Steelers/Colts Preview From Heinz Field

The Indianapolis Colts are a perfect 10. The Pittsburgh Steelers' road winning streak was halted at 11. Peyton Manning threw for a season-high 365 yards and three touchdowns to lead the unbeaten Colts to a 45-37 victory over the first-place Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday.

Indianapolis (10-0) became the first team to start a season with 10-straight wins since the 1998 Denver Broncos, who made it to 13-0 before losing.

Like the Colts, the Steelers will be making their third MNF appearance of the season. Like the Colts, they will be looking to go 3-0 on ABC's prime-time stage. That's been achieved only 12 times since MNF hit the nation in 1970.

After suffering a nail-biting defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers (7-3) will attempt to smudge the Colts' spotless 10-0 record. The Steelers could have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back in the lineup and they will need him if they are to counter the offensive surge that's sure go come from Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Eye-Opening Stat

The Steelers' record with Roethlisberger starting at quarterback the last two seasons: 18-1. Their record with Tommy Maddox starting: 2-3, including 0-2 this season.

This very well could be a matchup revisited in the playoffs. In the meantime, the nation will get an opportunity to see a Pittsburgh Steelers team that went 15-1 in the regular season last year and unbeaten Indianapolis Colts team that is in for their toughest test of the season in this highly-anticipated North vs. South AFC battle.

Keys to the Game

* Big Ben's return: Is there any question the Steelers need quarterback Ben Roethlisberger running the show? They've lost four of their past 26 regular-season games, three with Roethlisberger on the sideline. He's missed the past three games after undergoing knee surgery on Nov. 3. Veteran Tommy Maddox has been ineffective and error-prone. Everything points to Roethlisberger returning to the lineup against the Colts. On Tuesday, Cowher listed him as probable, indicating a 75% chance of play.

* Handling the run: Cincinnati exploited the Colts' glaring weakness, averaging 6.3 yards on 26 rushing attempts and pulling off six runs of at least 10 yards. And that falls right into Pittsburgh's strength.. They're the most run-committed team in the NFL, running 56 percent of the time. It appears that all the running backs will be healthy for the first time this year. Willie Parker, Jerome Bettis, and Duce Staley might draw numbers to see who lines up in the backfield.

Regardless of how well they throw the ball, Pittsburgh always expects to be able to run it. That didn't happen last week in Baltimore, and that was critical in the loss. They managed only 70 yards rushing, the fewest this season or last. They were held under 100 yards just once last season when the Ravens limited them to 93 in the second game. The Steelers already have been under that three times this season: Sunday's game and ones against New England (79) and Jacksonville (73). Not surprisingly, those are their only three losses. Simply put, it all depends on the run game.

The Steelers want to own the time of possession, that's the only way they will keep the highly-potent Colt's offense out of the end zone. On defense, the Steelers will have to contend with an offense that ranks second in the NFL in total production, led by quarterback Peyton Manning (104.6 passer rating) and running back Edgerrin James (1,116 yards).

It actually doesn't get much easier when the Colts are on defense, as they rank eighth in total defense, led by a defensive front that is among the best in the game.

Dungy knows that the Steelers will bring their "A" game and is well aware of the team's 18-6 record on Monday Night Football under head coach Bill Cowher.

Pittsburgh also owns a 13-4 regular-season series edge and has emerged victors in four playoffs contests between the teams.

On Tuesday, Cowher was asked if "this a role that your team will relish going against a 10-0 team?"

He responded, "If you can't get excited about a game like this, then why are you in this business? I look at our football team after 10 games and we lost three games on the last play of the game. All three losses came on the last play of the game and we hopefully are now starting to get some people back and we have an opportunity to go into a place where it is a team that is undefeated and they are playing at home, which compounds a little bit of that challenge. It is a great opportunity.

"If you are a competitor and you want to have an opportunity to play the best, how can you not relish an opportunity like that and not look forward to it? We are looking forward to it. It is a big-time challenge. They are a good football team. They are sound in every element of the game. It is also what I think you play this game to do, get an opportunity to measure yourself against the best."

To accomplish such a difficult task, the Steelers will have to find a way to tame a Manning and Harrison combination that has combined for 90 touchdowns, the most potent touchdown duo in NFL history.

The other goal is to keep the game within striking reach until the fourth quarter. If not, they are settling in for a long night. As a head coach, Dungy is 83-21 when his teams have scored 17+ points, while his record is 72-7 when his teams open a 10+ point lead. Dungy is 53-0 in games when his team earns a 14+ point lead.

The Steelers would actually like to have the game play out the last time these two teams met. Pittsburgh took the last meeting on October 21, 2002, 28-10. Indianapolis fell into a 21-0 first-half hole at Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football.

The win gave Pittsburgh triumphs in the last seven regular-season meetings.

Taking that streak to eight is a tall request for a team that just lost an overtime match with the rival Ravens. Taking that streak to eight is what a championship teams does.