If there's an NFL team not feeling sorry about the Steelers losing Ben Roethlisberger for the season, it's the Colts.
After all, they've had their share of seasons in recent years in which they've had to play without their starting quarterback. That includes this season, as the Colts had to deal with the abrupt retirement of Andrew Luck just a couple of weeks into training camp.
Fortunately enough for the Colts, they were in a similar situation two years ago, when Luck missed most of the season. That meant backup Jacoby Brissett, whom they had traded a second-round pick to the Patriots to acquire, got plenty of starting experience.
It's paid off this season, as Brissett has stepped into the lineup for the Colts (5-2) and they haven't missed a beat -- including winning their past three games. The Steelers (3-4) will try to slow the Colts' post-Luck good fortune with a backup quarterback of their own in Mason Rudolph when the two teams meet Sunday at Heinz Field.
At this point, neither can be considered a backup any longer.
"No one views him as a backup going in for a guy," Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said. "This is Jacoby's team."
The Steelers feel the same way about Rudolph, even though they feel good about Roethlisberger's chances to return next year. They still feel they can be a winning team despite having an inexperienced quarterback.
"You see it across the league, there are a lot of injuries this year. I always think it seems like the same every year, major injuries," guard David DeCastro told me. "There’s no excuses. Other teams found a way to win. The Saints won without (Drew) Brees. The Panthers have won without Cam Newton. It’s still a team sport, even though that position commands more respect. It makes it harder, but at the end of the day, you’re still able to win."
The Steelers, like the Colts, come into this game on a bit of a roll. They've won their past two games and three of their past four to help rebound from an 0-3 start.
A win in this game would put the Steelers back at 4-4 and perhaps signal to the rest of the league they are ready to overcome the loss of their star quarterback. And they learned some things about Rudolph in last week's 27-14 win over the Dolphins.
Rudolph was coming back from a concussion, having missed the team's previous game at Los Angeles against the Chargers. It took him some time to get warmed up to playing, as he completed just one of his first seven passes for 14 yards and an interception.
But once he got warmed back up to game speed, he was good.
"You never know how they’re going to respond when they come back," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "Quite honestly, I was expecting maybe a little more subtleness early in that football game, but it makes sense. It does, and like I said, we grew through it and I was proud of him for that."
Likewise, Reich has been happy with how his team has responded to the retirement of Luck. Luck was coming back off an injury and didn't practice at all in the offseason.
That helped with the process.
"It was a real credit to the guys in the locker room that it was business as usual," Reich said. "On one hand, it was a shock and a surprise with the announcement. But Jacoby had gotten all of the reps in the offseason. At that point, it was business as usual. The guys handled it well and we moved on quickly."
The Steelers have handled not having Roethlisberger around, as well. They haven't complained about the situation. They've continued to fight and try to win, just like the Colts.
Indianapolis has seen every one of its games decided by a touchdown or less this season -- the only team to have done that to this point. The Steelers aren't far behind. While they have recorded blowout wins over the Bengals and Dolphins and were blown out themselves in their regular season opener at New England, the rest of their games have been decided by a touchdown or less.
The difference? While the Colts are 5-2 in those close games, the Steelers are 1-3.
That could just come down to the difference in experience of the two quarterbacks. While Brissett will be making his 25th career start (with a record of 10-14), this will be just the fifth time Rudolph will be getting the call. He's got a 2-2 record.
"How do you gain experience but through play?" said Mike Tomlin of Rudolph. "Particularly at the quarterback position, you don’t get to the position that he’s in unless you’re capable of smiling in the face of adversity. Often times guys are defined by how they handle success. I think handling failure and adversity is a natural thing for guys that make it to this level. So, really what’s going to write the story for him, and really a lot of young guys, is how did they deal with and absorb and grow through success?"
THE ESSENTIALS
• When: 1:02 p.m.
• Where: Heinz Field
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Satellite: SiriusXM 232, Internet 826
• Forecast: 44 degrees, partly cloudy
• Lots open: 9 a.m.
• Will call open: 11 a.m.
• Gates open: 9 a.m.
• Boxscore: NFL Game Center
• Odds: MyBookie.AG
THE INJURY REPORT
Steelers: RB Benny Snell (knee, out), G Ramon Foster (concussion, out), RB James Conner (shoulder, doubtful), FB Roosevelt Nix (knee, questionable)
Colts: WR T.Y. Hilton (calf, out), CB Pierre Desir (hamstring, doubtful), DE Justin Houston (calf, questionable), S Malik Hooker (knee, questionable)
THE KEY VARIABLE
The Steelers spent the offseason talking about creating more turnovers after getting just 15 in 2018. They practiced ways to do it. They preached about it constantly.
And that work has paid off. Through eight weeks, despite already having their bye week, only the Patriots have forced more turnovers (25) than the 19 the Steelers have gotten in their first seven games. And New England has played eight games.
Adding to that total won't be easy against the Colts. Indianapolis has turned the ball over just seven times this season.
According to Reich, there are a couple of reasons for that.
"One is Jacoby is making good decisions with the football and being accurate throwing it," Reich said. "The second one is when we're carrying the ball, having good ball security. We're like every team, we talk about that a lot. We work hard at that. We look at Pittsburgh's defense as top-notch when it comes to taking the football away and putting pressure on the passer. Those are two things that stand out about their defense."
The other two things that should stand out are inside linebacker Devin Bush and free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Bush, the Steelers' top draft pick, has had a hand in six of the turnovers, intercepting two passes and recovering four fumbles. Fitzpatrick, acquired via a trade with the Dolphins after Week 2, has had a hand in four turnovers, intercepting three passes and forcing a fumble.
The Steelers have been a much different defense, in particular, since acquiring Fitzpatrick. In their five games with him on the field, they're allowing 16.8 points and 293.2 yards per game. They've forced 17 turnovers and recorded 19 sacks in those five games.
"They get after it," Colts center Ryan Kelly said. "Running the ball is going to be huge, and protecting Jacoby is going to be important. Then playing on the road, obviously, you have to get after it early and kind of take the air out of the stadium.”
It won't be easy without Hilton, their No. 1 receiver.
Hilton suffered a calf injury in practice Wednesday and is out three to four weeks. How important is that?
Despite already missing one game -- a loss to the Raiders at home -- Hilton's 32 receptions are 10 more than the next closest Colts player, running back Nyheim Hines. His 360 receiving yards are over 100 more than the next closest Indianapolis player. And his five touchdowns lead the team.
"He's their guy," Steelers cornerback Steven Nelson told me. "He's the guy that can take a top off a defense, but he's also capable of beating you other ways, as well."
Not in this game, he won't.
THE HISTORY LESSON
This week's history lesson isn't an old one. In fact, we'll go back just a couple of years to Nov. 12, 2017, when the Steelers traveled to Indianapolis to face the Colts.
The Steelers entered the game at 6-2, while the Colts were 3-6 playing without Luck. Brissett, then in his second season, was subbing for Luck, who was out for the season.
Two weeks earlier, the Lions had shown the league something, hitting long passes to Marvin Jones and Eric Ebron, though the Steelers found a way to win. But the deep passes became a problem for the remainder of the season.
And they certainly were in this game, as the Colts jumped on the Steelers, who were coming off their bye.
Brissett opened the second quarter by hitting Donte Moncrief -- yes, that Donte Moncrief -- on a 60-yard bomb to give the Colts a 7-0 lead. Indianapolis then got a 48-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri with just over five minutes remaining in the first half to take a 10-0 lead.
Ben Roethlisberger got the Steelers on the board late in the first half, directing a 39-yard field goal drive in the final 1:39 of the first half to set up a 41-yard Chris Boswell field goal.
But Brissett put the Colts ahead, 17-3, on the opening possession of the second half, finding Chester Rogers for a 61-yard touchdown pass.
That seemed to wake the Steelers up. Roethlisberger threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster to cut the lead to 17-9 on the Steelers' next possession after Boswell's PAT was blocked.
Then, early in the fourth quarter, Ryan Shazier intercepted Brissett to set up a 7-yard TD pass from Roethlisberger to Vance McDonald. The Steelers went for two to tie the game and Roethlisberger converted it with a throw to Martavis Bryant.
Stephon Tuitt sacked Brissett to force the Colts to go three and out on their next possession, but Boswell missed a 37-yard field goal and the game remained tied at 17.
The Colts again failed to move the ball on their next possession and the Steelers got it back at their own 15 with 3:10 remaining.
Roethlisberger got the Steelers into field goal range, with the big play coming on a 32-yard pass to Antonio Brown, and this time, Boswell booted a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers a win.
Brissett completed 14 of 24 passes for 222 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, with Rogers catching six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Roethlisberger threw for 236 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Le'Veon Bell ran for 80 yards and Smith-Schuster had five catches for 97 yards.
THE MAIN MATCHUP
Indianapolis' defense has been a bend-but-don't-break unit this season. They rank 15th in the league in total defense and are 14th in scoring defense. They're tied for 16th in sacks with 19.
In fact, they're pretty much middle of the pack in everything defensively, with one notable exception.
The Colts are allowing 4.8 yards per rushing attempt this season, which is tied for 26th in the league with the Dolphins, whom the Steelers just ran all over last week in a 27-14 victory.
Of course, that was James Conner doing the majority of the running last week, as he gained 145 yards on 23 carries. Conner likely won't play for the Steelers in this game. He's doubtful with a shoulder injury suffered on his final carry of the game against the Dolphins just before the two-minute warning.
To make matters worse, rookie Benny Snell suffered a knee injury against the Dolphins that required surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
Enter Jaylen Samuels.
The second-year running back is returning from a torn meniscus surgery of his own. He missed the past two games, but figures to get the majority of touches in the backfield for the Steelers in this one.
“If that’s what I’ve got to do, that’s what I’ve got to do,” said Samuels. “We’ve got the depth in the running back room to handle the situation we are going through. I believe in everybody. I believe in this team, the o-line, the running backs and the coaches. If we all believe in each other and execute we’ll be good."
One reason the Colts have been run on effectively is because they're light along the line. Defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Justin Houston are both bulked up outside linebackers. Starting defensive tackles Margus Hunt and Denico Autry are 295 and 285 pounds, respectively, which doesn't sound small until you realize Hunt is 6-foot-8 and Autry is 6-foot-5.
The Steelers' offensive line, which hasn't run-blocked as effectively as it has in the past, will have an advantage in bulk, even with B.J. Finney replacing Ramon Foster at left guard. Foster is out with a concussion.
In fact, the Steelers might even have a bigger advantage running the ball because of Finney. In his nine career starts, the Steelers have averaged 129.3 yards rushing per game, winning eight of them.
"B.J. has filled in plenty of games for us over the years, so he’s more than ready," DeCastro said.
So is Samuels.
Samuels started three games in place of an injured Conner in 2018, averaging 109.3 total yards per game. That includes a 142-yard rushing effort in a win over the Patriots last December.
"We know he can be capable of being that one back that can play all three downs," Fichtner said. "He’s done it before in big games. I think back to New England last year. I mean, he’s had plenty of those moments. So, I’m just excited to have him back."
THE QUOTES
• "I hope he doesn’t become a cult hero. He and we don’t need that in our lives, you know." -- Tomlin on backup offensive tackle Zach Banner
• "That was kind of a weird call. It was an unusual call. We had a good screen set up, so that was unfortunate. The rules are the rules. You just don’t see it very often." -- David DeCastro on fellow guard Ramon Foster's offensive pass interference penalty last week against the Dolphins
• "Look across the league. Everyone has to have at least one Superman and one Batman. It would be nice to have two Superman." -- Fichtner on his wide receivers
THE TEN DATA POINTS
• According to Next Gen Stats, the Steelers have generated a tackle for a loss on a quarter of run plays against them this season.
• Smith-Schuster has had at least 75 receiving yards and/or a touchdown in five of the six games not started by Devlin Hodges this season.
• The Colts have allowed slot receivers -- where Smith-Schuster has run the majority of his routes -- to catch 41-of-55 targets this season.
• T.J. Watt was credited with 10 quarterback pressures last week against the Dolphins.
• Opposing quarterbacks have run the ball 35 times against the Steelers -- a number affected by having played Lamar Jackson -- which is the fourth-most in the NFL. But the Steelers are 12th in yards rushing allowed to opposing quarterbacks with 120.
• The Steelers are one of just seven teams that have yet to allow a touchdown catch by a running back this season.
• The Colts have allowed a league-high 80 rushing yards and two touchdowns to opposing wide receivers on seven attempts.
• Starting with a win over the Colts in 2014, the Steelers have won five of their past seven games after playing on a short week following a Monday night game. They are 36-29 all-time in such games, including 27-22 at home.
• Smith-Schuster, who turns 23 later this month, set a record last week with his 12th 100-yard game before his 23rd birthday. Randy Moss had held the record with 11.
• Vinatieri has missed five of his 13 kicks (three field goals, two PATs) outdoors this season. He has missed just three of 19 kicks (two field goals and one PAT) at home.
FANTASY CORNER
Last week's lineup was OK, posting 157.42 points. That was good enough to get into the money in some contests, not quite good enough in others. As expected, James Conner and Diontae Johnson both performed well. And Ryan Tannehill and DeAndre Hopkins also were solid starts. But Austin Ekeler and A.J. Brown underperformed. Today's lineup will feature the Sunday and Monday games with a $50,000 salary limit.
Quarterback: Matthew Stafford ($6,800) -- The Raiders have allowed 19 touchdown passes this season and the Lions have no healthy running backs.
Running backs: Josh Jacobs ($6,500), Aaron Jones ($7,000) -- Paying up for two stud running backs this week who both have great matchups.
Wide receivers: Chris Godwin ($7,300), Marvin Jones ($6,000), Robbie Anderson ($5,500) -- Playing matchups here, though Godwin is a top play every week. Jones (vs. Oakland) and Anderson (vs. Miami) are great matchups, and Jones gives us a stack with Stafford.
Tight end: Cameron Brate ($3,100) -- Brate gets the Seahawks, who have allowed the fifth-most catches by opposing tight ends this season.
Flex: Jaylen Samuels ($4,000) -- If James Conner plays, Samuels' value takes a hit. But he'll still get his share of touches. If Conner doesn't play, Samuels is an extreme value at $4,000.
Defense: Bills ($3,800) -- The Buffalo defense against Dwayne Haskins? Yes, please.
Dale Lolley (4-3): The Colts are the only team in the league that has had every game decided by a touchdown or less. That they have won five of those seven shows they're a good team. But they're also 0-1 without Hilton, having lost to the Raiders at home. Without him again, their offense could struggle. The Steelers need Rudolph to play mistake-free football while they rely on their running game. This has the feel of a win for the Steelers, who have an advantage up front against an undersized Indianapolis defensive line. The Steelers also have a big advantage at kicker, where Vinatieri is struggling and will be kicking outdoors, where he's missed 5 of 13 attempts. Steelers, 20-16
Christopher Carter (2-5): Brissett has 14 touchdowns against three interceptions but, with Hilton out and Ebron having spent time on the injury report, that could limit his options. The Steelers have done well against the run and, to bottle up Marlon Mack, the key is how they deal with Quinten Nelson at guard. Without Stephon Tuitt, that may be tough for Cam Heyward alone. Defensively, the Colts are right behind the Steelers in yards and points allowed. But they lack turnovers, with seven to the Steelers' 16. Steelers, 21-20
Hunter Homistek (5-2): I was ready to pick the Colts and feel safe about it ... then the Hilton injury happened. Then I talked to players and coaches about how they'd approach this safe, efficient Indianapolis offense. I'm starting to believe the Steelers will keep it rolling. It hinges on the effectiveness of Samuels and Trey Edmunds taking some pressure off Rudolph and company, then carries over to the defense shutting down the Colts' dynamic tight end duo. If those two things happen, the home team gets it done. Steelers, 24-10
Matt Sunday (4-3): I've typed and deleted something, something, something, something, Colts here several times. I want to, but I can't do it. Minus Hilton, and with the Steelers' defense doing the controlling work that it is, I just can't see the Colts doing enough offensively in Pittsburgh to win. The Colts are a fun team to root for right now, though. Their season has been one of overcoming obstacles, as well. I just think the Steelers are better equipped to handle their shortcomings. Sacks and picks. Steelers, 24-16
Dejan Kovacevic (3-4): Indy's got the vanilla defense and the sugar-free vanilla offense. I've appreciated Brissett's growth, but no Hilton equals no splash equals ... wow, zero-calorie, caffeine-free vanilla? This will be decided by whether or not the progress made by Rudolph and his receivers vs. Miami was real. If it was, then Samuels will fare well on the run, and the sticks will move. If the passing game stalls, then this stays tight. I happen to believe that passing game was real enough. For now. Steelers, 25-16