What We Saw: Week 4

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Colts @ Steelers

Final Score: Colts 27, Steelers 24

Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan on Twitter/X)

The Indianapolis Colts jumped out to an early lead, battled through adversity, and held off the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers for a 27-24 victory on Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts lost starting quarterback Anthony Richardson early on, but veteran backup Joe Flacco worked his magic with yet another team, leading the Colts to a win. In what looked to potentially be a slow-moving grinder, this game was packed with fantasy goodness. Let’s dig in.

Three Up

Josh Downs – Finally fully healthy and back in action, Downs tied Michael Pittman Jr. for a team-high with nine targets, pulling in eight catches including a touchdown.
Justin Fields – Fields showed his dynamism with three total touchdowns, including two on the ground, and reached 300+ yards passing for the first time in his career.
George Pickens – Pickens looked every bit of an alpha wide receiver and was in sync with Fields to the tune of 113 yards

Three Down

Anthony Richardson – Richardson was injured on a running play once again, though he remained in uniform on the sideline so he might not miss a ton of time.
Calvin Austin – After a massive boom game last week, Austin busted with just one target
Najee Harris – Jaylen Warren was ruled out pre-game and Cordarrelle Patterson left with an injury, so it should have been a huge day for Harris, right? Not this time, as the running back struggled, especially on the ground, despite being on the field almost the entire game.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Quarterback

Justin Fields: 22/34, 312 Yards, TD, | 10 Carries, 55 Yards, 2 TDs

Fields was good, then bad, and then good some more as the Steelers clawed their way back into this game, relying on their quarterback to move the ball nearly the entire contest. Fields made some bone-headed plays, held onto the ball too long, and uncorked some dangerous throws – but for every bad decision, he made a good one and finished the day with a solid fantasy line.

The two rushing scores both came on designed passes that he improvised and scrambled for the goal line, so please don’t give any undue credit to offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Fields continues to be a much better fantasy quarterback than a real-life quarterback, though he did show that he can throw the ball around on Sunday.

This is why Justin Fields is such a good fantasy football QB. The rushing upside is undeniable and so potent. Two TDs on the ground today! pic.twitter.com/1MJQhreWUo

— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) September 29, 2024

Running Back

Najee Harris: 13 Carries, 19 Yards | 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 54 Yards

Harris struggled to generate any footing on the ground and gained most of his yardage through the air on one play, snatching and sprinting for 32 yards in the second half. Before Patterson’s injury, it was difficult to discern who the Steelers considered their top rusher.

Cordarrelle Patterson: 6 Carries, 43 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards

Patterson was injured early in the game, but was extremely productive on limited touches before he went out. With Warren sidelined, Patterson inherited a lot of his workload, running routes on every snap that he didn’t receive a handoff. Once everyone is healthy, this will be an extremely muddled backfield.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

George Pickens: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 113 Yards

Pickens finished Sunday with a 34% target share and an NFL BEST 67% air-yard share. Alpha. Receiver. Pickens did lose a fumble trying to create more yards after the catch, but that was his only blemish on an otherwise dominant day. Though the Steelers are a team predicated on defense and running the football, Pickens has shown a solid connection with Fields and will be relied upon like an alpha in negative game scripts. I’m buying.

Pat Freiermuth: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 57 Yards, TD

Old reliable – Freiermuth was the safety valve target for Fields in the short game and over the middle. He pulled in Fields’ only touchdown pass of the game as the Steelers were mounting a comeback, sitting in under the linebackers at the goal line and pushing through a tackle for the score. Freiermuth was on the field for 53 of the Steelers’ 70 offensive snaps and ran 36 total routes, far more than the backup TEs, Washington and Hayward.

Justin Fields (6) to Pat Freiermuth (1)
Pittsburgh Steelers
8 yards
pic.twitter.com/dsaa0q5GZM

— NFL TD Videos (@NFLTDsVideos) September 29, 2024

Calvin Austin III: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 17 Yards

One of the only fantasy disappointments of the day, Austin was targeted just once, but at least he pulled it in.

Van Jefferson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 21 Yards

Darnell Washington: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 31 Yards

Indianapolis Colts

Quarterback

Anthony Richardson: 3/4, 71 Yards | 3 Carries, 24 Yards

Richardson managed the offense well in his first few snaps, leading the Colts to a touchdown drive on the opening possession and driving the team well on its way to another score before leaving the game. Richardson was injured on a rushing play, and left the game for one play before returning. In his first play back, the Colts called a read option subjecting Richardson to another big hit. He left the game and did not return after that.

I can’t believe the Colts coaches did this.

Anthony Richardson left the game with a hip injury, at the 5:30 mark. He returns, limping, 2 minutes later, and the very first play is a QB run!!

Richardson, again gets hurt, and leaves the game to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/inZwJqAgoe

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 29, 2024

Joe Flacco: 16/26, 168 Yards, 2 TD | 2 Carries, 3 Yards

Flacco was inserted into the game with a lead but had to keep his team on top as the Steelers surged to get back into the contest. Against one of the toughest defenses in the league, Flacco served up a pair of passing touchdowns and guided his team to a win.

With Anthony Richardson headed to the locker room with a hip injury, who comes in to throw a TD pass??

None other than Steelers killer Joe Flacco 😎#FlaccoSZN

pic.twitter.com/wGZJyOcZgL

— TheLines (@TheLinesUS) September 29, 2024

Running Back

Jonathan Taylor: 21 Carries, 88 Yards, TD | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards

A workhorse back if there ever was one, Taylor finished with 24 touches on 25 opportunities. The Colts’ offense revolves around the all-pro running back and will continue to do so. As a bonus, if Richardson is sidelined and Flacco is in the game it should increase the opportunity for check-down receptions, and there would be one less touchdown vulture threat on the field. Late in Sunday’s game, Taylor tweaked his ankle on a tackle but claimed to be fine after a long soak in an ice bath post-game. Something to monitor moving into week five.

Trey Sermon: 5 Carries, 8 Yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Michael Pittman: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 113 Yards

Pittman is so much more of a weapon with Flacco in the game because of Flacco’s consistency and ability to make the intermediate-timing throws that Richardson is still inconsistent with. This might seem like a crazy take on the surface, especially since Pittman caught two passes from Richardson for 60 yards before the QB1 exited, but Richardson has not been throwing darts like this one for most of the year. As a Pittman manager, I’d feel more confident in my receiver with Flacco under center.

First play of the game GOATthony Richardson finds Michael Pittman Jr. pic.twitter.com/bnpXCeHqEU

— Streameast News Network (@StreameastNews) September 29, 2024

Josh Downs: 9 Targets, 8 Receptions, 82 Yards, TD

Downs benefitted the most on the Colts from the quarterback change, seeing increased action when Flacco entered the game. Flacco targeted Downs eight times for seven catches, 71 yards, and a touchdown. Downs had 55 air yards on those completions with Flacco at the helm and should continue to be a major part of this offense regardless of who is under center.

Alec Pierce: 2 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

Adonai Mitchell: 1 Carry, 10 Yards | 3 Targets

Drew Ogletree: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 15 Yards, TD

The Colts have plucked yet another random tight end out of obscurity and placed him into their offense. Of course, he found the end zone, too. Ogletree was on the field for just 24 offensive snaps and ran just five routes (fewer than both Mo Alie-Cox and Kyle Granson) but ended as the only tight end with a reception and got into the end zone to boot.