INDIANAPOLIS — For a second straight week, the Indianapolis Colts are going to be featured in one of the more prominent matchups across the NFL landscape.
After defeating the Tennessee Titans last Thursday night to take a hold of the lead in the AFC South Division, the Colts (6-3) today play host to the NFC North Division-leading Green Bay Packers (7-2) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Packers have a high-flying offense — probably the best-overall offensive attack in the league — which will obviously present plenty of challenges for Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and his players. But Green Bay has at times been pretty mediocre on defense in general this season, especially against the run, which could translate into some decent fantasy performances for those on offense for the Colts.
So what should you expect from the Colts players on your fantasy rosters in Week 11? We've got you covered here.
(Weekly positional rankings from FantasyPros.com, based on Half-PPR scoring. Ranks as of Sunday.)
QB Philip Rivers
» FantasyPros Week 11 Position Rank: QB22
» Packers vs. QBs: 6th (15.8 FPPG)
The Packers, on average, allow a QB rating of 104.4 this season. which is the eighth-worst figure in the league; yet, it hasn't really led to many big-time fantasy performances for opposing QBs. Drew Brees and Deshaun Watson were able to put up 27 fantasy points against this Green Bay defense this season, and Kirk Cousins put up 25 in Week 1, but other than that, the Packers have been pretty solid against opposing quarterbacks. While Rivers has been hot and cold for much of the season, I do think he is starting to hit a little bit of a groove within this offense and learning his personnel, but I'm not quite sure this is the ideal matchup to start him unless it's an emergency-type situation.
RBs Nyheim Hines, Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Wilkins
» FantasyPros Week 11 Position Rank: Hines RB26, Taylor RB30, Wilkins RB42
» Packers vs. RBs: 30th (25.6 FPPG)
Hines takes over as the top projected fantasy-rated Colts running back for the first time this season, and for good reason, considering the fact he's has two-touchdown performances in two of his last three games. I'd say at this point Hines needs to be in your lineup as a heat check; while he's also been a little bit hot and cold in terms of how many touches he's gotten the first nine games of the season, what's beginning to become apparent is just how important it is for Hines to get a relatively high number of touches every week. But I'm not so sure I'd also consider starting Taylor on top of Hines — maybe go with one or the other — because of all the huge fantasy performances by running backs against this Packers defense, which includes 28 and 47 points by the Vikings, 37 by the Saints and 28 by the Buccaneers, most of that damage was done by one back.
WRs Michael Pittman Jr., T.Y. Hilton, Zach Pascal
» FantasyPros Week 11 Position Rank: Pittman Jr. WR43, Hilton WR55, Pascal WR63
» Packers vs. WRs: 11th (21.5 FPPG)
Pittman Jr. is getting plenty of respect in the fantasy rankings this week, and for good reason, as he's coming off his first-career 100-yard performance last Thursday against the Titans. And he's also been oh-so-close to reaching the end zone on a few occasions of late, which leads me to believe he's a good option to throw in your lineup this week, especially if the Packers, like most other defenses, continue to zero in on not letting Hilton hurt them over the top. But if Green Bay doesn't give Hilton that kind of attention, could be be due for his first huge performance of the season?
TEs Trey Burton, Mo Alie-Cox, Jack Doyle
» FantasyPros Week 11 Position Rank: Burton TE19, Alie-Cox TE20, Doyle TE40
» Packers vs. TEs: 5th (4.8 FPPG)
The Packers have done a pretty good job shutting down opposing tight ends this season, yielding just one double-digit performance all season back in Week 6 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Rob Gronkowski (13 points). Alie-Cox is probably the most Gronk-like of all the Colts' tight ends, but it's tough to predict where the ball will go on a weekly basis, especially with Doyle now expected to be back in the mix after missing last Thursday's game against the Titans with a concussion.
Colts Defense/Special Teams
» FantasyPros Week 11 Position Rank: DST19
» Packers vs. DSTs: 5th (3.5 FPPG)
The Colts' defense has been on fire pretty much the entire season, but the unit certainly isn't getting much love this week against the league's top overall passing attack. While every week I've had the approach of "start the Colts' defense until they give you a reason not to," and they still haven't given you a reason not to, this might be the one matchup all year in which I can say, "maybe find someone else this week." Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones are that good. I sure hope I'm proven wrong, though.
