After brief benching, Matt Ryan's return as Colts' starting QB has caught Steelers' attention

In 15 NFL seasons, Matt Ryan has beaten every opponent he has faced except for two.

The New England Patriots are one. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the other.

Ryan was on the bench when the Indianapolis Colts faced the Patriots earlier this season, but the 37-year-old quarterback will get a chance to end his drought against the Steelers on Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Ryan is 0-3 lifetime against the Steelers. He’s 0-4 against the Patriots.

His history against the Steelers means little to the defensive players who will be tasked with beating him in the primetime matchup.

“He’s still Matty Ice,” cornerback Cameron Sutton said Saturday.

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“He’s a very savvy quarterback, and he can still move to an extent,” said outside linebacker T.J. Watt, noting the 39-yard scramble Ryan had two weeks ago that led to the winning touchdown against Las Vegas. “Above the neck, he’s super smart, gets the ball out quick. He can make a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage, so disguises are going to be big this week.”

Ryan last faced the Steelers in 2018 at Acrisure Stadium. Watt and Sutton are among a handful of defensive players remaining from that game.

In some ways, Ryan’s first season with the Colts after 14 with the Atlanta Falcons has mirrored his struggles against the Steelers. He was benched after seven starts when he was among the league leaders in interceptions and sacks. But Ryan got his job back after two games when coach Frank Reich was fired and replaced by Jeff Saturday on an interim basis.

For the season, Ryan has thrown 10 touchdown passes to nine interceptions and is ranked No. 24 in passer rating despite throwing for the 10th most yards. He has thrown one touchdown pass and no interceptions in the two games since he was reinstated as the Colts starter.

“Early in the year there were a lot of different things going on, but now it looks like he’s settling in and getting the ball out quick,” Sutton said. “You can’t take that away from a veteran quarterback who has played a lot of ball. It’s just being alert to that type of stuff.”

Ryan has been sacked 29 times this season, which despite his two-game benching, is tied for fifth in the league. That could play into the hands of a Steelers defense that recently got Watt back after a seven-game absence.

“I feel very confident with the guys we have in this room,” Watt said. “I always feel confident about the game plan, and I feel good about the week we had, but it doesn’t matter unless we perform on Monday.”