The Indianapolis Colts (10-4) are preparing for a crucial matchup in Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3) at Heinz Field.
Before the matchup, we caught with Curt Popejoy of Steelers Wire to get the scoop on Indy’s opponent this week. Be sure to follow Curt and Steelers Wire for all your Steelers needs this week.
Here’s our Behind Enemy Lines with Steelers Wire:
1. What does the future look like for Big Ben?
Curt Popejoy: At this point it’s hard to say. He’s under contract through 2021, but his cap hit for next season is over $41 million. He says he plans to come back, but unless he’s willing to do a full contract extension to give the Steelers some real cap relief, it is going to really hurt any chances of a rebuild.
2. The same for JuJu Smith-Schuster. Does he get re-signed this offseason? Is the franchise tag in play?
CP: I know Smith-Schuster wants to come back to Pittsburgh, and honestly, given the season he’s had, I don’t think he will command a huge free-agent deal.
3. What makes the Steelers defense so dominant on such a consistent basis?
CP: Honestly, it’s more about the individual effort by the top players on defense than anything special about the scheme. Guys like T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick are so good, but you’ve seen the weaknesses in the group as injuries have piled up.
4.Who is one player flying under the radar that Colts fans should know about?
CP: Mike Hilton might be the most underrated defensive back in the AFC. He does everything for the Steelers and is one free agent who is going to get a big raise in the offseason thanks to everything he brings.
5. Final score, prediction?
CP: I have no reason to believe the Steelers have fixed the problems that have plagued them for the last month. This means they will probably play their best game of the season. Having said that, Indianapolis is playing great football right now, and I think the Steelers come up short. Colts 24, Steelers 21