quarterback enough time to survey the field and make the correct decision. While Brissett deserves a lot of the flack he gets for making bad decisions, the line certainly hasn’t helped him.