Two of the best AFC teams of the last 25 years will be renewing their rivalry this weekend when the conference-leading Indianapolis Colts go on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are looking to break a two-game slump.

The Colts have been the most surprising team in the NFL this season. When Daniel Jones was named Indy's starting quarterback over the summer, many people thought the Colts were accepting defeat on the season and tanking for a better draft pick. However, Daniel Jones has been sensational. He has the second-best QBR in the NFL and is a legitimate candidate for the league's MVP award. Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that he expected this type of performance from Jones.

“I think he's played well his whole career, to be honest,” Steichen said during an October 21st press conference. “When I watched the tape - when I went back and looked at it - I think he's been a great player this whole time. To get him here and to see the success he's having with the guys that we’ve got, it's not a surprise to me right now at all.”

Offensive balance is one of the main reasons why Indy leads the NFL in scoring (33.8 points per game). Running back Jonathan Taylor has also been brilliant with a league-leading 12 rushing touchdowns and 850 ground yards. Taylor attributes his success this season to the stellar play of the Colts' blockers.

"Man, those guys up front. Those guys just coming around, sealing off the edge,” Taylor said during an interview after Indianapolis’ 38-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. “They've been playing lights out all year. When you can have an offensive line and tight ends play at that level, it makes it easy.”

Though the Colts are off to an amazing start to the season, and they have the best record in the league, they are making sure they don't become complacent. They know they have to put their best foot forward each week.

“I think you just stay even keel, to be honest. I think we understand we’ve got a huge one coming up against Pittsburgh,” Steichen said during an October 26th post-game press conference. “It's going to be a hostile environment next Sunday. So we’ve got to come in, go to work tomorrow, get ready to roll for these guys, put this game to bed, and move on to Pittsburgh.”

Meanwhile, things have gone downhill quickly for the Steelers. After opening the season with a 4-1 record, they've dropped their last two games and now sit at fourth place in the AFC playoff picture.

“From us, we just simply got to get a lot better. In all areas, but some really specific areas that are critical to winning,” explained Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin after the team’s Week Eight loss to the Green Bay Packers. ”We can't settle for field goals versus good people, and that was kind of an issue throughout. We got behind the chains some once we got in scoring territory, be it a penalty or a lost yardage play on first down, and it was uphill from there. We settled for field goals too often, and you're just not going to win close ball games when you're doing that.”

Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers echoed Tomlin's concerns about the team kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. Over the last two weeks, Pittsburgh has scored six touchdowns and kicked five field goals.

"You're not going to win a lot of games when we're so bad on third down," Rodgers said during the Week Eight postgame press conference. "Bos (Chris Boswell) bailed us out with four incredible kicks. But [if] you're playing good teams, you need to score touchdowns, and we just stalled out in the high red zone."

With Indy coming to town, the Steelers need to see a marked improvement on the defensive side of the ball. They're currently ranked 22nd in scoring (25 points per game allowed) and have given up 68 combined points in their last two outings.

“[We] just didn't get the job done tonight, but we’ve got to stay together,” Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith told reporters after the loss on Sunday. “We can't hang our heads on this. We can't let these two back-to-back losses fester. We’ve got to watch the film. We’ve got to own it. But at the end of the day, we’ve just got to flush it because we've got a good team coming in here next week. We’ve just got to play better - a lot better - and fast.”

Prediction for Indianapolis Colts (-3) @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh is a defensive liability. In the Steelers' three losses, their opponents are averaging 33 points per game. Pittsburgh's secondary has not met the standards that we have come to expect from the Black and Gold, considering they allow the most passing yards per game this season. That will be a major issue against an Indy squad that is sixth in passing yards per game and team passer rating.

Prediction: Colts 33 - 29 Steelers

How to watch Indianapolis Colts (-3) @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Colts @ Steelers starts at 1:00 p.m. EDT at Acrisure Stadium. You can watch it on CBS or stream it via the Paramount+ app or YouTube TV.

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