The Indianapolis Colts are on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for week 5 of the 2026 season, kickoff is at 1:00 pm EST.
Last week we saw the Colts improve their record to 2-2 against a very injured Washington Commanders team, in London. In the end, Indy won by multiple scores, so I’m not going to complain about their level of play, I’m not going to do a deep dive on how the final score didn’t really say how the game went, I’m not going to do those things. However, I will tell you that if they play like they did in week four, in week five against these Steelers, the outcome will be very different for the Colts.
The Colts have the deck stacked against them this week. Pittsburgh is coming off ten days since their last game, after playing on Thursday Night Football in week four. Indianapolis played in Europe last weekend and will play on the road seven days later. Before you even consider the fact that, for some reason, the Colts haven’t won in Pittsburgh since Peyton Manning was reading records in blue and white, this game was cursed from the moment the schedule makers put ink to paper. Further complicating matters is that it has been raining in Pittsburgh all week, the Pitt Panthers played a division one college football game on the same field just yesterday (losing to the North Carolina Tarheels) and the current forecast calls for steady rain until around 4pm, and all of a sudden you have a huge possibility that today is going to be a very ugly game.
Side Note: I told you this last week but I’ll probably keep reminding you every week because I think it’s important, especially for everyone who enjoys these gameday threads. The SB Nation app makes commenting even easier, especially on these game feeds. At this point I roll my eyes every time someone asks me to download one more app, but this one really improves the experience so much that even I’m telling you that if you want to hang out here, chat, celebrate, commiserate, and argue in the comments, this app is definitely worth your time. Links are directly below.
The good news for the Colts is that this Steelers team is a mess. Aaron Rodgers has had more shouting matches with his head coach than touchdown passes this year and last week TJ Watt called his defensive coordinator during the game to give him a piece of his mind, too. So you know, things could have been worse for Indy.
Now I expect a very sloppy game from two teams who, so far, have both played a very boring brand of football. Between the rain, the field conditions and the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, expect plenty of rushing attempts, fumbles and oddballs this afternoon. Given the Colts’ travel schedule and Pittsburgh’s (theoretically) rested state, I don’t feel good about the outcome of this one for Indy.
This is your week five open thread so hang out here, chat, celebrate, commiserate, and argue in the comments! Be wild (within reason)!