Colts’ biggest issue Sunday will be protecting the quarterback

The question Sunday night for the Indianapolis Colts:

Who will carry Collins?

That’s quarterback Kerry Collins, the $4-million replacement for injured Peyton Manning. Collins has had a rough go in Indianapolis’ first two games, both losses. He fumbled four times and was sacked five times. Against Cleveland last Sunday, he suffered an undisclosed right shoulder injury that limited his participation in practice this week.

“The Colts are much more of a running team now,” NBC’s Cris Collinsworth said. “Kerry Collins can still throw the ball great. He’s got an arm that can throw it with almost any quarterback in the league. They just have to get him protected; that’s going to be an issue.”

The Indianapolis defense could also keep the Colts in the game, especially if it can get Pittsburgh in some third-and-long situations and pressure Ben Roethlisberger from the edges with defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

“Once Freeney and Mathis get going in that stadium with the crowd noise, it’s hard to get off on the snap count,” Collinsworth said.

Then again, the game could get ugly quickly. The Colts have long worked without a net — and for years it paid off. Now, they’ve slipped off the wire.

With their failure to develop a backup quarterback — a byproduct of Manning’s rock-solid reliability — the Colts are off to their worst start since 1998, and the prospects for a turnaround are bleak.

Backup Curtis Painter is on alert to be ready to step in if necessary, though that would do little to soothe Indianapolis faithful who remember how overmatched he was two years ago when he replaced Manning at home against the New York Jets and blew the lead.

— Sam Farmer