INDIANAPOLIS (vs. Houston)
The Colts have a lesser offense -- one that's scored only 12 touchdowns in its last 10 games. But they'll probably score 2 TDs this week, and might even make it up to 3. Houston's defense has been pretty terrible. It's allowed 30 touchdowns in its last 10 games, and...
... it's given up 3 TDs in eight of its last 13. The Colts won 20-14 at Houston back in Week 9. ... T.Y. Hilton comes up big from time to time. He's gone over 150 yards three times this year. That kind of game is lot more likely this week. The Texans have been pretty god-awful against the pass, allowing 28 TD passes in their last 13 games. They don't have enough pass rush, and they don't have enough talent in their secondary. Hilton came up huge against them in the earlier game, catching 5 passes for 175 yards and 2 TDs, including an 80-yarder. This is a lost ...
This report is taken from today's Week 17 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 20 pages of matchup previews, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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... season for the Colts, but Hilton is still playing hard. He went for 100 yards last week against a Ravens defense that's a lot better than this one. ... We'll also sign off on Jack Doyle. He's had a great year, with 76 catches in 14 games. On a limited offense, he's scored only 3 TDs, but he catches a lot of balls and is facing a lesser secondary this week. Doyle caught 8 passes in the earlier meeting. ... Frank Gore might be playing his final game as a pro. He's 34, and probably no team will be interested in his services next season. The Colts dropped out of playoff consideration long ago, but they've resisted any urge to experiment with Marlon Mack. He's a lot more explosive and dynamic, but they probably don't trust him as much in terms of fumbles, pass protection and knowing the plays. Mack has averaged 22 rushing and 18 receiving yards in his last 10 games, with one touchdown. Gore has averaged 62 rushing and 16 receiving yards in his last 10, with 2 TDs. In the very unlikely event Gore somehow gets really hot and goes over 100 yards in the first three quarters, they could feed him extra carries to get him a rare 1,000-yard season for a player of his age. He needs 139 yards. But that's not going to happen. Houston's defense is a lot better against the run than the pass. At best an average situation for Gore. ... We're ranking Jacoby Brissett higher than usual. The offense has scored more than one touchdown in only six of its 15 games, but here's a rare week where 2 TDs looks really likely. And Houston's defense has been remarkably bad against the pass -- not enough pass rush, and not enough talent in the secondary. Brissett threw for 308 yards and 2 TDs in the earlier meeting. In his last 10 games, he's been under 240 passing yards in all of his other games (all losses), and he's thrown 2 TDs in only two of those. Decent chance that Brissett will put up above-average passing numbers, and he's also one of the more productive runners among quarterbacks. He's averaging 16 rushing yards per game, and he's run in 4 TDs on this own. ... Chuck Pagano said last week that there was a good chance Donte Moncrief would return for this game (after missing three weeks with a sprained ankle). But Moncrief hasn't been much of a factor. He's averaged only 32 yards in his last 10 games, with 2 TDs. He caught 1 pass for 7 yards in the earlier game against the Texans. ... We're slotting Adam Vinatieri as an above-average scorer. Seriously. The Colts are a lesser team, but they've been playing better than Houston and have home-field advantage. Setting aside a shutout loss against Jacksonville, Vinatieri has scored 50 points in his other six games at home. The Texans have allowed opposing kickers to score 136 points, tying for most in the league. ... The Colts Defense looks unusually good this week. It's a lesser unit -- average in interceptions (12) and next-to-last in sacks (23). But they're at home, they're still playing hard, and Houston is really running on E right now. T.J. Yates in his last two games has taken 10 sacks, with 2 interceptions and 5 fumbles (1 lost).