Colts vs Steelers Prediction: Defense wins this one for Pittsburgh

The second game of Saturday’s double-header comes from the house that Peyton built, where two 7-6 teams still in the playoff hunt face-off.

@NFLGirlUK has filed her preview and we’ve picked out a couple of bets for you to consider heading into this one, live on Sky Sports…

These are two teams that are desperate to win again after some tough performances lately. We’ve watched the Pittsburgh Steelers lose back-to-back games against the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots.

Yes, that actually happened. But we’ve also seen the Indianapolis Colts get blown out by Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend. These are two teams hoping to get back on track in some way moving forward.

Starting with the Steelers. There seems to be a genuine concern for this offense, more than ever before. We just heard former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger say on his podcast that he thinks the “Steelers Culture” is finished due to how their offense isn’t buying in. He mentioned that the offense in particular is lacking guys that really go after it and get the job done.

One thing that he made sure to mention was that the defense is holding up their end of the bargain with defensive leaders in TJ Watt, Cam Heyward, and Minkah Fitzpatrick leading the way. The trouble is on the offense, and it has been for a few years now. Even more nowadays with Kenny Pickett out with an injury, forcing Mitchell Trubisky into the starting role.

We also heard receiver George Pickens complain about the play calling, Diontae Johnson give zero effort on a fumble that went to the other team, and Najee Harris seemingly at a loss for words on what they have been doing offensively. None of this is good news on that side of the ball, but the defense keeps them in ball games.

As for the Colts, much of their success relies on Gardner Minshew. Minshew has done a really good job of keeping the season alive despite the injury to Anthony Richardson. He had this Colts team on a four-game winning streak when Jonathan Taylor returned to the line-up as well.

Although, with Taylor set to miss his third straight game, Minshew will have to do more to carry the load. The team has won one out of the two games without Taylor lately, but the ground game hasn’t done well at all in his absence.

Zack Moss has 79 total rushing yards in the last two games as the lead back, which just isn’t enough to win games. Indianapolis will also need their defense to step up, as they’ve allowed over 20 points in each of the last three games, and over 28 points in the last two.

Looking at this game overall, I would love to roll with the Colts because I have more faith in their offense than I do the Steelers. However, Pittsburgh’s defense will be the difference maker once more and help them win.

I find it hard to believe they lose a third straight, even with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. This defense will get after Minshew and company, shut down the run, and force the Colts defense to win them the game. It’s something that I simply don’t see them doing with how bad that the Colts defense has been all year.

Match Odds:

The second game this Saturday evening is going to be a close one according to the traders as the spread has only been set at Steelers+1.5. You can back the hometown Colts at 4/5 on the Money Line with the visitors being priced up at 21/20 to win the game straight-up.

This game will not be featuring the most fearsome of offenses and the Total Points line reflects that, coming in at Over/Under 41.5. Colts’ RB Zack Moss is the shortest price to find the End Zone as you can back him at 4/6 anytime.

Bet 1 – Pittsburgh Steelers to win on the Money Line @ 21/20

I’m taking the small underdog as even with an average at best offense, Pittsburgh have enough playmakers on D to unsettle Gardner Minshew throughout the 60 minutes of football.

In all honesty it is quite a shock that both teams are over .500 and still very much in the playoff hunt but when it gets to December and it is a tough match to call, always back the defense you trust more and in this one, it isn’t even close.

Bet 2 – Any Other Pittsburgh Steeler to score a TD @ 5/1

This is basically a punt that the Steelers D create either a fumble-return or Pick-6 in the game. We have all seen enough of Gardner Minshew to know that he likes to sit in the pocket and take on the low-percentage/high-reward throws. With a good pass rush coupled with a top-notch secondary, that should equate to trouble for Indy at times.

We all know defensive scores aren’t commonplace but we have all the ingredients here at a decent price for it is be a nice small stakes play.

Remember to check out our NFL Betting Tips index page where we preview games live on Sky Sports…