Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Quarterback
- Jacoby Brissett: 26/39, 326 yards, 4 TD
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Colts’ QB Jacoby Brissett had the best game of his pro career on Sunday against the Texans. His 326 yards, 4 TDs, and 126.7 passer rating were all career highs for the 4th-year QB, although a lost fumble did add a blemish to an otherwise exceptional performance. It didn’t take long for Brissett and the Colts’ offense to find their groove – they marched 94 yards for a TD drive on 12 plays on their very first possession. Brissett was only 5/9 on the drive, but each of his 5 completions went for over 10 yards – including an 11-yard TD pass to WR Zach Pascal on 3rd and 5 to cap the drive. Brissett and the Colts wouldn’t score again until nearly the end of the 2nd quarter – this time on a Brissett 2-yard play-action screen pass to WR T.Y. Hilton. Other than a kneel-down to end the 1st half, Brissett led the Colts on four consecutive TD drives. While Brissett had a lot of help from his skill players, he also had arguably even more help from his offensive line. Brissett has now only been sacked twice over the Colts’ past 4 games – and only 6 times through 6 games this season. He’ll look to keep his hot streak alive next week against Denver, whose defense has struggled a bit as of late.
Running Backs
- Marlon Mack: 18 carries, 44 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 12 yards
- Nyheim Hines: 1 carry, 3 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 13 yards
- Jordan Wilkins: 2 carries, 9 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
Unlike QB Jacoby Brissett and the passing game, the Colts’ running game had a tough time getting anything going against Houston on Sunday. RB Marlon Mack led the Colts with 18 carries but only gained a measly 44 yards – good for a miserable 2.4 yards per carry. Mack owners who were hoping for a repeat of his 132-yard performance against the Chiefs last week were left sorely disappointed. The rest of the Colts’ RBs weren’t much better. RBs Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins combined for only 12 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving on the afternoon on only 5 combined touches. With the Colts’ passing game clicking as well as it did, the running game became an afterthought. While Mack remains the only fantasy-relevant RB on Indianapolis’ roster this season, he’ll hope to turn it around next week against the Broncos who have tightened up against the run lately – allowing only 54.4 rushing yards per game over their last three contests.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- T.Y. Hilton: 11 targets, 6 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD
- Zach Pascal: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD
- Eric Ebron: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 70 yards, 1 TD
With Jacoby Brissett having such a big day passing, it’s no surprise that the Colts’ pass-catching group also put up formidable fantasy performances as well. WR Zach Pascal led the group with over 100 yards and 2 TDs. Pascal found himself to be the beneficiary of more stringent coverage on Colts’ #1 WR T.Y. Hilton. In fact, Pascal found himself in single-coverage situations on linebackers on multiple occasions, and he made the most of them. On his first TD reception, Pascal ran a crossing route out of the slot and easily beat Texans’ LB Dylan Cole before leaping over another Texans’ LB Zach Cunningham at the goal line. Pascal would go on to catch another TD on a nifty play design – Pascal went in motion pre-snap, only to cut back across the formation after a play fake to Jordan Wilkins. TE Eric Ebron was once again able to turn a handful of touches into a meaningful performance – including a jaw-dropping TD to the back of the end zone that immediately inserted itself into the ‘catch of the year so far’ discussion. It began with a throw from Jacoby Brissett that initially looked like he was throwing the ball away out of the back of the end-zone, but Ebron snatched it up with one hand while simultaneously keeping both feet inbounds. Words don’t really do it justice – go find it on YouTube if you haven’t seen it yet. Seriously.
Houston Texans
Quarterbacks
- Deshaun Watson: 23/34, 308 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
It was another tough afternoon for Texans’ QB Deshaun Watson. After his 400+ yard, 5 TD performance against Atlanta two weeks ago, Watson has now thrown multiple interceptions in back-to-back games. While he did find some success on the ground (10.7 YPC vs. Houston), it wasn’t enough overall to make it feel like the Texans were ever really in this game. After having gone two consecutive weeks without being sacked, the Colts were able to sack Watson three times on the day and kept pressure on him all afternoon. On a controversial call in the first half, a TD should have been the result but it was instead a 9-yard sack by the Colts. Watson escaped one tackler in the pocket before being wrapped up by another, but the play was blown dead prematurely – and just before Watson hit WR DeAndre Hopkins at the goal-line for what would have been a go-ahead TD. Watson was able to find Hopkins for a 4-yard TD towards the end of the game, but it was too little too late. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible fantasy performance for Watson, but it wasn’t a great one either. He’ll look to turn it around next week against a Raiders’ passing defense that was absolutely annihilated by QB Aaron Rodgers and the Packers today.
Running Backs
- Carlos Hyde: 12 carries, 35 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions
- Duke Johnson: 7 carries, 34 yards | 5 targets, 2 receptions, 22 yards
Much like Indianapolis’ group of RBs, Texans’ RBs Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson had a tough time getting going in this one. Johnson was clearly the more dynamic of the two – netting only one less yard than Hyde on 5 fewer carries and adding 22 receiving yards on two catches. However, some classic Bill O’Brien RB misusage left us scratching our heads and wondering why he refuses to get his RBs the ball in space so much of the time. It isn’t a huge surprise that Houston’s RBs had trouble getting involved – Indianapolis came into the game as the 8th best fantasy defense against RBs – but it still proved to be a disappointing day for both Hyde and Johnson owners. That being said, both will hope to have an easier time next week against Oakland’s slightly-less-stout run defense – but both should still be considered risky plays at best.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- DeAndre Hopkins: 12 targets, 9 receptions, 106 yards, 1 TD
- Kenny Stills: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 105 yards
- Keke Coutee: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards | 1 carry, 4 yards, 1 TD
Even though Deshaun Watson struggled at times against the Colts, he was productive to turn in some nice performances from the Texans’ group of pass-catchers. Houston’s #1 WR DeAndre Hopkins finished with over 100 receiving yards and a TD for the first time since week 1 at New Orleans. He should have scored another TD in the 1st quarter, but a blown call forced the Texans to settle for a field goal instead. On 3rd and goal from the 4-yard line, Hopkins caught a pass that first appeared that may have been bobbled. However, Deshaun Watson was instead ruled down by contact and the play was blown dead. WR Kenny Stills had a big day finishing with over 100 yards for the first time in a Texans uniform, and he also had his longest reception as a Texan as well (45 yards). WR Keke Coutee didn’t contribute much through the air, but was able to score a 4-yard rushing TD on the Texans’ first possession of the second half. WR Will Fuller was knocked out of the game with a hamstring injury in the first quarter and did not return. If Fuller remains sidelined next week, the rest of the Texans’ pass-catchers should be considered fantasy-relevant against a soft Raiders’ secondary.
–Corey Saucier