NFL
Mike Schultz
November 22, 2016

Steelers vs. Colts Point Spread: Thursday Night Football

The evening game on Thanksgiving Thursday features two teams with 5-5 records, and will be the first time in the history of the Colts franchise where they’ll be hosting a Thanksgiving Day game. They will meet the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lucas Oil Stadium this Thursday, November 24, at 8:30 p.m. ET, just in time to wake up from your turkey coma.

At halftime, there will be a Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony for Colts legends Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison. Both teams need the win in order to strengthen their chances for a run at the Super Bowl, but both have struggled with inconsistency this season.

NFL Thanksgiving: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Point spread: Steelers -88

Over/under: 54

Date: Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 24, 8:30 p.m. ET

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Indianapolis Colts

UPDATE: Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is now in concussion protocol, after last week’s game against the Titans. Coach Chuck Pagano said Luck was highly unlikely to play in this Thursday’s game against the Steelers. Backup Scott Tolzien will likely take his place. Tolzien hasn’t started since 2013, when he started two games in Green Bay.

The Colts will be coming into this game from a convincing 24-17 win over Tennessee last week, which brought their record back to .500. QB Andrew Luck looked good in that game, throwing for 262 yards with 2 touchdowns and one interception. Receiver T.Y. Hilton had a huge day, with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. The Colts continue to struggle with defense, and are conceding an average of 27.3 points per game, ranking them 26th overall in the league.

The Colts aren’t great against Pittsburgh, and will be looking to shift the narrative on home territory. Last year, the Steelers destroyed the Colts in a 45-10 win, and in 2014, Ben Roethlisberger had a massive game against them and threw for 522 yards and six touchdowns in a 51-34 win.

The Indianapolis Colts are now scoring an average of 26.3 points per game, which puts them in 7th place in the National Football League.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers also have a 5-5 record at this point in the season, but aren’t looking quite like a Super Bowl team. Early in the season they looked like real AFC contenders but then lost four straight games before finally winning in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns. That win was expected and was a convincing one at 24-9, but again, was against Cleveland. Roethlisberger didn’t have great numbers in that game either, throwing for a season-low 167 yards with zero touchdowns and no interceptions. If the Steelers want to get back on track, they have to win this week.

The best way for the Steelers to do that is to take advantage of Indianapolis’s weakest link – the worst ranked pass defense in the NFL, who concede 284.5 passing yards per game. Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown both need to show up and make a tremendous effort to bring this one home. Last week Brown had an outstanding game, making eight catches for 76 yards, leading the team with 907 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Thursday games have historically been bad news for the Colts, and yet they have never lost on Thanksgiving. On the other hand, Pittsburgh seems to have a turkey day curse, and are 0-5 on Thanksgiving Day games since 1970.