5 Questions with Behind the Steel Curtain: Can the Colts beat Mike Tomlin?

Getting to .500 would be massive for this young Colts team.

In Week 4 of 2024 our Indianapolis Colts will host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Knowing the party was coming to town I sat down with Ryan Parish of Behind the Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s Steelers blog. You can find him on Twitter @RyanParishmedia. We swapped questions and answers about both the Steelers and the Colts and what follows is what I’ve learned about this week’s enemy.

You can find my answers to his questions here.

Chris Shepherd: Justin Fields is coming off of probably his best performance of the year. How are Steelers fans feeling about Fields and his future with the Team?

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Ryan Parish: I’ve been banging the drum for Fields to be QB1 all summer, but until recently that’s been a rather lonely endeavor. That’s slowly starting to change. A 3-0 start with minimal turnovers from the offense is starting to win hearts and minds in Steelers Nation. I’m hearing a lot less about how bad he was in Chicago and a lot more pondering on whether the Bears organization might have been the problem. There are some fans holding out for Russell Wilson, but the longer this winning streak continues, the more people seem to be buying into Fields as a possible QB of the future in Pittsburgh.

Chris: The Steelers rushing attack is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. What has been the main cause of this performance and do you think the Steelers can get the run game going against a Colts front seven who has been very up and down to start the year?

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Ryan: I think it’s a case of a lot of new parts coming together and needing some time to gel. Not only does the team have a new coordinator in Arthur Smith, but this was a team that has started two rookies and is giving guard Spencer Anderson his first serious action as a pro. Injuries have caused Isaac Seumalo to miss time and one of those promising rookies — Troy Fautanu — has landed on injured reserve after one start. So much about offensive line play comes down to chemistry and the Steelers are still develop it.

The team also started the season with rather conservative play calling while they slowly integrated new QB Justin Fields. Defenses have keyed onto that which has made the Steelers rushing attack feel more like a series of body blows rather than an explosive knockout punch.

Chris: T.J. Watt is T.J. Watt, but what (outside of injury), has effectively slowed Watt down? Is there any way to limit his impact other than to just avoid the guy?

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Ryan: Teams are chipping him a ton. PFF put out a stat that Watt’s been chipped on 44.05 percent of plays, most in the league. In theory, a team like the Colts that likes to have multiple tight ends on the fields could find some success using that stategy.

That said, it hasn’t really stopped him, just slowed him down. If not for penalties wiping two sacks from his ledger in week 1, Watt would be right near the top of the leader board through three weeks.

Chris: If you were an offensive coordinator charged with creating a game plan to attack the vaunted Steeler defense, what would it look like? What is your plan of attack? Who are you avoiding? Any positions or matchups you will target or try to exploit? How are you going to score points against this defense on Sunday?

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Ryan: It’s going to be tough sledding regardless of where you try to go. If I’m the Colts, I think the key is to slow the game down for Anthony Richardson as best as possible. Running the ball with Jonathan Taylor will be key, even if it starts off ugly. The Steelers line is nasty. With starting outside linebacker out, the tendency might be to run towards second year player Nick Herbig, who is a little smaller than we typically see at the position. The problem is that also means running towards Cam Heyward who has been having a renaissance season after being injured most of last year.

UDFA and starting Nickel Beanie Bishop might be another matchup I would try to exploit, as well as trying to force Elandon Roberts or rookie Payton Wilson into matchups with a wide receiver.

No matter what you do, the Steelers are going to drag an opposing team into the mud with them. Limiting turnovers and drive killing mistakes will be key. Extending drives as well. In 2023 the defense had played 226 snaps after three weeks . This year? Just 163. This is a defense that is well rested.

Chris: Fanduel has the over/under for this one at 39.5 points. Is that fair? Gun to your head are you taking the over or under, how is this game going to go and what’s the final score going to be?

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Ryan: My initial instinct was to score this game 23-13 Steelers, so I think I’d take the under. The Steelers are looking for ball control and time of possession, so unless the Colts hit a few explosive plays and force Pittsburgh to pick up the pace, this should be a low-scoring affair.

I can’t thank Ryan enough for answering this week’s questions. Make sure you head over to Behind the Steel Curtain and @RyanParishmedia on Twitter to check out his work.

Hope he’s wrong about the outcome of this one but I sort of doubt he will be.

As always, go Colts.