Indianapolis Colts @ Pittsburgh Steelers

8:25 PM EST, NBC – Line: Pittsburgh -9.5  Over/Under: 50

Heavy postseason implications are abound in tonight’s matchup featuring a pair of 6-5 teams, as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Indianapolis Colts at Heinz Field tonight on Sunday Night Football.  Outside of the top three seeds in the AFC, there lies a cesspool of 6-5 and 5-6 teams vying for the final three Playoff spots; mediocrity has apparently run rampant as six teams are currently in the running, including the Jets, Bills, Texans, Chiefs, and Raiders, along with tonight’s participants are all within a game on one another.  The situation is no doubt favorable for Indianapolis (6-5, 1st in AFC South), for apart from division rival Houston, an AFC South Title is very much in play, which is something that the other teams simply can’t obtain.  So essentially, Chuck Pagano and his charges are playing for a division crown, which would in turn grant them a home game in the First Round of the Playoffs.  Anyone that has observed this team play over the course of the season can tell you that they are a very flawed group, more so than some of their contemporaries, but as they’ve exhibited to this point, their resolve is greater than most.  Predicted by many to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLX, the Colts were arguably the biggest disappointment in the league, slumping out of the gate en route to a miserable 3-5 start.  Pro Bowl Quarterback Andrew Luck was seriously turnover prone (15), before heading to the bench with an ailing shoulder and fractured ribs.  The situation on the sidelines was equally turbulent, as Pagano seemed to be on the hot seat virtually every week, leading to his dismissal of maligned Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton, whose schemes and play-calling came into question as Luck’s play continued to degrade.  So sitting at two games below .500 and with their star Quarterback on the shelf, the campaign was over in Indianapolis, right?  Well, at some point here we’ve all got to stop writing teams off prematurely…

Hasselbeck has been a godsend in Indianapols this year, keeping the Colts afloat in Andrew Luck’s absence.

Who would’ve thought that a 40-year old Quarterback by the name of Matt Hasselbeck would prove to be the architect of the Colts’ salvation at this juncture of his career?  As far as backup Quarterbacks go, this guy has all the credentials that you would want; a seventeen-year veteran, No. 8 has started 156 games while earning a solid 84-72 record, including six postseason appearances with the Seahawks, highlighted by a start in Super Bowl XL against a young Roethlisberger and the Steelers.  There is no substitute for experience, and he has plenty of it, which has become very evident with how his team has responded to him.  In one of the most ridiculous stats that you’ll come across this year, there are currently two undefeated Quarterbacks that have made at least two starts in 2015.  One is obviously Panthers’ star Cam Newton, while the other is…. (drum roll, please) you guessed it, Hasselbeck.  The oldest player in the league is a perfect 4-0 as the starter of the Indianapolis Colts, which when compared to the 2-5 resume’ of his predecessor is a belated sign of the apocalypse.  Akin to a cool, confident substitute teacher, Hasselbeck has taken control of a sloppy offense that couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot, and driven them back to contention in the very mediocre AFC South.  Thus far, he has completed 64.7% of his passes for an average of 255.8 yards per game (6.8 y/a), with seven touchdowns and two interceptions, all the while sporting a Total QBR of 71.46.  When compared to that of Luck, it’s easy to see why the team’s fortunes have made such an about-face; while suffering through the list of maladies, Luck had connected on just 55.3% of his throws for an average of 268.7 yards per game (6.4 y/a), throwing fifteen touchdowns, twelve interceptions, while registering a Total QBR of 47.57.  A stark contrast indeed.  However, the most interesting aspect of the change from one to the other, has been the overall feel of the offense now that Hasselbeck is under Center.  You can’t run the same offense for No. 8, that would for No. 12, which was something that new Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski intelligently realized right off the bat.  With Hasselbeck on the field, Indianapolis is a much more conservative and conventional team, which has worked wonders with their beleaguered offensive line, which struggled from week-to-week protecting Luck.  More balanced play-calling has led to more run plays, which takes advantage of the Line’s strengths in run-blocking, while consequently cutting down the opportunities to give the ball away on an errant throw.  Furthermore, the throws that Hasselbeck is making are nearly as risky as Luck, whose decision-making was far from what you would expect from the Stanford graduate.  The Colts committed seventeen turnovers in the seven games sans Hasselbeck, for a minus-7 differential, but in his four starts have committed just five turnovers for a much more favorable plus-two differential.  Last week against emerging Tampa Bay, he never forced the issue, calmly completing 26-of-42 passes (61.9%) for a season-high 315 yards and two touchdowns in the 25-12 victory.  Now, as Luck’s inevitable return is getting closer (he’s projected to make a healthy return by Week 15), Pagano and Chudzinski would do well to remember how they were able to turn things around with the ageless wonder taking snaps.  Second chances are very rare in sports, and thanks to Hasselbeck they’ve been afforded one, and it should be very interesting what in fact they do with it…

Meanwhile, despite owning the same record as their counterparts tonight, the Steelers (6-5, 2nd in AFC North) do not have the luxury of playing in the ludicrously lackluster AFC South, for in this case, Mike Tomlin and his charges have been looking up at the division-leading Cincinnati Bengals all year.  So with that said, it’s likely Wild Card or bust for these guys, and given how the standings look at the moment, they find themselves on the outside looking in.  We would advise everyone to get up to date on the rules regarding Tiebreakers, because it looks like the NFL is going to be exercising quite a few of them; due to their head-to-head loss at Kansas City (23-13) back in Week Seven, Pittsburgh loses the tiebreaker with the Chiefs, who currently possess the Fifth Seed, while we’re guessing a superior conference record has vaulted the Texans past them at No. 6.  Anyways, with five weeks left, it’s a very fluid situation, you see?  However, you’re probably saying to yourselves “What happened here? The Steelers are clearly the superior team when compared to the others!”  Well, yeah, at full strength this team is on par with the Patriots, Bengals, and Broncos, but as this season has taught us, health is a very, very precious thing.  When it’s all said and done, 2015 will likely be remembered as a disappointing one in Steel City, a What Could’ve Been campaign that ultimately failed to meet lofty expectations due to unfortunate injuries to a number of prominent players.  Consider this, the dynamic trio of Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Tailback Le’Veon Bell, and Receiver Antonio Brown have all ben on the field together for a whopping THREE GAMES this year.  Thanks to a two-game suspension followed shortly thereafter by a season-ending MCL tear, Bell was lost for the term after just six starts in which he garnered 692 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.  Arguably the most versatile ‘Back in the league, the third-year starlet is the difference between this offense being really good, and absolutely devastating.  and speaking of devastating, Brown has been every bit of that thus far, leading the Steelers with eighty-five receptions for 1,192 yards (14.0 y/r) and five touchdowns.  The league’s reigning leader in both receptions in receiving yards, the All-Pro has posted six 100-yard games this season, five of which came with a healthy Roethlisberger under Center.  Which of course, leads us to the relative health of his Quarterback…

Roethlisberger has made just six starts due to a number of injuries, but has been prolific nonetheless.

In a season in which the likes of Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Joe Flacco, Tony Romo, Sam Bradford, and a host of other Quarterbacks have bit the dust with various ailments, Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t proven immune to the same fate.  In eleven games, the three-time Pro Bowler has made just six starts, appearing in one more, as he has sustained a number of injuries that would have kept a lesser Quarterback off the field.  First, it was an MCL sprain and Bone Bruise suffered on a low hit in Week 3’s 12-6 victory at St. Louis, which sidelined him for the next four games.  His return however, lasted just a week-and-a-half, as he sprained his foot midway through an offensive bonanza against the Raiders, which forced him to be the no more than the emergency backup the following week against bitter rival Cleveland.  An injury to second-stringer Michael Vick put him in a position to relieve Landry Jones early in the tilt with the Browns, where Big Ben set an NFL record with 379 yards and three touchdowns despite coming off the bench.  Then just last week at Seattle, No. 7 took himself out of the game late after torching the Seahawks for 456 yards, due to experiencing concussion-like symptoms which have now left his status for tonight’s contest in question.  Earlier in the week Roethlisberger proclaimed himself cleared for action, while the team physicians refuted that statement on Wednesday before finally giving him a passing grade on Thursday.  So, yes, it’s safe to ask where indeed this team would be if they were healthy, or more importantly, where would they be if he was healthy, for after all, Big Ben has been quite productive even with al his ailments; despite missing four games, Roethlisberger has averaged a league-high 334.7 passing yards per game, with eleven touchdowns to nine interceptions.  In the seven games in which he has seen action, the Steelers’ offense has averaged 26.3 points on 446.6 total yards, including at least 30 points and 400 yards in each of the last three outings.  However, when he hasn’t been on the field, Pittsburgh has predictably struggled, averaging 20.5 points on just 315.3 total yards per game.  It’s our guess that he’ll be happy to have been cleared to play tonight, for the last time he faced the Colts, it was quite a performance for Roethlisberger.  Indeed, it was performance for the history books, as he absolutely eviscerated Indianapolis on 40-of-49 passing (81.6%) for a staggering 522 yards and six touchdowns.  To add more fuel to the fire, the twelfth-year veteran is coming into this meeting extremely hot, completing 62.1% of his passes for an average of 389.7 yards (8.9 y/a), with six touchdowns and four interceptions over the last three games, and that’s with a bum foot and a concussion.  Given the competitive nature of the AFC this year, Tomlin and Co. are going to need him to play the role of Superman, for the only way they’re getting to the Playoffs is on the strength of this guy’s arm.  Injury list be damned…