Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts will attempt to build off last Sunday’s drubbing off the Rams when they meet the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight at Heinz Field. This evening’s stand alone NBC Sunday Night Football preseason contest is scheduled to get underway at 8:00pm ET. NFL Odds at online bookmaker SBG Global have the hosting Steelers listed as a -3.5 against the spread favorite; the game total is set at 38 points.
Andrew Luck’s NFL debut could not have gone more smoothly as the Colts ran roughshod over the Rams last Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis won the game 38-3 while completed 10-of-16 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Luck, who three a 63 yard touchdown pass on his first play from scrimmage, helped lead the Colts to 23 first downs and 430 total yards for the game.
Indianapolis and Luck can expect a bigger test tonight in Pittsburgh. While the Steelers will not treat this evening’s game like anything other than exhibition football, they will not want to get embarrassed, particularly in the first half, on their home turf. St. Louis appeared to be sleepwalking last weekend, the Colts can and probably do expect Pittsburgh to be a little more animated tonight.
The Steelers lost their exhibition opener 23-24 to the Eagles in Philadelphia, but they had an excellent first half as they went into the break up 13-0. Ben Roethlisberger completed 7-of-8 passes for 49 yards while leading Pittsburgh on a 16 play, 52 yard first quarter scoring drive. Big Ben will probably work a bit longer tonight as he attempts to get further acclimated to Todd Haley’s system.
The Steelers primary offensive concern is at running back, though, where the injury bug has limited the availability of several players, including Rashard Mendenhall and Jonathan Dwyer. Pittsburgh rushed for 131 yards on 39 attempts last week, and other than Dwyer and reserve quarterback Jerrod Johnson (combined for 66 yards on five carries), no one else impressed.
Game Notes: Mike Tomlin seems to take preseason more seriously than some coaches as evidenced by his 16-6 exhibition record. Steelers preseason games under Tomlin have been low scoring for the part with the Under going 14-8 during Tomlin’s tenure.
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2012 NFL Preseason Week 2 Colts vs Steelers Odds: Provided by SBG Global
Indianapolis Colts +3.5 (-110), Over 38 (-110), +160 (Moneyline)
Pittsburgh Steelers -3.5 (-110), Under 38 (-110), -180 (Moneyline)
