Top Performers: Colts @ Titans Week 6

A win is a win and that’s what the Colts got on Sunday in Nashville. There’s a lot to unpack as Indy escapes 20-17 in an ugly game against the Titans….Flacco getting the start, MPJ/Downs with gutsy performances, the defense doing just enough, and a near perfect punt to put a bow on the game. It wasn’t pretty but the Colts were a beat-up team that came through against a desperate Titans team. As for the Titans, how miserable are they? Besides Tony Pollard I didn’t think there was much to their team. Calvin Ridley looks disinterested; DeAndre Hopkins is probably washed and Will Levis stinks. Defensively, I thought Indy did a good job finally picking on their secondary in the second half. But what a mess in Nashville. That team needs a lot of work. Anyways, check out your Top Performers for week 6…

1. Joe Flacco

Flacco continues to be one of the best bargains in football. Indy is paying him around 5 million for the season and he’s worth every penny. But with his performance today there are a lot of unknowns. For instance, how many first team reps did he get this week? We found out Anthony Richardson was a no go about ninety minutes before gametime with Steichen adding postgame that they made the decision to sit AR “late in the week”. As for the game, Flacco did just enough going 22/38 for 189 yards, 2 TD and an INT. While he wasn’t spectacular, he did lead an 11 play, 75-yard TD drive that resulted in a jump ball score to Michael Pittman Jr. to seal things. Will we see Flacco next week against Miami? We’ll have to wait and see…

2. Josh Downs

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I was skeptical that Downs would play or be anywhere close to 100% on Sunday. Silly me, wrong again. In the end, Downs was the Colts’ best offensive weapon catching seven passes for sixty-six yards and a TD. He also returned four punts for nearly 17 yards per return. Downs has also shown a good rapport with Flacco grabbing 16 balls on 21 targets over the last two weeks. 

3. Michael Pittman Jr.

When you talk toughness on this Colts team Michael Pittman Jr. is high on that list, if not at the very top. So, let’s get this straight…earlier in the week we found out Pittman would miss time with a back injury and that IR was a real possibility. Then the week progresses without MPJ practicing. But magically on Friday he’s out there and records a full practice, not limited, but rather a normal practice load. And then today, while not having gaudy stats, he catches the game winning TD midway through the 4th quarter. There’s no diva in his game, only toughness. 

4. Tony Pollard

On my weekly “start ’em/sit ’em fantasy football blog I gave you Pollard as a “start” if bye weeks and poor play were affecting your roster. Even though the Colts defense did make some plays, Pollard still got his 93 yards and a TD. As I said earlier, he was about the only offensive player with a pulse on Sunday. Whew, this Titans offense is a mess…Ridley looks disinterested, Hopkins is washed, and Levis is not a starting QB in the NFL. In reality, they’d be better continuing to lose (shouldn’t be a problem) and get a top QB in April’s draft. Anyways, I’ll salute Pollard who did run hard and averaged 5.5 yards per carry on Sunday.

5. Shane Steichen

We have all week to talk about Steichen’s play calls, game management, gambles etc. but I want to give Shane a standing ovation for how he handled injuries this last week. He purposedly gives such little information that we thought we knew (but didn’t) about AR, MPJ, and Downs to name a few. While it’s frustrating for fans and media you have to think the Colts gained some sort of advantage on Sunday with information/lack of information surrounding injured players.