For Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, his career was cut short by injury at the age of 29.

For the Colts franchise, it has been thrust into a state of uncertainty.

For Colts fans, their season of Super Bowl aspirations now appears destined for non-playoff failure.

So let’s get to the heart of the issue surrounding Luck’s stunning retirement announcement Saturday night: How does this impact the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Because clearly, that’s all that matters. Right?

Actually, Luck’s decision could impact the Black and Gold in quite a few ways.

1. Does an “L” become a “W?”: Suddenly that game at Heinz Field against Indianapolis on November 3 looks a lot more winnable, doesn’t it?

That contest appeared to be a swing game on the Steelers schedule that could go a long way towards determining the playoffs. It was akin to that loss against the Los Angeles Chargers a year ago — a non-divisional AFC game against another playoff contender where one team may find itself in the postseason, while the other falls out.

If things went positively for both clubs, the head-to-head result might have been a tie-breaker in seeding for a bye or home-field advantage between two potential division winners.

Now, without Luck in Blue and White, suddenly that game goes from “50-50” to “you better win it.”

2. What does this mean for the AFC playoff picture?: You can look at this one of two ways.

On the one hand, Luck’s retirement could mean that a potential wild-card team may fall out of the race before the race even begins.

As good as the Colts could’ve been with Luck in uniform, it’s still possible they wouldn’t have won the division.

If the Steelers don’t win the North and are forced to vie for a wild-card spot, Indy could’ve been a team absorbing one of them. With Luck gone, I’d argue wild-card contention is a pipe dream for the Colts at this point.

However, what if the Colts are so bad, they just barf up wins to the other teams in the South?

For instance, Luck was 11-0 versus the Tennessee Titans as a starter. Do the Titans go from perhaps an 8-8 team facing Luck twice to a 10-6 squad beating Indianapolis twice with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback?

Maybe a 7-9 Jacksonville Jaguars team challenges for the sixth seed now at 9-7.

My gut tells me to view this from the “glass half-full” scenario. But let’s think about how many wins the Cleveland Browns yielded to the other three AFC North teams the last 15 years or so.

Without Luck, that may happen to the Colts.

3. Trade in the works?: If the Steelers like Devlin Hodges enough as a third quarterback, they may be interested in trading Josh Dobbs.

If that thought enters their head, they may want to call Indy for their thoughts.

Right now, all Indianapolis boasts behind Brissett are Chad Kelly (drafted last in the NFL out of Ole Miss in 2017) and 5-foot-11 Phillip Walker (undrafted out of Temple in 2017). Neither player has thrown an NFL pass. And Kelly is suspended for the first two games of 2019 for a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Dobbs wouldn’t yield much in return. I wouldn’t expect more than a fifth-round pick. That is unless the Colts want to part with a back-up tight end or pass rusher. That’d be fine, too.

Again, not that I’m immune to sympathy for Luck and the entire state of Indiana.

But c’mon. This is about us.

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