NFL Week 12 Fantasy Football Recap: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts

• The Pittsburgh Steelers dig deep into their running back depth chart: The Steelers were missing their top two running backs for most of the game, but that didn’t stop their ground game from finding success.
• Jelani Woods doubles his career stats: The second-round pick recorded seven career catches for 79 yards heading into the night but doubled those numbers against the Steelers.
• Jonathan Taylor continues to dominate snaps and touches: Taylor continues to see usage similar to his peak in 2021, but it hasn’t led to the same production without high-quality offensive line play and offense, in general, lending him a hand.

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PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2022.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts

• Jonathan Taylor: 20 carries, 86 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 12 receiving yards
• Michael Pittman Jr.: 7 receptions, 61 yards, 1 touchdown

Monitor Najee Harris‘s health: The Steelers' lead back went to the locker room before halftime due to an abdominal injury and was ruled out before the second half began.

• Harris seemed to be less than 100% for most of the first half. He kept starting drives but would get rotated out after a few plays.
• The Steelers were also missing backup Jaylen Warren, who suffered a hamstring injury early in last week's game and didn’t practice all week.
• Benny Snell Jr. was the Steelers' third-string running back all season but only played four offensive snaps coming into this week — three of which occured last week after Warren’s injury.
• Anthony McFarland Jr. was a Steelers backup over the last two seasons and had spent this season on the practice squad before being elevated for this game.
• McFarland and Snell were used interchangeably throughout the game, but Snell carried the ball more while McFarland recorded more receptions.
• This is probably a situation to avoid in the short term if Harris’ injury is serious, as Pittsburgh will likely continue to use a committee approach with or without Warren.
• If Warren gets closer to 100% while Harris misses time, he would be a running back worth starting in a few weeks, so he is a good waiver target.

The Colts without Kylen Granson: Granson was leading the Colts' tight end room in routes run, but he missed this game after not practicing all week due to an illness.

• Jelani Woods became the Colts’ primary receiving tight end, which was somewhat surprising based on how he and Mo Alie-Cox have been used in previous weeks.
• Woods has played much better against man defenses this season while Alie-Cox has played better against zone coverages, and the Steelers have used man coverage more than most this season, which could explain why it was Woods’ night.
• The Colts still used a three-man rotation at tight end, as Nikola Kalinic played a few snaps in 11 personnel.
• Kalinic was born in Toronto and spent three years in the Canadian Football League before joining Indianapolis this past offseason.
• This will remain a situation to avoid regardless of Granson’s health due to the three-man committee.
• All three top tight ends are under contract through both 2023 and 2024. This is probably a situation to avoid in the future unless the Colts get a new head coach who picks a favorite from the group.
• None of Indianapolis' tight ends have graded particularly well in the passing game this season, so there is also a chance a new head coach would want to bring in someone new.

Cody White receives a birthday start: White surprisingly started for the Steelers over George Pickens, potentially because it’s his birthday.

• White was an undrafted rookie in 2020 who joined four teams in five months before ultimately landing on the Steelers' practice squad.
• He was a bottom-of-the-depth-chart receiver in 2021 with five catches while playing special teams.
• He spent all of 2022 back on the practice squad prior to Monday night.
• An oblique injury to Miles Boykin led to his absence, leading White to be elevated from the practice squad to be the team’s fifth receiver.
• White started, which could have been because of his run blocking, but it also could be because he turned 24 years old Monday.
• White didn’t play another snap on the first drive but took a few more throughout the game — typically in run situations. This was similar to Boykin’s role in recent weeks.
• White will likely go back to the practice squad, barring an injury, but it’s a nice story nonetheless.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.