Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts
Final Score: Colts 23, Titans 16
Writer: Brian Hartman (@TooMuch_Brian on Twitter)
A game featuring rising star Anthony Richardson and two previous rushing champions (Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor) gave us heroes with different names. The Indianapolis Colts came in without a home win since October of 2022, and looked to get a game up on their division rivals, the Tenessee Titans. The scariest part of the day was seeing Richardson leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury on an option play. Gardner Minshew rescued the Colts and dueled it out with Ryan Tannehill. The most electric player was Colts running back Zach Moss. He was thought to be a dead man walking with Taylor returning to the team with a fresh new contract but was put on a snap count, and Moss took full advantage of that.
Four Up
- Zach Moss – This guy does not want to slide into a backup role. He showed today that he deserves to be a part of this rotation.
- Josh Downs – The rookie for the Colts has been a great short outlet up until today. The deep passes allowed Downs to see what other skills he has as a receiver.
- Tyjae Spears – The rookie for the Titans is no longer knocking on the door; he kicked it in today and ran into the NFL.
- DeAndre Hopkins – The 10-year veteran was fed today by Tannehill, and Hopkins showed off the highlight-worthy catch point skills that we’ve seen his entire career.
Two Down
- Anthony Richardson – As much as the Colts fourth overall pick can do on the field, it means nothing if he’s not out there. He left today with what looked like a shoulder injury, and we hope its nothing serious.
- Derrick Henry – Limited snaps, an inefficient offensive line and a talented rookie are giving King Henry trouble this year.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill: 23/34, 264 yards, 1 Int | 2 carries, 12 yards
Tannehill still plays with the same aggression and competitiveness he’s always had. His ability to push the ball downfield has changed, and its noticeable. Tannehill had multiple passes that fell flat or didn’t quite go far. Sitting behind one of PFF’s worst-graded offensive lines, Tannehill has little to no time to allow the play to develop, with most of their drives coming away without points. Tannehill put the game away with a game-sealing interception at the end.
Running Back
Derrick Henry: 0/1, 0 yards| 13 carries, 43 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
Yes, you read that correctly, Derrick Henry threw the ball again. He had a touchdown attempt for his second game in a row, and Deandre Hopkins couldn’t quite pull it in. That incomplete pass was probably the most exciting play he had today. The 13 attempts are not the high volume we are used to seeing from Henry, but the Colts were all over him today. If Henry wasn’t being met by Colts jersey in the backfield, he was being wrapped up shortly after crossing it. With Hnery losing more and more snaps to the rookie Tyjae Spears, it looks like Henry’s ceiling is capped. Henry has turned away on a goalline stand today as well.
Notes
- He has been over a 10% target share once this season.
- 65% rush share was the lowest hers seen all season. His rush share has decreased every week outside of Week 4.
Tyjae Spears: 7 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 35 yards
Rookie Tyjae Spears has continued to shine in this offense. Spears started with four of the Titans’ first seven rush attempts in the game. He had a great catch and run today that showed his ability to move in space and carve out more of a role in this offense. He had a 13-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, to give the Titans their only lead of the day.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
DeAndre Hopkins: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 140 yards
We finally see a high-end game from DeAndre Hopkins! With so much chatter coming into the season, if he still had it, Hopkins could use his size and body control to bring in several big passes. Hopkins and his chemistry show that it’s growing with Tannehill on several 3rd down plays.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: 3 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards
Chigoziem Okonkwo: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 33 yards
Okonkwo coming away with 9 targets is exciting on the surface until you see the targets. The quality was exceptionally poor. His athletic ability is apparent when he runs routes, but Tannehill not going deep limits what the second-year tight end can do.
Kyle Phillips: 1 target
Indianapolis Colts
Quarterback
Anthony Richardson: 9/12 comp, 98 yards | 2 carries, 5 yards
Anthony Richardson began the day with one of his best-looking days through the air. The development we see in the rookie’s ability to look downfield more is helping the development of fellow rookie Josh Downs. Richardson had an option play go to the left side late in the second quarter, and he went down hard. Grabbing at his shoulder, we didn’t see the quarterback return to the game.
Gardner Minshew: 11/14 comp, 155 yards | 2 carries, 1 yards
Gardner Minshew was called upon mid-way through the second quarter and didn’t flinch. Having already subbed in for Richardson in Week 2 and getting a Week 3 start, he threw a dart to Downs for a huge gain on his first pass. Minshew has to be one of the better backups in the league because this team moved along like little has changed. Minshew stood tall in the pocket and made several big plays downfield to Pierce and Downs to keep this team in control of the game. the passing options may even have a higher upside with Minshew not stealing goalline work as Richardson can do.
Running Back
Jonathan Taylor: 6 carries, 18 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 16 yards
The fourth-year running back is back from the PUP with a new contract and is ready to play. With that being said, the Colts said they would limit his snaps, and that was no lie. Knowing that he was active, it would have been hard not to start him in fantasy just knowing of the upside, but Moss stole any chance of Taylor feasting.
Notes
- We should see JT back in a normal amount of snaps but you have to be concerned that Moss won’t just go away.
- He played only 16.4% of snaps today.
Zach Moss: 23 carries, 165 yards, 2 TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards
Moss did not get the memo that Taylor was back. He started off with a 55-yard touchdown against the number-one rushing defense coming into the day. The Titans had 20 straight games without a 100-yard rusher. Moss later had another huge gain to set himself up to pile in for a 3-yard touchdown.
Notes
- The snaps have to come down at some point, but there’s no way the Colts won’t find a way to keep him involved, especially if Richardson will miss time.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Michael Pittman: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 52 yards
Michael Pittman remains the security blanket for both quarterbacks. He had many first-read targets, including a huge third down leading to points for the Colts.
Notes
- A quiet day for Pittman amid the Richardson injury. The development of Josh Downs could continue to eat into Pittman’s volume and hold up his fantasy scores.
Josh Downs: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 97 yards
The Colts’ third-round rookie is developing quietly on this team. He came away with 30-yard catches from both of his quarterbacks today. Downs has seen most of his targets close to the line of scrimmage through the first four weeks and this game really let him showcase his speed and ability to move with the ball in his hands.
Alec Pierce: 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards
The biggest highlight of his day was the pass interference call on a deep streak down the field.
Isaiah McKenzie: 1 carry, 4 yards
Kylen Granson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards
Andrew Ogletree: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
Moe Alie-Cox: 1 target, 1 reception, 17 yards