The 7-6 Pittsburgh Steelers will play their fourteenth game of the 2023 regular season on Saturday afternoon, and this week it will be a road contest against the 7-6 Indianapolis Colts. This week the Steelers will enter their game as slight road underdogs following two consecutive home losses to two 2-10 teams. Below are five key things that I believe the Steelers will need to do Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium to come away with their eighth win of the 2023 season.
Tightend It Up – In the last five games the Steelers have played, their defense has allowed opposing tight ends to catch 33 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns. That came on the heels of the team losing their two top inside linebackers in Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander to injuries. There’s nothing mystical about what opposing offenses are trying to do at this point as the spine of the Steelers defense is being attacked with tight ends.
While the Colts haven’t made a huge habit of using their tight ends overall in the passing game so far this season, 51 total receptions for 656 yards, we can probably count on that position group being used more on Saturday in Indianapolis. TE Kylen Granson is the Colts primary pass catcher at the position so far this season, so look for him to receive an uptick in targets on Saturday. It is worth noting that five of the Colts 14 touchdown receptions so far this season have been registered by tight ends. If the Steelers inside linebackers can’t cover tight ends, it’s probably time for S Minkah Fitzpatrick to handle that chore more. We can’t come out of this Saturday game wondering how the Steelers allowed more tight ends to rule the contest.
Right Answer – The Colts run defense is led by inside linebacker Zaire Franklin and he leads the entire NFL in total tackles with 144. Even so, the Colts defense should be able to be attacked on the ground on Saturday afternoon and specifically to the offense’s right side. So far this season, the Colts have allowed an average of 5.2 yards per carry on runs right of center and that has them ranked near the bottom of the league in that directional stat.
Since Steelers rookie tackle Broderick Jones took over on the right side back in Week Nine, the team’s offense has averaged 5.1 yards per carry on runs right of center. That’s pretty telling and yet another reason why the Steelers running game should predominantly be right-handed on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. For the Steelers to win this game against the Colts, one would think that a strong running game will be needed that includes running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combining for 120 or more yards on the ground.
Don’t Short George His Targets – The Steelers must start getting the football to WR George Pickens more in games moving forward and not just in the short passing game. Pickens’ target route chart in Week 14 was pitiful and thus it wasn’t surprising to see him being so frustrated during that home loss on Thursday night.
While Pickens is sure to draw his fair share of attention on Saturday in Indianapolis, the Colts do predominantly play zone coverages. This should at least result in Pickens getting at least eight targets with hopefully a few vertical chances mixed in those. At the very least, Pickens needs a few back shoulder and middle of the field throws more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage his way on Saturday afternoon. Getting him the football via a few cover-3 beaters would be very advisable in this game. While QB Mitch Trubisky shouldn’t be stupidly aggressive in getting the football to Pickens on Saturday, he should trust that his big wide receiver will be able to make a few plays just the same. He needs to find that healthy balance of risk/reward.
Gaining The Edge – The Colts tackles on Saturday will be Bernhard Raimann and Blake Freeland and both have struggled this season in true pass set situations when the football doesn’t come out quickly. Freeland will be the right tackle on Saturday and that means he will do battle against Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Freeland is the kind of tackle that Watt should dominate and especially when Colts QB Gardner Minshew needs to hold the football a little bit longer. As for Raimann, the Colts left tackle, Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith should match up well against him on Saturday.
The Colts use a lot of RPOs on offense and when they do pass as part of those, the football is usually out of Minshew’s hand quickly. When, however, the Colts offense faces second and long and third and long situations, Watt and Highsmith should have opportunities to make an impact as pass rushers. The Steelers need their two edge rushers to have impactful games on Saturday and it is as simple as that. Minshew has been sacked 23 times so far this season and on top of that, he has fumbled eight times in total with five of those being lost to the opposition.
Got To Feed Your Muth More – Much like the Steelers this season, the Colts defense has struggled covering tight ends in their first thirteen games. In fact, the Colts defense enters Saturday’s game having allowed opposing tight ends to catch 72 passes for 733 yards and two touchdowns. A few weeks ago, the Steelers used TE Pat Freiermuth quite frequently on the road in Cincinnati. Freiermuth registered nine receptions for 120 yards in that win.
With the Colts defense likely to play a lot of zone coverage on Saturday, Freiermuth should be a frequent middle of the field target for Trubisky. In the last two games, Freiermuth has caught just three passes in each. He needs to at least double that reception amount on Saturday in Indianapolis. At the very least, Freiermuth should be a priority target for Trubisky when and if the Steelers offense gets into the low red zone on Saturday.
