Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Keeping an eye on these Colts on Sunday.
The Indianapolis Colts (9-4) are back home at Lucas Oil Stadium to host the Houston Texans (4-9) for a crucial Week 15 matchup on Sunday.
Holding the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff race, the Colts are looking to make that final playoff push while the Texans are just waiting for January to get here. It’s a big game for Indy and the Texans are hoping to play spoiler.
Here are five Colts to watch in the Week 15 divisional bout:
Houston has seen their fair share of Texans killers since 2002. Here is the all-time roster.
The Houston Texans have had to endure players who have consistently killed them. It isn’t just T.Y. Hilton, who the Texans will face for the 18th time since 2012 on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Here is a list of opponents who brought their A-game and dashed the Texans’ hopes game in and game out since 2002.
Houston Texans cornerback Vernon Hargreaves knows containing Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton is a chore, but it is one of the keys to victory.
T.Y. Hilton has owned the Houston Texans since entering the league as a 2012 third-round pick from Florida International.
The four-time Pro Bowl receiver has produced eight career games with 100-plus yards receiving against the Texans. In Week 13’s 26-20 heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Colts, Hilton caught eight passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
In order to stop Indianapolis Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at Lucas Oil Stadium, Houston cornerback Vernon Hargreaves knows the Texans will have to find a way to contain Hilton.
“He’s a great player,” Hargreaves said. “He’s been a great player ever since he stepped into the league. You’ve just got to try to contain him, try to keep him out of the end zone, things of that nature.”
It is possible to contain Hilton. The Texans have held the 5-10, 183-pound wideout to fewer than 100 yards in nine games, tallying a 4-5 mark in such games.
In addition to stopping Hilton, Hargreaves knows the secondary will have to provide run support in containing the Colts’ run game led by rookie Jonathan Taylor and complemented by Nyheim Hines.
Said Hargreaves: “They’re a good team. We’ve got to slow down the run game, obviously, see if we can slow down T.Y., make them throw the ball somewhere else and give ourselves a good chance to win.”
If the Texans can beat the Colts, they will stave off a series sweep, something Indianapolis has not accomplished against Houston since 2017, which was also the last time the Texans were 4-9.
[listicle id=57437]
Things to know entering the Week 15 matchup.
The Indianapolis Colts (9-4) and Houston Texans (4-9) are preparing for their rematch in Week 15 at Lucas Oil Stadium with three games remaining in the regular season.
The Colts are making their playoff push, competing for both a wild-card spot and the top spot in the AFC South, whichever gets them into the dance. The Texans are focusing on finishing the season and rebuilding the aftermath of the Bill O’Brien era.
Here are six things to know entering the Week 15 matchup:
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly from Week 14.
The Indianapolis Colts (9-4) continued playing winning football with a 44-27 dominating win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
A second-half surge helped the Colts put the game away while all three phases played a part in the win. The defense came away with some timely turnovers while the offense was clicking on all cylinders.
Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Week 14 win:
RB Jonathan Taylor: The rookie is taking over the backfield. He had 20 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns on the day, including a 62-yard scamper that showed off his ridiculous speed.
WR T.Y. Hilton: The Ghost is officially on fire as Hilton recorded his first multi-score game since Week 1 of the 2019 season. It’s fun seeing him thrive again.
Offensive Line: Whew boy. The Colts dominated this side of the ball. They allowed just one quarterback hit and the offense rushed for 215 yards. Not much to complain about there.
QB Philip Rivers: Quietly, Rivers is putting together a spectacular season. He completed 19 of 28 passes for 244 yards, two touchdowns and a 118.8 passer rating.
CB Kenny Moore II: Outside of allowing the touchdown to Foster Moreau, Moore was exceptional. He had the sick one-handed interception in the first half and the clutch forced fumble in the second half to help seal the win.
Third Down Offense: The Colts were 8 of 11 on third downs throughout the day, good for a 73% conversion rate.
Third Down Defense: While the Colts offense found ways to stay on the field, the defense could find ways to get stops on third down. They allowed the Raiders offense to go 8 of 12 (67%) on third downs.
Red Zone offense: The Colts need to get better in this area. They were 2 of 5 in the red zone and even though they did come away with points with every trip, finishing drives with six points must become a more consistent occurrence.
Pass Rush: It was a rough day for the pass rush. They totaled just 11 pressures on the day, per Pro Football Focus, and hit Derek Carr just twice.
S Julian Blackmon: It wasn’t the best outing for the rookie. He was credited with two missed tackles, one of which led to a touchdown. His angles in pursuit weren’t the sharpest either.
[listicle id=54217]
Takeaways from the Week 14 win.
The Indianapolis Colts (9-4) dominated their way to a 44-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders (7-6) on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, pushing their way ahead in the AFC playoff picture.
After a lively first half, the Colts once again dominated the final two quarters of the game as they have all season. They did give up a touchdown in garbage time, snapping their streak of no touchdowns allowed in the second half over the last four games.
Here are six takeaways from the big Week 14 win on Sunday:
Studs from the Week 14 win.
The Indianapolis Colts (9-4) came away with a big conference win Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders (7-6) at Allegiant Stadium with solid performances all across the board.
In what was a total team win, the Colts made a statement winning their fourth in five games. They crushed the Raiders on the ground, going for 212 yards—the first time they’ve gone over 200 in a game this season.
Here are five studs from the Week 14 win:
The Ghost is back.
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=t0wTVgyU21-1071086-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton got off to a slow start production-wise in 2020 but the last month has been extremely kind to the veteran. He continued that trend with another big game in the 44-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
After going over the century mark for the first time this season in Week 13 against the Houston Texans, Hilton followed that up with an encore performance, this time finding the end zone twice in the same game for the first time since Week 1 of the 2019 season.
That’s 20 consecutive games without recording multiple touchdowns.
It started in the first quarter when the Colts took an 11-play, 72-yard drive all the way to the end zone. It was capped off by quarterback Philip Rivers finding Hilton in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard score.
Whoa, @TYHilton13. 👻@BudLight | #BudLightCelly
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/4vXQOswb1e
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 13, 2020
Hilton then turned back the clock and torched the Raiders secondary in the second quarter for a 41-yard touchdown. He straight up just out-ran the Raiders secondary and Rivers found him with ease for his second touchdown of the day.
_0_ / _0_ /#ProBowlVote x @TYHilton13#ProBowlVote x @TYHilton13#ProBowlVote x @TYHilton13
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/JV5xqOMUb9
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 13, 2020
Over the last three games, Hilton has 17 receptions for 277 yards and four touchdowns. His 23 targets in that span leads the team.
The Colts have three games remaining on the schedule as they look to make a playoff push, and getting Hilton on this track is going to be huge for Indy.
[listicle id=54175]
A predictive outlook for several late-season rising performers as we hit the fantasy football playoffs.
The fantasy postseason is here in the majority of leagues and those tough and crucial weekly lineup decisions suddenly become even more agonizing and important with the stakes ramping up.
Do fantasy general managers automatically play the sizzling young player who they won off the waiver wire that week, or do they give their more established but fading high draft pick one more shot in a do-or-die scenario?
In this week’s TT&T, we’ll attempt to aid in some of those decisions by breaking down a couple of the hot but unheralded or late-blooming players at each of the four main fantasy positions and some of the struggling former standbys with upcoming bad matchups who the former could be potentially unseating in fantasy playoff lineups.
All statistics and rankings (minimum two games played) are based on point-per-reception scoring in games played through Monday night.
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): Sixth (24.5 fantasy points per game)
Sizzling stat: Cousins ranks second among QBs in total passing yards (1,218) and touchdowns (11) with two interceptions during this four-game span after totaling 1,855 yards, 15 TDs and 10 interceptions during his first eight games
Upcoming outlook: Cousins has taken full advantage of a favorable schedule the last three weeks with games against the Cowboys, Panthers and Jaguars who have all scored at least 24 points themselves and forced Cousins and the Vikes to take to the air.
A game against Tom Brady and a beatable Bucs passing defense fits the same profile in Week 14, but tougher defensive tests do loom the following two weeks against the Bears and Saints.
Possibly replacing: Kyler Murray (at N.Y. Giants, Week 14), Russell Wilson (at Washington, Week 15)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): 12th (19.7 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Rivers has topped 19.2 fantasy points with multiple TD passes in each of his last three games (versus the Packers, Titans and Texans). He only reached those standards twice in his first eight contests.
Upcoming outlook: Two more plus-matchups are immediately ahead in games against the Raiders in Week 14) and Texans (Week 15) before a Week 16 contest against the Steelers, the defense allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
Possibly replacing: Cam Newton (at L.A. Rams, Week 14); Deshaun Watson (at Colts, Week 15)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): First (26.2 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Coming off a Week 10 game missed to injury and Chicago’s Week 11 bye, Montgomery has saved his best for last, topping 21.7 fantasy points for the first two times this season with back-to-back games of 25.3 and 27.1 against the Packers and Lions, respectively.
Upcoming outlook: The Bears’ fantasy playoff slate ranks as the third best for running backs, according to The Huddle’s Strength of Schedule tool, with matchups against the Texans (second-best matchup for RBs) and Jaguars (fourth best) sandwiched around a Week 15 rematch against the Vikings (17th best).
And even though Montgomery has been a fantasy disappointment for much of his two pro seasons, it’s time to hop back on board with one of the league’s true bellcow backs (average of 18 touches per game) proving he can produce in favorable matchups.
Possibly replacing: Kareem Hunt (vs. Baltimore, Week 14), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (at New Orleans, Week 15), Kenyan Drake (vs. San Francisco, Week 16)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): 11th (16.9 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Six of Gallman’s 10 best pro rushing games, including his top two (135 yards vs. the Seahawks on Sunday and 94 the week before against the Bengals), have come since Week 4 when he helped step in for the injured Saquon Barkley.
Upcoming outlook: Gallman’s current run has been instrumental in the Giants’ surge to the top of the NFC East standings, and he’s received at least 15 touches in each of his last four games with six total TDs over his last six outings.
There are no cakewalk matchups in the fantasy playoffs (Cardinals, Browns and Ravens), but Gallman has established himself as a solid RB2 start.
Possibly replacing: Kareem Hunt (vs. Baltimore, Week 14); Ezekiel Elliott (vs. San Francisco, Week 15)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): 26th (10.9 points per game)
Sizzling stat: The Rams’ rookie back has found his way into the end zone in back-to-back weeks for his first TDs of the season and has totaled almost as many fantasy points (30.8) in the two contests than he did in his first six games (31.4) combined.
Upcoming outlook: Akers out-touched fellow L.A. RBs Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown 22-9 Sunday in Arizona while logging the most rushing attempts (21) by a Rams back in a game this season — another signal that he may have finally moved to the forefront of the team’s three-headed committee.
The Rams’ fantasy postseason itinerary is favorable as well with games against the Patriots, Jets and Seahawks, and Akers and is now certainly in play as flex/RB2 consideration when you’re weighing matchups.
Possibly replacing: Miles Sanders (vs. New Orleans, Week 14), Todd Gurley (vs. Tampa Bay, Week 15), Jonathan Taylor (at Pittsburgh, Week 16)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): 15th (8.3 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Davis hasn’t just come on in the last month as he’s displayed a strong floor all season with his nine games with at least 10 PPR points in the 10 contests he’s played this year.
Upcoming outlook: Up next are back-to-back favorable matchups against the Jaguars and Lions in Weeks 14 and 15 before things turn tougher in Week 16 against the Packers.
Possibly replacing: Robby Anderson (vs. Denver, Week 14), Tyler Lockett (at Washington, Week 15)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): 22nd (14.8 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Landry’s 48.7 combined fantasy points over the last two weeks on 16 receptions for 205 yards and two TDs were nearly as much as he had (50.5) in his previous six contests.
Also, his two TDs were his first two scoring grabs of the season. He did throw a TD pass in Week 4.
Upcoming outlook: After taking advantage of two (Jags and Titans) of the five most generous fantasy defenses vs. opposing wide receivers the past two weeks, Landry faces an immediate challenge in Week 14 against the second-stingiest fantasy wideout defense (Ravens).
Things then lighten back up somewhat for the final two weeks of the fantasy postseason with contests against the Giants and Jets.
Possibly replacing: Brandin Cooks (at. Indianapolis, Week 15), JuJu Smith-Schuster (vs. Indy, Week 16)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): 25th (14.4 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Much like Landry, Hilton has posted his best two fantasy games in Weeks 12 and 13 with 18.1 and 25.0 PPR points, respectively. In the first nine games of the season, Hilton averaged only 6.9 points, finishing in double digits only once (12.9 in Week 5).
Upcoming outlook: Hilton will get the opportunity to show his late-season surge is for real with three straight neutral fantasy wideout matchups (Raiders, Texans and Steelers) during the fantasy playoffs.
He’ll try to avoid the fantasy fate of fellow Indy wideout Michael Pittman Jr. who was a hot commodity a few weeks ago only to fall off in recent weeks.
Possibly replacing: Marvin Jones Jr. (vs. Green Bay, Week 14); D.J. Chark (at Baltimore, Week 15), Sterling Shepard (at Baltimore, Week 16)
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): Fourth (14.5 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Goedert ranks fourth in targets (29) and third in receptions (21) among tight ends over the last four weeks. Only Darren Waller (27) and Travis Kelce (24) have had more catches during that span.
Upcoming outlook: The Eagles’ fantasy postseason itinerary isn’t exactly an easy one as all three foes (Saints, Cardinals, Cowboys) rank among the 11th stingiest tight end defenses.
Goedert, however, has easily been the Eagles’ most targeted and productive pass-catcher over the last four weeks and is a must-start commodity at a position of continued scarcity.
Possibly replacing: Any tight end not named Kelce or Waller.
Week 10-13 position rank (average fantasy points): Sixth (12.9 points per game)
Sizzling stat: Thomas, the converted former quarterback, has finished with at least 10.6 fantasy points in five of his last seven games, including a season-high 24.8 (nine catches for 98 yards and a TD on nine targets) in Monday’s upset win over the previously unbeaten Steelers.
He’s become the coveted midrange target the WFT needs with opposing defenses loading up to slow down No. 1 wideout Terry McLaurin.
Upcoming outlook: According to the Huddle’s SOS metrics, Thomas and Washington have the fifth toughest fantasy playoff tight end slate with games against the 49ers (fewest average points allowed to opposing TEs), Seahawks and Panthers the ensuing three weeks.
Possibly replacing: Any TE1 outside of the current season top five of Kelce, Waller, T.J. Hockenson, Mark Andrews or Goedert).
Stock report for Week 13.
The Indianapolis Colts (8-4) are now tied for first place in the AFC South following their 26-20 win over the Houston Texans (4-8) on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
After both offenses combined for 44 points in the first half of the game, just two points were scored for the remainder, which came on a safety thanks to Colts defensive end Justin Houston.
As it is every week with the stock report, it is fluid and can change week to week. Some players may be riding a trend in either direction for a few weeks while others have seen their stock fluctuate from one game to another.
Here’s a look at the stock report from the Colts’ win in Week 13:
