Arizona Cardinals @ Indianapolis Colts
Final Score: Colts 31, Cardinals 27
Writer: Griffey Geiss (@ggeiss_mlb and @ggeiss_PL on Twitter)
For a beat-up Cardinals team, this was a pretty good showing. Jacoby Brissett, their backup quarterback, held his own. James Conner and Trey Benson are obviously injured. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emari Demercado suffered injuries and did not return. And yet, this game was interesting. Things ticked up in the second half where the two teams combined for six consecutive scoring possessions. Both star tight ends were locked in — are these the top two TEs in the NFL? One could argue they are. In the end, it was Indy, led by superstar Jonathan Taylor, that finished on top.
Three Up
- Jonathan Taylor — recorded his third game of at least 100 yards on the ground in 2025.
- Tyler Warren — budding superstar at the TE position / has recorded back-to-back games with a TD.
- Zay Jones — Totaled 79 yards, his most since Nov. 27, 2022.
Nobody with fantasy implications played poorly enough to warrant a “down” mark.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Jacoby Brissett: 27/44, 320 yards, 2 TDs, INT | 3 carries, 19 yards
Jacoby Brissett did his best as a backup and certainly held his own against a good Colts defense. Hand up, I started Indy’s D/ST this week and certainly didn’t expect this type of performance.
While he was pretty inefficient, Brissett did a good job distributing the ball to his open receivers. His connection with Trey McBride was unstoppable, literally. Brissett started to get really comfortable in the offense and turn up the production in the second half which made for an interesting ending.
Missed Opportunities
- Dropped pass from Bam Knight.
- Borderline missed call on the last possession of the game. Would’ve been a TD for Trey McBride (or at the very least fourth-down conversion).
Running Back
Bam Knight: 11 carries, 34 yards, TD | 2 targets, 1 reception, 20 yards
Bam Knight settled into his role, seeing time here and there to start the game and, at the end, seemingly being promoted into the lead role. He looked good, making players miss and fighting for extra yards. He was also able to generate a score.
Michael Carter: 9 carries, 34 yards | 5 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards
Michael Carter was reported to be the lead back. That was not the case Sunday. After starting off hot playing every first-drive snap, Emari Demercado‘s injury (see below) occurred and just like that, he was out-snapped by Knight 34-21 the rest of the way.
Emari Demercado: 1 carry, 1 yard | 1 target, 0 receptions
Emari Demercado suffered an ankle injury after three snaps and did not return.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Zay Jones: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 79 yards
What a game from Zay Jones. His 79 receiving yards marks the most in a single game since November 2022. He had a grand total of 37 receiving yards entering play Sunday, and just 84 total yards through 11 games last year. Wow!
Perhaps the Brissett-Jones connection is enough to make him a waiver-wire streaming option next week if Kyler Murray is still doubtful to play.
Trey McBride: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 74 yards, TD
Trey McBride looked the part and then some as, in my opinion, the top tight end in all of football. No starting QB? No problem. McBride continues to get open, haul in a slew of targets (and gain yards efficiently), plus turn in a score. He may have had a second if a flag was called on their last possession of the game.
Michael Wilson: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 44 yards
Michael Wilson suffered an injury that costed him around 10 minutes of game time, though he did return.
Elijah Higgins: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 34 yards
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 32 yards
Marvin Harrison Jr. suffered a concussion and did not return to action.
Greg Dortch: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 9 yards, TD
Indianapolis Colts
Quarterback
Daniel Jones: 22/30, 212 yards, 2 TDs, INT | 5 carries, 20 yards
Jones didn’t do anything special by any means, but was consistent enough to lead his team to victory against an injury-riddled Cardinals team. He made his mark both as a passer and rusher, impacting the game in both ways. Jones’ INT came on a tremendous play by Mack Wilson. Other than that, he had a pretty clean slate.
Missed Opportunities
- Multiple low-leverage overthrows.
Running Back
Jonathan Taylor: 21 carries, 123 yards, TD | 4 targets, 4 carries, 14 yards
Jonathan Taylor single-handedly won the Colts the game. He was dynamic, point blank, whether it was getting open, making guys miss, or finding lanes even the broadcasters couldn’t comprehend. He’s a joy to watch every time out.
Ameer Abdullah: 1 carry, 7 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Tyler Warren: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 63 yards, TD
Tyler Warren continues his campaign to finish the year as a top-five fantasy TE. While No. 1 may be out of reach for now, Warren currently ranks second among tight ends with 84.6 points this year as a rookie. He’s now recorded back-to-back games with a touchdown and has 60-plus receiving yards in four of his first six games to start his NFL career.
Alec Pierce: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 48 yards
Alec Pierce produced well in Adonai Mitchell‘s first week as a healthy inactive. He missed consecutive weeks with a concussion, but practiced all week and appeared to be good to go Sunday, leading Indy receivers in routes run.
Josh Downs: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 42 yards, TD
Josh Downs played just 30 snaps — a significant drop off coming in at sixth overall among skill players — but still made the most of his opportunity.
Michael Pittman Jr.: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards
Michael Pittman Jr. led Indianapolis in snaps but ultimately wasn’t targeted all that much to make a notable impact.
Mo Alie-Cox: 2 targets, 1 reception, 16 yards