Depot Roundtable: Previewing Week 4 Steelers-Colts Matchup

Entering Week 4 of the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are riding high at 3-0, having physically overpowered the upstart Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.

Now, the Steelers hit the road to take on another run-heavy team that wants to be physical, that being the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 1 PM/EST inside Lucas Oil Stadium. For the Steelers, they are returning to a place where just 10 months ago they were bludgeoned by the Colts in a 30-13 loss in which the wheels seemingly came off of the Steelers in all three phases.

So, there’s a chip on their shoulders entering the Week 4 matchup against a team that has their number. Down some key players, too, the challenge will be big for the Steelers as they look to go 4-0 and continue to show they’re a team to take seriously.

Here at Steelers Depot we’re doing something new this season. While Alex Kozora and Dave Bryan give their in-depth breakdown and preview of the game weekly on The Terrible Podcast, myself, Joe Clark, Ross McCorkle, Scott Brown and Troy Montgomery are doing a weekly roundtable, answering key questions ahead of each game.

Today, we take a look at the Steelers’ Week 4 road trip to take on the Indianapolis Colts.

QUESTION 1: WHO IS THE STEELERS’ X FACTOR AGAINST THE COLTS?

Josh Carney: S Damontae Kazee. The Colts are going to utilize a lot of three- and four-wide receiver sets on Sunday. With Cory Trice Jr. on IR and James Pierre just signed to the roster after one week on the practice squad, the Steelers are going to need someone to step up in sub-package football. For me, that’s veteran safety Damontae Kazee, who is returning to the place where he had a very controversial hit on Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. last season.

Kazee has been rather quiet this season outside of the game-ending interception in Denver in Week 2. The Steelers are going to need him to be more productive and make more plays on Sunday, taking some of the burden in sub-package football off rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. and safety DeShon Elliott. I expect to see Kazee playing way more than he has in recent weeks, including just six snaps in Week 3.

Joe Clark: CB Donte Jackson. For one, it’s going to important for Jackson to stay healthy, as the two cornerbacks behind him and Joey Porter Jr. are Darius Rush and James Pierre. But with the Colts wanting to spread the Steelers out and play packages with multiple receivers, Jackson is going to have to limit the Colts’ secondary receivers. Porter will likely match up with Michael Pittman Jr., but Jackson is going to need to take away one of the big, physical receivers the Colts will deploy on the outside, likely Alec Pierce or Adonai Mitchell.

It’s a difference in style, but Jackson has played well this season and he’s going to need another big game against the Colts to keep Pittsburgh’s defense rolling.

Ross McCorkle: RB Cordarrelle Patterson. He has actually looked pretty good in the backfield with limited opportunities, but he appears on track to be the RB2 while Jaylen Warren deals with a knee injury. Unfortunately, the main reason Patterson was signed, to return kickoffs, is almost obsolete with most teams opting to kick through the back of the end zone this season.

Patterson has shown impressive burst for a 33-year-old who is listed at 6-2, 220 pounds (and likely a little heavier). In 10 rushing attempts he has 49 yards, and he can also catch passes out of the backfield. He could be more involved this week with the Steelers having all week to plan more touches for him.

Scott Brown: WR Calvin Austin III. He caught a 72-yard TD pass in Week 3 last season and then largely disappeared. He caught four passes for 95 yards and a game-sealing TD in Week 3 this season. Like Ben Roethlisberger, I’m not sure Austin is a No. 2 WR; I don’t think he goes into witness protection this time either. New season, new QB, new OC. Austin’s elite speed is a weapon, and not just at WR. He feels close to breaking a big one as a punt returner. Why not in Lucas Oil Stadium where Austin ran a blazing 4.32 40-yard time during the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine?

Troy Montgomery: RB Najee Harris. The Colts have a fantastic running game headlined by Jonathan Taylor, one of the best running backs in the league, but the Steelers have a good ground game themselves. Last week saw a slow start for Harris, but he really took over near the end of the game.

The Colts’ run defense has been bad this year, and without star defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, it should be even weaker. They still have a decent rotation up front, but Harris should have a good opportunity to get off to a fast start. That should also allow Justin Fields to continue to play mistake-free football. If the Steelers can beat the Colts at their own game, they should be able to put up a convincing win.

QUESTION 2: WHAT IS THE KEY MATCHUP TO WATCH IN STEELERS-COLTS?

Josh Carney: Steelers DL Cameron Heyward vs. Colts LG Quenton Nelson. This is an elite-level matchup, two greats at their respective positions who will find themselves matched up against each other snap after snap. In previous matchups, Heyward has gotten the better of Nelson. Entering this matchup, Nelson is playing great football overall and is the best pass-blocking guard in football, not allowing a single pressure on 87 pass-blocking snaps on the year.

Heyward has had a remarkable start to his season, too, and looks like his usual dominant self. These are two big-horned rams going at it snap after snap. I’m looking for some fireworks here.

Joe Clark: Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. vs. Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. The Steelers are going to want to limit the run game as much as possible and try to make the Colts beat them through the air. If Pittman can have a good day, the chances of that happening obviously increase. Pittman hasn’t had a great year so far, with just 11 receptions for 88 yards, so he’s looking to get going. Porter wants to keep his miserable start to the season going.

Pittman had four catches for 75 yards in Indianapolis’ blowout win against the Steelers last season, but if Porter can shut him down, the options are going to be limited for QB Anthony Richardson, and it’ll turn the tide in Pittsburgh’s favor.

Ross McCorkle: The No.1 Colts offensive line vs. the No. 1 Steelers defensive line. It is going to be good on good in the trenches with a dogfight when the Steelers are on defense. The Colts allowed just four pressures, one sack, and one QB hit on 22 drop backs last week. Meanwhile, the Steelers’ d-line has been borderline unstoppable. All eyes will be on the unstoppable force against the immovable object in the trenches.

Scott Brown: Steelers QB Justin Fields vs. himself. The Bears’ 2021 first-round pick has been a revelation in every way since the Steelers traded a conditional sixth-round draft pick for him. Fields has struck the perfect balance between playing within an offense that has simply not had to lose games and flashing his wondrous talent. Does that continue in Indy?

Three games are a small sample size for a QB who was prone to taking sacks and turning the ball over in Chicago. And Fields has to know that Russell Wilson is getting closer to forcing Mike Tomlin’s hand regarding QB1 in Pittsburgh. Hopefully he doesn’t feel he has to do too much to beat the Colts — and remain the Steelers’ starting quarterback.

Troy Montgomery: Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick vs. Colts QB Anthony Richardson. Not exactly a matchup where both players are going to be battling on every play, but you can bet that Fitzpatrick and Richardson will be aware of each other on every play. Fitzpatrick is one of the best ball hawks in the league, and Richardson has been turnover-prone this season. He leads the NFL in interceptions (six) thrown, and his poor accuracy has to have Fitzpatrick licking his chops.

During his first season in Pittsburgh, Fitzpatrick had an incredible pick-six. Perhaps he can recreate that moment this week.

QUESTION 3: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST KEY TO THE GAME FOR THE STEELERS?

Josh Carney: Keep a lid on things. Anthony Richardson is a very tantalizing quarterback, one who has a huge arm and is a dynamic runner. But he’s still very much more athlete than quarterback right now. The Steelers are going to focus on stopping the run with Richardson and running back Jonathan Taylor, but in the process, they have to make sure they keep a lid on things and limit the big plays down the field in the passing game from Richardson. He’s already hit wide receiver Alec Pierce a handful of times for double- and triple-explosive plays on the season, along with tight end Kylen Granson.

He wants to go deep, and the Steelers have to find a way to force him to win in the intermediate part of the field, where he’s very prone to mistakes.

Joe Clark: Win in the trenches. Last year, they got dominated up front by Indianapolis. Practice squad elevation Tyler Goodson ran for 69 yards while Trey Sermon ran for 88 yards in what was truly an embarrassing effort. The Colts remember that game, and now the Steelers need to make them remember this one for a different reason. Indianapolis is already down DT DeForest Buckner, and the Steelers’ offensive line needs to get a push up front to keep their run-game success going.

The defensive line has to dominate at the point of attack and try to limit RB Jonathan Taylor as much as possible. They can’t get pushed around and bullied like they did last season, and if the Steelers win in the trenches, they’ll win the game.

Ross McCorkle: Follow the rules. Multiple Steelers defenders have talked about a necessity to change the rules this week with a mobile threat at quarterback like Anthony Richardson. Young players like Keeanu Benton, Nick Herbig, Payton Wilson, Beanie Bishop Jr. and Joey Porter Jr. have big roles to play in this game and have less experience dealing with a new set of defensive rules like this. Nick Herbig in particular will be an interesting watch.

How can he hold up setting the edge over the course of an entire game with Alex Highsmith out? Will his preference to win around the edge with speed create escape lanes for Richardson?

Scott Brown: Run, run, run. And then run some more. Nothing would quiet Colts fans more – in a dome, no less –than if the Steelers impose their will from the jump. It’s doable, and not just because the DeForest Buckner-less Colts are allowing almost 180 rushing yards per game. I’ve been really impressed by first-year OC Arthur Smith’s approach within the context of the Steelers’ first three games. Hasn’t been sexy, but it’s been effective. Smith has the play-calling chops to batter the Colts with the run while also keeping them semi-honest with well-timed shots down the field.

Troy Montgomery: Play mistake-free football. Justin Fields has done a great job not turning the ball over with the Steelers, and that needs to continue. The Steelers’ defense should have opportunities to come away with takeaways of its own, so Fields and the offense need to keep their play clean. In Week 3, it looked like Fields had a little more freedom on offense, and he did throw an interception.

The Colts’ defense isn’t as talented as the Los Angeles Chargers’, but it still has some playmakers. The Steelers lost the turnover battle last week and still won the game. That doesn’t happen often. The formula shouldn’t change for the Steelers. Run the football, play amazing defense, and don’t make mistakes on offense.

QUESTION 4: WHAT IS YOUR PREDICTION FOR STEELERS AT COLTS?

Josh Carney: This is another game that I feel pretty confident about, considering the Steelers have the best defense in football, can stop the run and can force quarterbacks into mistakes. That’s a struggle for the Colts offensively so far. Offensively, Pittsburgh should have its best rushing attack of the season against a porous Colts defense, which has some key starters banged up. It won’t be pretty again — i might not be once all year — but the Steelers have a formula and that lines up well with how to beat this Colts team. Steelers 23, Colts 13

Joe Clark: Given how the Colts’ passing attack has struggled a bit this season and the Steelers have the best defense in football and been able to stop the run and get after the quarterback, I think this is a game the Steelers should win. Nothing comes easy with the Steelers, and it’ll be another gritty game before Pittsburgh pulls away late, similar to last week. I’m calling Minkah Fitzpatrick gets his first interception of the season, too. Steelers 23 Colts 10

Ross McCorkle: I have one big worry for this game. While Anthony Richardson has been largely inaccurate, he is not afraid to chuck the ball 60 yards through the air. If the Colts hit on just one of those plays, it could change the dynamic of the game. The Steelers and Justin Fields haven’t had to play much catch-up in the second half this season.

If the Steelers find themselves in a hole because of one or two big explosive plays by the Colts, can Fields battle his way back with a high-volume passing attack? That being said, I think the Steelers find a way to make life uncomfortable for Richardson and win the game. Steelers 24, Colts 14.

Scott Brown: This is a classic trap game with the Steelers, after a 3-0 start, hosting the Cowboys in a prime-time showdown on Oct.5. But this team feels different, and defense travels. The Steelers’ defense will have revenge on its mind and an interception-prone QB in its crosshairs. St. Elmo’s steaks for everyone on the flight back to Pittsburgh. Steelers 24, Colts 13.

Troy Montgomery: This game looks like it should be an easy win for the Steelers with the Colts floundering to start the season, but anyone can win on any given Sunday. The Colts did crush the Steelers last year, which Pittsburgh likely still isn’t happy about. The Steelers have a knack for dropping games they should win, but that extra motivation should keep them hungry in this contest. They have the pieces to really beat the Colts down. Steelers 20, Colts 9.