Colts at Steelers: 5 Keys To Victory
The surging Indianapolis Colts, coming off an impressive 5 game winning streak, playing away from Lucas Oil Stadium, have a tough matchup this weekend against the Pittsburg Steelers (4-3). The Colts are coming off an impressive, 27-0 shut-out win against the Bengals, while the Steelers, are looking to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
For Indianapolis to secure their sixth win of the campaign, here are the five keys for a Colts win:
1. Silence the Home Crowd, Early
While the Steelers are no longer the team that dominated the AFC north for the last decade, their home crowd hasn’t changed. If Pittsburg jumps out to an early lead, expect the Terrible Towels to start making an impact on Andrew Luck’s ability to run the offense. After dropping their first game of the season in Denver, the Colts have won their last two away games, including a dominating performance against Jacksonville. The Colts practiced with crowd noise playing this week, if Indianapolis can strike first, and hold the lead, they will be able to silence the Heinz Field crowd.
2. Lock Down Antonio Brown
There is no doubt who Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite target has been this season. With an NFL leading 719 receiving yards, the Colts will need to key on him all game, which could mean Vontae Davis might follow him around all game, with help from either Mike Adams or Sergio Brown. In the past, Vontae Davis has made a slew of mental errors that the opposition took advantage of. However Davis has been phenomenal this season, locking down nearly every receiver he’s faced. For the Colts to continue their impressive play, they must contain Antonio Brown.
3. Find Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener
The Steelers have struggled defending tight ends all season. Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener have been responsible for 8 of Andrew Luck’s 19 touchdowns. That number should increase this weekend, Allen and Fleener have been getting the majority of the targets this season in the red zone, they should see an increase in targets with Reggie Wayne out with an elbow injury. If the Colts are forced to air it out often, expect big games from the young tight ends.
4. Slow Down The Running Game
There are few teams that run the ball than the Steelers. Who have racked up 900 yards rushing, averaging 4.7 yards per attempt. Le’Veon Bell has had an exceptional season, rushing for 600 yards and averaging over 5 yards per carry. LeGarrette Blount is also looking to pickup where he left off against the Colts, where he ran for 166 yards and four scores. However the Colts have been able to contain the majority of running backs they’ve faced this season this season. Holding opposing teams to under 100 yards rushing. Arian Foster has been the only running back to hit the 100 yard mark against Indianapolis this season. If the defense is able to stop the run early, the Colts should be able to take the lead and force Pittsburg to air it out more often.
5. Andrew Luck Needs To Continue His Dominance
Luck has been one of the best quarterback’s in the NFL this season. His 2,331 yards are the most in the league and he should look to continue his stretch of impressive games against an average Steelers defense, which is without starting cornerback Ike Taylor. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging 230 yards a game against the Steelers secondary. However, the majority of their games have been against run-heavy teams. An important matchup will be Cortez Allen against T.Y. Hilton. Hilton has been red hot as of late and will look to continue his play against Allen, who has allowed opposing quarterbacks to have a 92.3 passer rating against him this season (per PFF). With Pittsburg’s struggle to defend tight ends as well, it should be another strong game from Andrew Luck.