Steelers 24, Colts 16

I'd like Indy's chances if Peyton Manning had a running game to lean on and if I had a better feeling about a run defense that has been respectable since Jacksonville gouged it for 236 yards back in September. But Manning doesn't have a running game. Good luck, Joe or Dom or whoever draws the short straw. Nobody runs on the Steelers, least of all the 32nd-ranked team in the league. And Willie Parker is the type of back who has been known to terrorize the Colts. He's strong and fast, and will be a threat to break a tackle and a big play every time he takes a handoff, whether it's from Ben Roethlisberger or Byron Leftwich.

Colts 20, Steelers 16

Ben Roethlisberger will play hurt or not at all. His backup, Byron Leftwich, is slow to move and slow to get rid of the ball, and the Pittsburgh line doesn't protect well; it has given up 28 sacks. The Colts need the game, and if they can win it, Tennessee (8-0) would be the only AFC team more than one game ahead of them with Houston (3-5), San Diego (3-5), Cleveland (3-5), Cincinnati (1-8) and Detroit (0-8) next on the schedule.

Steelers 23, Colts 16

Don't know how the Colts block the "Blitz-burgh" defense that sacked Washington seven times Monday. Just don't see it. Willie Parker has returned at running back for the Steelers, but beware of the bombs. Unlike the conservative Patriots last week, the Steelers will test the Colts' depleted secondary. This will require a lot of the Colts' cover-2, which, without turnovers, means the defense won't be able to get off the field enough. Again.

Steelers 20, Colts 16

I don't care if it's Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich or Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers are going to find enough points to slip past the Colts. Indy just can't run the ball, and if you can't run the ball, you run the risk of getting Peyton Manning mauled.

Steelers 24, Colts 17

The Colts never win in Pittsburgh. The last time they won was 40 years ago. Johnny U. never started a game and won in his hometown, at least not in the NFL. Peyton Manning will continue the streak.

-- Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette