Matt’s Stats: Steelers’ edge over the Colts stretches back decades

What’s on the docket this week is not just another Steelers game. It is a renewal of one of the NFL’s more durable inter-division rivalries, with Pittsburgh set to face the Colts again. In a “Matt’s Stats” look published by the Steelers, Matt Williamson framed the matchup as a historical contrast, starting with how often the franchises have met and how that frequency has evolved over time.

The Steelers and Colts have faced each other 36 times since the rivalry’s early days beginning in 1950. Only two of those games took place before 1968, when the NFL’s scheduling framework and league structure created fewer cross-opponent meetings. The early series was close, with the Colts and Steelers splitting their first four meetings before Pittsburgh began to establish a wider gap.

Since that initial stretch, Pittsburgh’s dominance has been clear in the numbers. Williamson reported that the Steelers are 26-5 since the teams split their first four contests. Overall, Pittsburgh leads the head-to-head series 28-8, a margin that captures both the quantity of games and the consistency of results across eras.

Geography and team names have changed over the decades, but the matchup’s identity has not. Williamson noted that 12 of the series’ meetings have come against the “Baltimore Colts.” In that Baltimore-era subset, Baltimore won only three times. That imbalance matters because it highlights how Pittsburgh’s advantage has not been limited to a single franchise era, but has persisted even when the opponent’s branding and organizational timeline shifted.

The modern timeline adds another layer. Williamson said the Colts have won just three games against Pittsburgh in the 2000s, zero in the 1990s, one in the 1980s, and two in the 1970s. That distribution is a reminder that the Steelers’ edge is not merely historical trivia, but a pattern that has shown up repeatedly when the teams have matched up over multiple decades.

Postseason meetings have also tilted toward Pittsburgh. Williamson reported that the Colts and Steelers have met five times in the playoffs, with Pittsburgh undefeated in those games. That postseason mark, combined with the overall series advantage, is part of why the rivalry tends to carry extra weight for both franchises’ fan bases when October schedules roll around.

In the most recent chapter of the matchup, the historical page is still being written. Williamson said Pittsburgh has a five-game winning streak against the Colts in Pittsburgh, including last year’s 27-20 Steelers win. With another regular-season meeting on the horizon, the series history sets the baseline, and what happens next will determine whether Pittsburgh extends the streak or whether Baltimore alters the long-term trend.