Jahnke: Fantasy football reactions from the Colts’ TNF win over the Titans

All was not well for fantasy managers during Thursday night's divisional matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans. The Colts came away with a huge victory to draw even with the Titans at 6-3. Indy once again utilized dual-threat Nyheim Hines over their other backs, while the Titans used Derrick Henry as a decoy near the goal line. Henry still managed 109 total yards but did not score.

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As always, this collection of fantasy reactions will include snap counts for skill players on each team, along with notes on players who saw their fantasy stocks rise or fall during the action — and how we should react to anything new.

Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans

Indianapolis Colts	Tennessee Titans
WR	WR
Michael Pittman Jr. – 57 snaps	A.J. Brown – 49 snaps
T.Y. Hilton – 47 snaps	Corey Davis – 38 snaps
Zach Pascal – 47 snaps	Cameron Batson – 24 snaps
Marcus Johnson – 18 snaps	Kalif Raymond – 18 snaps
De'Michael Harris – 9 snaps	Nick Westbrook – 9 snaps

TE	TE
Mo Alie-Cox – 46 snaps	Jonnu Smith – 47 snaps
Trey Burton – 37 snaps	Geoff Swaim – 36 snaps
Noah Togiai – 16 snaps	Anthony Firkser – 22 snaps

HB	HB
Nyheim Hines – 39 snaps	Derrick Henry – 38 snaps
Jonathan Taylor – 17 snaps	Jeremy McNichols – 17 snaps
Jordan Wilkins – 14 snaps	D’Onta Foreman – 9 snaps

Total – 70 snaps	Total – 65 snaps

Winner: RB Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have been utilizing a three-man running back rotation over the past two weeks. On Thursday, Jonathan Taylor and Jordan Wilkins both saw action during the first drive. Neither did particularly well, so Hines got the second drive. He showed some flashes and ended up being the Colts’ lead back for the rest of the game.

Hines ran the ball 12 times for 70 yards and a touchdown and also finished with the second-most catches for Indianapolis with five, leading to another 45 yards and a touchdown through the air. The other two backs had a combined 65 yards and two failed goal line opportunities from the 1-yard line. It will be interesting to see if Hines gets more opportunities early in the Colts’ next game.

Loser: WR A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee found plenty of success in the run game throughout the night but was never able to get the pass game going. Brown played a big part of the pass game problems with dropped passes. He dropped a potential 78-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and had another drop in the fourth quarter. Brown ended up with just a single catch for 21 yards, ending his five-game streak with at least one touchdown. Despite the poor performance, Brown should be able to rebound just fine.

Returning From Injury: WR T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

Hilton left the Colts Week 8 game before halftime, leading him to miss the rest of that game and all of Week 9. He returned tonight and went back to his normal role as an every-down receiver in the first half. He rotated out more frequently in the second half and ended up playing just eight of 29 second-half snaps. The veteran caught four passes for 40 yards on the night. He still hasn’t caught a touchdown this season; this was his third time finishing with exactly four receptions. Depending on the league format, Hilton can probably be dropped from rosters in leagues with limited bench spots.

Waiver Wire Target: WR Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts

Pittman was part of a rotation of receivers for the Colts early in the season before missing a month with injury. He returned in Week 8 and he rotated with Marcus Johnson for the third wide receiver spot until Hilton got hurt and both were elevated to every-down roles. With Hilton back, there was concern that the rookie would again be part of a rotation. Instead, Pittman led the Colts receivers in snaps, and Johnson didn’t play at all until the second half. Pittman led Indianapolis in targets (8), receptions (7) and yards (101). Now that Pittman is healthy, he should lead the Colts in targets over the rest of the season.