What We Saw: Week 12

Series Navigation

Titans @ Colts

The Titans’ offense was clicking on Sunday. They scored 35 in the first half and capitalized on some costly Colts penalties. The Colts haven’t allowed 35 or more points in a full game this season before today. The two teams combined for almost 13 minutes on their first two drives. The game sped up considerably with five more touchdowns scored in the first half. This game was all but over at halftime at 35-14. The third quarter only had three combined points in it, and the Colts scored twice in the fourth but it wasn’t enough and they fell 45-26. Up next, the Titans will be at home vs Cleveland and the Colts will travel to Houston.

Tennessee Titans

Quarterback

Ryan Tannehill: 13/22, 221 yards, 1 TD, 1 sack | 2 carries, 3 yards, 1 TD

Ryan Tannehill was not really asked to do too much in this one. The Titans controlled the game by halftime and he did not need to throw the ball much in the second half. Tannehill hit A.J. Brown on a short crosser and the star receiver did the rest, taking it to the house for a very nice 69-yard touchdown. Tannehill salvaged his own day with a short goalline touchdown run on a curious possession for the Titans. Up 28-14 with just over a minute left on the clock, two timeouts in hand, and the ball on the Colts’ side of the 50, the Titans ran the ball twice with Jeremy McNichols, threw an incompletion, and then threw a deep shot to Corey Davis that got them down to the one on fourth down. Tannehill scored on the next play but it was some strange play-calling by the Titans there. Tannehill was sort of robbed of a second touchdown to Derrick Henry where it was a pass but called a run by the official scorer and Henry scored on it. Take a look below. Tannehill will be on the QB1/2 line against the Browns next week.

Derrick Henry is out here on the receiving end of a TD 😱#FantasyFootball | #Titans pic.twitter.com/fopAsIlv4l

— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 29, 2020

Running Backs

Derrick Henry: 27 carries, 178 yards, 3 TDs | 4 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards

Did “DHember” come early? Derrick Henry started this game out with a bang. He had six touches on the first drive including a swing pass that counted as a rush attempt that he took in for a touchdown. In the first half, he had 17 carries, four targets, over 140 total yards, and three red-zone rushing touchdowns. The Colts’ defense without three starting defenders in the front seven had no answers for Henry early on. He could have had another score late in the first half but Tannehill kept it on the one-yard line for a score. There wasn’t a ton of room to run in the second half, and as you can see he only ran for 38 more yards. He was also subbed out more than usual in the second half. Henry is a no doubt RB1 every week. The other Titans running backs had 12 combined carries but they were mostly to give Henry a breather or in garbage time (minus those two McNichols carries I mentioned above).

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

A.J. Brown: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 98 yards, 1 TD, onside kick TD

Corey Davis: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 70 yards

Jonnu Smith: 0 targets

Anthony Firkser: 1 target, 0 receptions

Corey Davis could have had a much bigger game. He drew a pass interference penalty on a deep pass and was also tackled on the one-yard line late in the first half. He wasn’t targeted in the second half. A.J. Brown had another big play for a touchdown (see it below in GIF form). He took a short crossing route for 69 yards and a touchdown, slipping out of a shoestring tackle and outrunning the rest of the defense easily. He also returned an onside kick for a touchdown late in the game, which may or may not count in your league. Brown is a WR1/2 and Davis is a solid WR2/3 right now. No one else was really involved in the passing game much as there wasn’t a lot of volume to go around on Sunday.

Big Play Brown goes 69 yards for the score.#FantasyFootball | #Titans pic.twitter.com/Fu2P6NGG8v

— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 29, 2020

Indianapolis Colts

Quarterback

Philip Rivers: 24/42, 295 yards, 2TDs, 1 Int, 1 sack

Jacoby Brissett: 0/2, 1 sack | 4 carries, 3 yards, 2 TDs

This was a mixed bag game for Philip Rivers. He had multiple throws that were just way off target and didn’t give his receiver much of a chance to make a play. On the other hand, he made some great throws as well, a couple of which went for touchdowns. Rivers did not play the last drive during deep garbage time. The Colts lost left tackle Anthony Costanzo to a knee injury in this game and were already without center Ryan Kelly. Rivers will be a streamable QB2 next week in a plus matchup with the Texans. Jacoby Brissett was brought in to play in short-yardage situations. He came in on the goal line and ran in two touchdowns thus taking away two potential Rivers touchdowns.

Running Backs

Nyheim Hines: 10 carries, 29 yards | 10 targets, 8 receptions, 66 yards

Jordan Wilkins: 6 carries, 22 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 35 yards

Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins both played a lot on Sunday. They were the only two running backs involved in the game. Wilkins had a rib injury late in the first half, but he returned in the second half. Wilkins and Hines split garbage time reps and goalline work. The Colts were slamming Hines into the middle of the line multiple times at the goal line and for a two-point conversion attempt which was a curious use of his skillset. Hines is a low-end RB1 as long as Jonathan Taylor (COVID) remains out thanks to his Alvin Kamara-esque passing game role right now. Wilkins was definitely the complimentary option on Sunday but he still had 10 opportunities. Wilkins would be a solid flex option or low-end RB2 if Taylor remains out.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

T.Y. Hilton: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 81 yards, 1 TD

Michael Pittman: 9 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards

Zach Pascal: 4 targets, 1 reception, 23 yards

Trey Burton: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 42 yards, 1 TD

T.Y. Hilton drew a pass interference call in the endzone that led to a Brissett touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, Hilton made a nice adjustment to come back and get the ball on a 50-yard pass, where he almost scored and then fumbled it. The fumble was then overturned on a review. He caught his first touchdown of the season on a beautifully thrown fade pass by Rivers later in the fourth quarter. It was nice to see a good game by Hilton but we need to see more before we can trust him in fantasy on a weekly basis.

Michael Pittman led the team in targets but a lot of the balls thrown his way were not catchable. He did have a drop, maybe two, but he didn’t have much of a chance to produce a big game. He is a WR3 right now but the usage is encouraging. Zach Pascal had a poor game today. He had a drop on one of his targets and on the next play he stumbled on another target and Rivers was intercepted. Later in the game, on his only reception, the play was called an interception on the field where the defender ultimately won a contested-catch. After review, it was ruled a tie and that goes to the offense.

Trey Burton was involved early in this game. He had all of his receptions on the first two drives, including a beautiful touchdown catch where he held strong with a defender all over him. Take a look at his score below. The other Colts’ tight ends weren’t involved much today.