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One of the games with the most playoff implications this weekend will come when the Indianapolis Colts host the Pittsburgh Steelers. If the season ended today, both the Colts and Steelers would be in the playoffs. However, whichever team loses this game will likely be knocked out of the playoff picture, at least temporarily.
The Steelers and Colts are two of the AFC's six 7-6 teams and coming off of losses. The Steelers have lost three of their last four games, including brutal back-to-back losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. Those should have been Pittsburgh's two easiest wins of the year, but instead they blew those games.
It isn't easy with quarterback Kenny Pickett out, but they were expected to survive against the Cardinals and Pats without him. Putting up a win here could be crucial for the Steelers to avoid falling off.
Steelers safety Mikah Fitzpatrick emphasized the gravity of this game on Wednesday. When asked if this matchup is a ‘must-win,' he replied, “Yeah, it’s a playoff game in my eyes,” via reporter Chris Adamski.
It's good for Fitzpatrick to have this mindset for the Steelers to try and rebound following two rough losses, especially amid criticism questioning some of his teammates' effort levels. The effort the team puts out as a whole this weekend will likely be indicative of if the Steelers can stay in playoff contention.
Meanwhile, the Colts ended their four-game winning streak after falling to Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals 34-14. They're exceeding expectations since the Anthony Richardson injury with Shane Steichen at coach, but won't be satisfied without a playoff berth.
