Colts at Steelers
Indianapolis Colts (10–4) at Pittsburg Steelers (11–3)
The Steelers are coming off their third straight loss to host the Colts after another divisional win against the Texans. Nothing is guaranteed for either of these teams with the Titans and Browns very much in the hunt for these divisions. The big question for us going into this game is this, “are these offenses okay?” The Colts barely hung on thanks to (somehow yet another) late fourth quarter fumble on what would have been the game winning touchdown for a very bad Texans team. The Steelers have lost three straight against two bad teams (Washington and Cincinnati) and a Buffalo defense that’s been middle of the pack all year.
Fantasy Impact
Let’s start with the home team. Eric Ebron is injured and has not logged a practice as of my writing this, so chances are you’re looking elsewhere for the tight end. As far as wide receivers go, Dionate Johnson is always in your line up if you have him. He’s averaging more yards, catches, targets and yards after catch than former fantasy darling Juju Smith-Schuster, all while having a deeper average depth of target. Juju is clearly playing second fiddle now, but he’s a fine option for you. The ceiling is pretty low, and the floor isn’t impressive, averaging about six catches for a little less than 50 yards a game. In PPR leagues, he’s solid, in standard, I’d probably look elsewhere as you’re hoping for a touchdown. He can score here, despite the tough match-up, but I don’t want to put my fantasy season on the line of hoping for a touchdown from one player. Big Ben is also not someone I’m excited about starting this year. The Steelers are fifth lowest in terms of pass attempts and are 21st in passing offense DVOA against the Colts sixth ranked DVOA in passing defense. Not only that, but Big Ben has been pretty “meh” all season. If I can get away from him, I certainly am in this spot. The other guys are not even in consideration, this passing game isn’t good enough for me to want to look at other receiving options and the run game has been mediocre all year.
For the Colts, it’s been a fun ride the past few weeks with Jonathan Taylor and T.Y. Hilton, but I don’t think you can feel good about anyone here. This game is tied for the lowest implied point total of the entire week and features two really good defenses and two slow paced offenses. This is likely going to be a slog. If you have to flex them, Hilton and JT are the most viable options. I think we finally have seen a changing of the guard in the backfield with Wilkins not seeing the field much at all and Hines relegated to change of pace duties last week. Hilton is still seeing big volume and is creating separation at a high level. Against this defense, these are the only two players I’m interested in.
That does it! The last preview for the Indianapolis Colts of the 2020 season. I wish you the very best of luck in your fantasy championships and can’t wait to be talking to you guys next season! Happy Holidays and good luck friends!
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