Colts Inactives Include Three Top Contributors vs. Steelers

Seven Colts make the Week 9 inactive list, but really, three are worth mentioning. Starting with defensive ends Samson Ebukam and Tyquan Lewis.

Ebukam hasn't been as good as he was in 2023 when he first joined the Colts through free agency and led Indianapolis in sacks with 9.5. However, he's been a reliable veteran presence that Lou Anarumo values.

Ebukam currently has 2.0 sacks, 14 tackles, three tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. Next is fellow defensive end, Lewis.

Lewis has been with Indy for his entire eight-year career, but has struggled badly with injuries. Lewis has 3.0 sacks, seven tackles, four tackles for loss, and three QB hits.

Lastly is wide receiver/return specialist, Anthony Gould.

Gould's value is specifically as a returner, and the Colts must pivot in this regard against the Steelers. Gould has seven punt returns for 68 yards and 19 kick returns for 505 yards.

While Gould isn't much of a pass-catching threat, his elusiveness and speed can catch kickoff teams off-guard, so we'll see how Colts special teams coach, Brian Mason, adjusts his plan without Gould.

Steelers Inactives

The Steelers have one key name out for this game: safety Chuck Clark. Clark is a starting safety, but the Steelers made a deal that will help with this situation against the Colts.

In his place will be former New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger. Pittsburgh recently traded for Dugger and will hope he can immediately provide value for a Steelers defense that is dead-last against the pass.

Another interesting development is Mike Tomlin announcing that star cornerback, Jalen Ramsey, will exclusively play the free safety position, potentially opening up their cornerbacks for attack from Daniel Jones and the Colts' receivers.

The Colts' surgical passing attack has a golden matchup on paper against the Steelers, but Shane Steichen and Jones mustn't overlook this defense.

While Pittsburgh has been awful at stopping opposing quarterbacks, the talent they possess truly makes their struggle against the pass one of the most perplexing situations in the NFL.

Indy's offensive line will see plenty of T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Derrick Harmon, Nick Herbig, and Alex Highsmith, so they must be on point or risk seeing Jones pressured, and potentially sacked, more than they'll want.

As for Anarumo's defense, veteran QB and future NFL Hall-of-Famer, Aaron Rodgers, has quietly been fantastic for Pittsburgh, and gets a banged up Colts secondary.

Even with the return of Jaylon Jones, there isn't a cornerback on Indy's roster (minus Charvarius Ward) who can combat the insane athleticism and strength of wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.

Also, the Colts' pass-rush must get to Rodgers as quickly as possible, as the legendary field general is one of the best in the NFL at getting the football out quickly to avoid pressure.

The Colts have been destroying their opposition, but now get a truly angry Steelers team that hasn't played up to expectations, and will fight for Tomlin to defend home turf against the NFL's top team.

Indianapolis will need to be on point in all three aspects of the game to come out with a win in this one. Expect a close battle to the end as it might be a QB duel between Jones and Rodgers when it's all said and done.