“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”
-Ian Fleming, “Goldfinger”
Two consecutive losses do not a losing streak comprise.
Three straight losses, on the other hand, are the mark of a team in disarray.
The Pittsburgh Steelers would avoid such ignominy this Sunday (1 p.m., CBS) if they can beat the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts trot into Acrisure Stadium not figuring to need a lucky horseshoe to put up points.
Not only is the Colts’ 7-1 record tops in the NFL but so, too — perhaps uncoincidentally — is their offense in overall points scored (270), led by RB Jonathan Taylor and his league-best 850 rushing yards.
They’ll be facing a Steelers defense giving up more yards per game (386) than any other defense in the franchise’s 92-year history, and 25 points per game, for an overall 30th-ranked defense in the league. That’s a mark that would rank as the lowest in franchise history if the season ended today.
And yet, said Jim Wexell of 247sports.com, the discrepancies between the teams aren’t all as big as those stats might indicate.
“The Colts [defense’s] run per carry is a little more telling,” he said.
“In the last five games, they’ve allowed 4.0 against weak competition,” Wexell said, citing games against the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams. “ The Steelers have allowed 4.3 against much better competition.”
Their last five opponents have been the Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and New England Patriots.
The outcome Sunday may come down to whether or not the Steelers can lessen the Colts’ average yards per rush, currently at 5.4 over the past five games, including a gaudy 9.1 last week against the Tennessee Titans. The Steelers’ yards per run over the past five games is a full yard lower, at 4.4.
Other tidbits:
The Steelers and Colts have faced off 34 meaningful times since their first game in 1957, when the Colts were stabled in Baltimore. Of those games, 29 have taken place in the regular season, with the Steelers possessing a winning record of 21-8.Five playoff games between the two franchises have taken place during that time, all of which have resulted in Pittsburgh wins.Prior to becoming the Steelers’ head coach in 1969, Chuck Noll spent three seasons (1966-68) as defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Colts, serving under Don Shula.Other than Shula (Super Bowl V), only one Colts head coach has led the franchise to a Super Bowl win: Tony Dungy (Super Bowl XLI), who played defensive back for the Steelers for two seasons (1977-78) and later served as defensive backs coach (1981-83) and defensive coordinator (1984-88).Current Steelers QBs coach Tom Arth played for three seasons (2003-05) as a Colt, backing up QB Peyton Manning.Current Steelers TEs coach Alfredo Roberts served in the same capacity for the Colts for four seasons (2012-15).No members of the current Steelers 53-man roster have played for the Colts.No members of the current Colts 53-man roster have played for the Steelers.