STEELERS COLTS GAMEDAY INFO
Week 15, Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6)
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, 4:30 p.m.
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis (67,000, Field Turf)
Broadcast
TV: NFL Network, KDKA-TV Channel 2 locally (Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, Jamie Erdahl)
Radio: Steelers Radio Network, 102.5 WDVE-FM (Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks); SiriusXM 226; Westwood One Sports (Bill Rosinski, Mike Mayock)
SN Coverage: Alan Saunders, Nick Farabaugh, Ed Thompson
Weather: Cloudy, 51 degrees. Winds SSE 9 mph. Roof will be closed.
Lines: Steelers +1.5, Steelers EVEN, over/under 42.5
New customers to ESPN Bet can get a free $250 bet with any new signup. Click the link and use promo code STEEL to get an extra $50 off, exclusively for Steelers Now readers.
AT STAKE
This game is as close to a must-win game as you can get with four weeks left in the regular season. The Steelers enter the proceedings in Indianapolis as the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Colts are the No. 7 seed. There are four more teams tied at 7-6 behind them. The winner of this game will likely be the sixth seed next week. The loser could be 11th.
According to the New York Times, the Steelers have a 46% chance of making the playoffs if they beat the Colts, and just an 8% chance if they lose.
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
| Overall | AFC North | AFC | Head-to-head | |
| Ravens | 10-3 | 3-2 | 6-3 | CIN 2-0, CLE 1-1, PIT 0-1 |
| Browns | 8-5 | 3-2 | 6-3 | BAL 1-1, CIN 1-0, PIT 1-1 |
| Steelers | 7-6 | 3-1 | 5-4 | BAL 1-0, CLE 1-1, CIN 1-0 |
| Bengals | 7-6 | 0-4 | 3-6 | CLE 0-1, BAL 0-2, PIT 0-1 |
AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
1 Baltimore Ravens 10-3
2 Miami Dolphins 9-4
3 Kansas City Chiefs 8-5
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 8-5
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5 Cleveland Browns 8-5
6 Pittsburgh Steelers 7-6
7 Indianapolis Colts 7-6
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8 Houston Texans 7-6
9 Denver Broncos 7-6
10 Cincinnati Bengals 7-6
11 Buffalo Bills 7-6
12 Las Vegas Raiders 6-8
13 New York Jets 5-8
14 Tennessee Titans 5-8
15 Los Angeles Chargers 5-9
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16 New England Patriots 3-10
STEELERS INJURY REPORT
Most of the injury news for the Steelers this week was positive, as both T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith quickly cleared the concussion protocol and even though Diontae Johnson was a late addition to the injury report, he is expected to play.
The one question mark left for the Steelers is left guard Isaac Seumalo. He was injured in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals. He returned to face the New England Patriots on a short week, but did not practice at all this week. Nate Herbig will replace him if he cannot start.
Kenny Pickett is still looking at least one more week out of action.
| Player | Injury | Date | Prognosis | Roster Status |
| WR Diontae Johnson | Knee | Dec. 13 | Unknown | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| OLB Alex Highsmith | Neck/concussion protocol | Dec. 7 | Cleared protocol | Active, WILL PLAY. vs IND |
| OLB T.J. Watt | Concussion protocol | Dec. 7 | Cleared protocol | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| RB Najee Harris | Right knee | Dec. 5 | Minor | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| DT Keeanu Benton | Oblique | Dec. 3 | Unknown | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| LG Isaac Seumalo | Shoulder | Dec. 3 | Minor | Active, QUES. vs IND |
| QB Kenny Pickett | R high ankle sprain surgery | Dec. 3 | 2-4 Weeks | Active, OUT vs IND |
| ILB Elandon Roberts | Groin | Dec. 3 | Minor | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| SS Damontae Kazee | Ankle | Dec. 12 | Unknown | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| DE Cam Heyward | Groin | Dec. 12 | Minor | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| CB James Pierre | Shoulder | Nov. 22 | Day to day | Active, WILL PLAY vs. IND |
| DB Elijah Riley | High ankle sprain | Nov. 19 | Week to week | Injured reserve (Wk. 16) |
| SS Keanu Neal | Rib | Nov. 12 | Week to week | Injured reserve (Wk. 15) |
| ILB Kwon Alexander | Achilles | Nov. 12 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| ILB Cole Holcomb | Left knee surgery | Nov. 2 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| LB Chapelle Russell II | Knee | Aug. 11 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| CB Cory Trice | Right ACL tear | Aug. 1 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| RB Alfonzo Graham | Torn right labrum | July 29 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| DT Renell Wren | Torn right Achilles tendon | May 17 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
TRANSACTIONS
The Steelers re-signed outside linebacker David Perales to their practice squad and released running back Qadree Ollison. They promoted outside linebacker Kyron Johnson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster for today’s game.
THE OTHER SIDE
The Colts will be without star running back Jonathan Taylor (thumb surgery) for at least another week, and Indianapolis has ruled out two other players: tackle Braden Smith (knee) and linebacker Segun Olubi (hip).
Zack Moss will start for the Colts at running back, as he has for most of the season, while Taylor has dealt with multiple injuries. Tyler Goodson and Trey Sermon will provide depth.
Smith is the starter at right tackle, which will have fourth-round rookie Blake Freeland from BYU in line to make his eighth career start. Segun is the back to Zaire Franklin at middle linebacker.
THE LAST TIME
Kenny Pickett led the Pittsburgh Steelers on one of his signature fourth-quarter comebacks, as backup running back Benny Snell scored the only touchdown of the fourth quarter to cap a long drive. Pickett hit George Pickens for the 2-point conversion to give the Steelers a 24-17 victory on Nov. 28, 2022.
Najee Harris scored on a 6-yard run earlier in the game before bowing to Snell because of injury. Snell finished as the leading rusher with 12 carries for 64 yards. Pickett started slowly, with the offense relying on three first-half field goals from Matthew Wright to build a 16-3 lead. Pickett finished 20 of 28 for just 174 yards yards.
The Colts stormed back in the third quarter, scoring on a Jonathan Taylor 2-yard run and a 6-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Michael Pittman Jr. Taylor had 86 yards on 20 carries. Tight end Jelani Woods led the Colts with eight catches for 98 yards.
STEELERS-COLTS SERIES
The Steelers are 27-6 all-time against the Colts franchises, in games dating back to 1950. The 1950 game was against the original Baltimore Colts, which had moved from the AAFC to the NFL that season. The Steelers won that game, 17-7.
That team folded after that season, and the current franchise was formed with the same name in 1953. They remained in Baltimore for 30 years, with the Steelers holding an 8-3 record against the club in that time frame.
After the 1983, the franchise moved to Indianapolis. The Colts won the first game between the franchises at the RCA Dome in 1984, and then went on a two-decade losing streak. The Steelers won the next nine games, including playoff games in 1995 and 1996. The Colts won two of three from 2005 to 2008, but the one loss was a 2005 playoff defeat that was the last game in the series as the RCA Dome. The Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl that season.
The Steelers have won the last eight games against the Colts and are 4-0 all-time at Lucas Oil Stadium.
PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS
Defensive end Genard Avery, who is on the injured reserve list, was with the Steelers during training camp in 2022.
Guard Josh Sills played at West Virginia and fellow guard Will Fries went to Penn State. Practice squad wide receiver K.J. Hamler is also a Penn State alum.
Safeties coach Mike Mitchell played three seasons with the Steelers from 2014-17.