The Pittsburgh Steelers put their unbeaten record on the line when they visit the Indianapolis Colts in an all-AFC clash on Sunday afternoon.
The Steelers are already well on their way to preserving head coach Mike Tomlin's record of never having a losing season with the team after wins over the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers to open the 2024 campaign.
The Colts chalked up their first win last week when beating the Bears at home, avoiding an 0-3 start after losses to a couple of strong teams in the Texans and Packers.
Indy won the teams' meeting last season with a 30-13 victory in December, but that snapped a long streak of Steelers wins in this matchup, with Pittsburgh having won each of the teams' previous eight contests and 27 of their 34 all-time encounters.
The Steelers' games have not been the most exciting to watch in the first three weeks of the NFL season, but they have made the most of their opportunities and are one of only five unbeaten teams heading into Week 4.
The Steelers have made their way to the top of the standings in what was expected to be a highly competitive AFC North division as the Ravens, Browns and Bengals have all stumbled out of the blocks and have only two wins between them after nine combined games.
Tomlin's team have relied on their defensive strength for their early success and they have allowed only 26 points through three games, beating the Falcons 18-10, the Broncos 13-6 and the Chargers 20-10 last week.
None of those teams have been lighting up the scoreboard in their other outings either, but all three of those games have gone under the expected points total and another low-scoring contest is likely when they face the Colts.
The total went over in the first Indianapolis game of the season when Shane Steichen's squad lost 29-27 to the Texans, but since then they have also played two games that went under, losing 16-10 to the Packers and winning 21-16 against the Bears.
The Steelers have allowed only two offensive touchdowns so far this season, but they have scored only three themselves and it would be no surprise to see this AFC clash turn into another defensive struggle.
While touchdowns are likely to be scarce in the game, there should be at least one and a first touchdown scorer bet is therefore expected to offer better value than backing a player to score at any time.
Steelers running back Najee Harris looks a prime candidate to be the first player into the end zone at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The former Alabama rusher has yet to score this season, but it should not be long before he finds the end zone after he scored eight times in the final 12 weeks of the 2023 regular season.
Harris has been heavily involved in the game plan this season, carrying the ball at least 17 times in each game so far and has also been remarkably consistent with his production, rushing for 69 yards against the Broncos and 70 against both the Falcons and the Chargers.
He played through an arm injury last week, but Tomlin has said he expects him to face the Colts and he could be in line for even more work with his primary back-up, Jaylen Warren, dealing with a knee issue.
The Colts had major problems defending the run in their first two games, giving up 159 rushing yards and a TD to Joe Mixon of the Texans before allowing Josh Jacobs of the Packers to scamper for 151 yards.
They limited the Bears to just 63 rushing yards last week, but Chicago has not been able to move the ball on the ground against anyone so far.
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Pittsburgh Steelers | -125 ML |
Indianapolis Colts | +105 ML |
Spread | Steelers -1.5 |
Total Points | O/U 40.0 |
Jonathan Taylor (IND Colts) | +100 |
Najee Harris (PIT Steelers) | +140 |
Anthony Richardson (IND Colts) | +140 |
Justin Fields (PIT Steelers) | +175 |
George Pickens (PIT Steelers) | +225 |
Cordarrelle Patterson (PIT Steelers) | +250 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.