Week Nine brings a crucial game for the Pittsburgh Steelers who have lost two straight. This week they host the surprising and league-leading Indianapolis Colts. Here’s everything you need to know about the game.
What: Indianapolis Colts 7-1 at Pittsburgh Steelers 4-3
Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
When: Sunday November 2nd, 2025 1pmET
Weather: 50 degrees and a 20% chance of rain at kickoff. Rain chances diminish as the game goes on.
Surface: Natural Grass.
Wagering Information: Colts -3 O/U 50.5
Last Week: The Colts defeated AFC South rival Tennessee 38-14 while the Steelers were humbled at home on Sunday night by Green Bay losing 35-25.
TV: CBS Ian Eagle (play-by-play), J.J. Watt (analysis), Evan Washburn (field reporter)
TV Coverage in Your Area (courtesy 506sports.com): RED
Radio: Steelers Audio Network Rob King (play-by-play), Max Starks (analysis), Missi Matthews (field reporter)
Compass Media Networks: Chris Carrino (play-by-play), Brian Baldinger (analysis)
Head Official: Craig Wrolstad. A University of Washington Grad, Wrolstad is an Athletic Director in his real career. He has been a head official for 12 years now and last oversaw a Steelers game on Christmas Day of last year. The loss to the Chiefs saw 13 flags accepted that day. His crew is averaging about 12 flags per game with about 1 fewer going towards the home team.
Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: No. 13 WR Scotty Miller (Finger) – Out, * No. 18 QB Will Howard (Right Hand) – Questionable
No. 21 S Chuck Clark (Illness) – Questionable, * No. 27 CB Cory Trice Jr. (Hamstring/Knee) – Out, No. 40 S Jabrill Peppers (Quadricep) – Out, * No. 50 LB Malik Harrison (Knee) – Questionable, No. 55 LB Cole Holcomb (Illness) – Questionable IND: No. 6 WR Anthony Gould (Knee) – Out, No. 40 CB Jaylon Jones (Hamstring) – Questionable, No. 52 DE Samson Ebukam (Knee) – Out, No. 94 DE Tyquan Lewis (Groin) – Questionable, No. 90 DT Grover Stewart (Foot) – Questionable
* in the 21-day window designated to return from Injured Reserve
Injury Notes: The Steelers’ secondary is a disaster and you could have said that before all of the injuries… Don’t forget that DeShon Elliott is now on IR and is likely out for the season.
2025 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 25th, IND 1st
Passing Offense: PIT 19th, IND 6th
Rushing Offense: PIT 25th, IND 6th
Total Defense: PIT 30th, IND 24th
Passing Defense: PIT 32nd, IND 29th
Rushing Defense: PIT 18th, IND 8th
AFC North Standings:
Pittsburgh 4-3
Cincinnati 3-5
Baltimore 3-5
Cleveland 2-6
This Week in the AFC North: Baltimore 28 at Miami 6 (THU), Chicago at Cincinnati 1pmET, Cleveland BYE
What You Need to Know: The Steelers are 3-3 this year when they have less than 30 minutes in time of possession… After winning eight straight in the series, the Steelers have now dropped two in a row to the Colts… The Steelers are 4-1 in day games this year while they 0-2 at night… Chris Boswell’s three field goals of 50+ yards last week marked the third time in his career that he’s done that…
Tomlin Time: Mike Tomlin is 8-3 all-time against the Colts but he’s 0-2 versus Shane Steichen… Tomlin remains six wins shy (187) of Chuck Noll for ninth all-time in coaching victories… Coach T is 137-82-1 all-time versus AFC opponents…
Indianapolis Colts Names to Know: QB Daniel Jones, RB Jonathan Taylor, TE Tyler Warren, WR Michael Pittman, Jr, G Quenton Nelson, DL DeForest Buckner, K Spencer Shrader, S Cam Bynum, LB Zaire Franklin
What’s at Stake: The Colts are looking to extend their lead over Jacksonville in the AFC South while the Steelers are looking to end a two-game slide.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 33-11 and lead all-time in Pittsburgh 20-3
Last Meeting: September 2025 in Indy. Colts 27 Steelers 24
Postseason History: Steelers lead 5-0
Steelers Regular Season Game Highs vs IND:
PASSING: 522 yards Ben Roethlisberger 10/26/2014
RUSHING: 179 yards Barry Foster 09/18/1994
RECEIVING: 154 Louis Lipps 09/08/1985
SACKS: 3.0 Mike Merriweather 10/21/1984
INTERCEPTIONS: 2 Darren Perry 11/22/1992, Brent Alexander 10/21/2002
Check out the latest Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast for more on the Steelers.
Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:
–Possess the Ball. What’s the old saying? Your best defense is sometimes your best offense? The Colts have the number offense in the NFL and it starts with their running attack. From there, it leads to play-action and before you know it, you’re down two or three scores. Arthur Smith has to be creative and he has to be above average. His guys have to convert third downs and the mental mistakes we saw last week have to be eliminated. With the Steelers having a huge second half point differential, that means the defense is on the field too long. Much of that is their own doing, but the offense can help with long drives and red zone success.
–Fight? Cam Heyward, one of the team’s captains, said after the game Sunday night that the team had lost its fight. That’s a damning comment from such a respected figure. Let’s also remember this was the team’s seventh game. It’s not like this was week 17. Whether the team wins or loses on Sunday, those are words that cannot be thrown around the Steelers organization. If we see another week where effort and ‘fight’ are questioned then we will have a whole new situation to deal with.
–Block, Tackle and Catch. Yep, the old fundamentals. This team really struggled with tackling last week and it led to several big plays for the Packers. Receivers weren’t necessarily dropping balls but there were far too many that weren’t caught cleanly and when that happened, they lost the ability to make a move on the defender. It happened to Calvin Austin III on at least two occasions. The blocking wasn’t that bad but when you only run the ball three times in the second half? There’s not a lot to work with there. I really hope there was a return to fundamentals this week.
The ‘X’ Factor: Each week I will select a player from each team who I believe will need to play above and beyond in order for his team to win.
X-Factor Steelers: Teryl Austin. I don’t care whose defense it is and I don’t care who is calling the defense either. They have to get things right and because Austin is the guy with “defensive coordinator” next to his name, he’s the one who will get the bulk of pressure applied to him. The secondary was a mess before the injuries hit so now Austin will have to step up even more. The only way the Steelers win this game is with a strong day from Austin.
X-Factor Colts: Daniel Jones. With a career rebirth underway, Jones is playing well. He has the running the game and defense to utilize his skills. He’s facing a defense that has been torched in recent weeks so there will be opportunities for him. However, he’s known for making mistakes and turnovers. Doing that Sunday keeps the Steelers in the game and the defense off the field. If he takes care of the ball he should be fine.
Prediction: Last week was a game that Mike Tomlin normally wins. He was coming off a tough road loss and had extra time to prepare for a Packers’ team that had played out West the Sunday before. Clearly that didn’t happen so is this the week we get the classic ‘Tomlin bounce-back?’ I don’t see it. The defense is a mess and the offense will have too much pressure on it to be perfect. I think they can keep it close for awhile but in the end, take the Colts.
Colts 30 Steelers 17
Season Prediction Record: 2-5
