Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 3rd @ 1:00 PM ET
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Betting Odds: IND -2, 42.5 total via PFF.com
Network: CBS
Writer: Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ on Twitter/X)
Indianapolis Colts
Quarterback
Gardner Minshew (Sit)
The Colts may have squeaked out a win against Tampa Bay last week, but it was the second-straight game in which Gardner Minshew didn’t have a passing touchdown. In fact, the Colts are winners of three in a row, and Minshew has one passing score and a rushing touchdown in that span. The Titans are a middle-of-the-pack defense, allowing the 18th-most fantasy points to QBs this season, and while he’s a recommended sit if you can afford to do so, there may be a path to streaming Minshew this week with the likes of Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen both on BYE.
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor (Sit), Zack Moss (Start, RB2)
Jonathan Taylor firmly took back the Indy backfield from Zack Moss in recent weeks and scored twice against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while turning 15 carries into 91 yards. However, news broke on Tuesday morning that his Week 13 status is very much in doubt due to a thumb issue that required minor surgery. Taylor was officially listed as “doubtful” on Wednesday; if he were to be upgraded to questionable, it’s not a lock that he can be trusted to perform as an RB2 or Flex option. Tennessee has a strong run defense, and the Colts would be wise to limit Taylor’s workload while his thumb heals. Moss therefore re-enters the picture as a viable RB2 considering he enjoyed great success as the lead back earlier in the season while Taylor was holding out.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Michael Pittman Jr. (Start, WR2), Josh Downs (Start, FLEX)
Minshew had 41 pass attempts against Tampa Bay, with 26 total targets (13 each) between Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs. Pittman turned 10 receptions into 107 yards. He has been a target machine this season, tallying 111 looks, with 76 receptions for 784 yards and three touchdowns. He remains on the WR2 radar, with WR1 upside should he continue to see the target share that he has been.
Meanwhile, Downs caught only five of his 13 targets for 43 scoreless yards. Still, the rookie from the University of North Carolina is offering FLEX value on a regular basis. According to CBS Sports, the Titans are allowing an average of 22.09 fantasy points to opposing WRs per game. A boom week from Downs should surprise no one.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterbacks
Will Levis (Sit)
Will Levis is struggling of late, and understandably so as rookies often do; he hasn’t thrown for over 200 yards since Week 9. The Titans did beat Carolina last week without needing Levis to do much, but surely Tennessee will want to see more out of him for the rest of this season. All that said, Levis doesn’t offer streaming value and should be left on your wire.
Running Backs
Derrick Henry (Start, RB1), Tyjae Spears (Sit)
The King Henry of old (kinda, sorta) made an appearance last week against Carolina. Derrick Henry turned 18 carries into 76 yards and two rushing scores, which was his first multi-touchdown outing of the season. As long as Henry can keep it rolling, he’ll be able to mask the poor play of Levis. The matchup this week is juicy, as the Colts are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Meanwhile, Tyjae Spears remains to be nothing more than a handcuff and should only be started in the most dire of emergencies.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
DeAndre Hopkins (Start, WR3), Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (Sit), Chigoziem Okonwko (Sit)
As has been the case all season, DeAndre Hopkins is the only Titans WR with fantasy relevancy. That said, he is coming off a disappointing Week 12 in which he caught three of five targets for 49 scoreless yards. Nuk hasn’t topped 100 receiving yards since Week 8, when he had 128. Indianapolis has given up the 18th-most points to wide receivers on the year, but Hopkins should be able to bounce back this week.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught four of five targets for 41 yards against Carolina but still doesn’t possess streaming value. The same can be said for disappointing tight end Chigoziem Okonwko. Funny enough, Chig actually had his best game of the season against the Panthers, but check out the box score: four receptions on five targets for 45 yards, good for 8.50 full-PPR points. The silver lining is that Okonkwo actually received multiple downfield targets last week. However, the Titans have yet to properly utilize his game-breaking speed, so fantasy managers would be wise to keep him out of their lineups until he’s able to prove he can produce.