The Pittsburgh Steelers head into their Week 4 matchup on the road against the Indianapolis Colts at 3-0, and nine out of the 10 NFL Network analysts who predict games expect the Steelers to move to 4-0. Kevin Patra was the lone holdout, picking the Colts to win 20-17 in a game preview video posted by the NFL YouTube channel.
As has been common in these game predictions, almost every analyst predicted it to be a one-score game. Maurice Jones-Drew was the only analyst who has the Steelers winning by more than one score (17-7). The smallest margin of victory comes via Eric Edholm and Bucky Brooks, who both have the Steelers winning by one point. Brooks has Pittsburgh winning 21-20, while Edholm has the Steelers improving to 4-0 with a 20-19 win.
It’s a road game for the Steelers, which should make things a little more difficult, and the Mitch Trubisky-led Steelers got waxed 30-13 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 15 last year. But the Steelers revamped their offense, and they’ve been one of the best teams in the league in terms of time of possession, and Pittsburgh’s defense is No. 1 in the league right now, allowing just 8.7 points per game, and they held the Los Angeles Chargers to -5 yards in the second half last week. Also, Justin Fields is coming off his best game of the season through the air, throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown.
The Colts enter at 1-2, as they beat the Chicago Bears for their first win in Week 3 after losing to the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers to open the season. QB Anthony Richardson is a dynamic quarterback and can use his legs, making the Colts run game a necessity to slow down along with RB Jonathan Taylor. But throwing the ball has been a bit of a problem for Richardson this season. While he’s made a few impressive throws, he’s only completed 49.3% of his passes this season and has thrown six interceptions in three games.
If the Steelers can make Richardson uncomfortable, it could be another multi-turnover game for Pittsburgh. The Steelers forced three turnovers in Week 1 and then had two interceptions in Week 2 but failed to force a turnover against the Chargers in Week 3. With how good Pittsburgh has been defensively this season, it could make things uncomfortable for Richardson, which explains the Steelers being picked to win this week by most of the NFL Network analysts.
Nothing is given in the NFL, though. The Colts are going to want to get to 2-2 to stay in the AFC South race, and playing at home should give them a little bit of a boost. The Steelers should be able to win, though, if they can continue to play their style of offense and their defense rises to the occasion once again.
