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Saturday football returns to the NFL with an AFC matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6, 7-6 ATS) and the Indianapolis Colts (7-6, 8-5 ATS). These teams would grab the last two Wildcard spots if the season ended today, so this head-to-head matchup will be vital for tiebreakers. The Steelers are coming off a Thursday night loss to the Patriots, going down 21-18 as 5.5-point home favorites. The Colts just got blown out by Cincinnati, going down 34-14 as just 2.5-point road dogs. The Colts are currently listed as 1.5-point favorites. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 EST from Lucas Oil Stadium and can be found on the NFL Network.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are surprisingly alive in the playoff race, they are currently the 6-seed in the AFC but are coming off two ugly losses. The Steelers would be in a much better spot if they simply won the games they were supposed to win, as they lost as favorites in the last two weeks against the Cardinals and the Patriots. Against the Patriots, the Steelers defense made New England's Bailey Zappe look like a competent quarterback, allowing 240 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Steelers are starting Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback, as Kenny Pickett is still out with an ankle injury.
Trubisky has started the past two games, both losses, and has averaged 153.5 yards per game with two touchdowns and an interception. Pittsburgh will need to generate more offense, as they are only averaging 14.0 PPG as a team over the past two games with Trubisky. The Steelers have been splitting time i n the backfield; Najee Harris is the power back, he adds 53.1 yards per game and four touchdowns, while Jaylen Warren is a speed back adding 47.1 YPG and three touchdowns. Harris is better in short yardage scenarios, while Warren is used much more in the passing game. George Pickens in the top receiver, he gets 59.0 YPG and is the team's best big play threat as he has 16 receptions of over 20 yards. Diontae Johnson is another option in the passing game with 47.5 YPG. Both Pickens and Johnson have three touchdowns each on the season.
The Steelers rank 27th in the NFL in scoring with 16.2 points per game, but are much better on the defensive end where they rank 7th by allowing just 19.2 points per. Linebacker Elandon Roberts leads the team in tackles with 86, while fellow linebacker TJ Watt is second in the league with 14 sacks. CB Levi Wallace and S Damontae Kazee each have two interceptions on the year. They are tied for 2nd in the NFL in turnover differen tial with 21 takeaways on defense, and only 11 turnovers on offense.
Injury Report:
Out: Kenny Pickett
Questionable: WR Diontae Johnson, LB Elandon Roberts, LB Alex Highsmith