Las Vegas Raiders @ Indianapolis Colts Week 17 Game Preview
Jonathan Fuller breaks down the Week 17 matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts from a fantasy football and betting perspective.
Las Vegas Raiders @ Indianapolis Colts
The Raiders have become a legitimate nightmare matchup since firing Josh McDaniels. Antonio Pierce took over in Week 9, and Las Vegas has had the best rush defense in the league by a wide margin since then. They also have a top-5 pass defense and have held opponents to 21 points or fewer in six of their seven games with Pierce in charge.
Las Vegas now has a chance to play spoiler on the road two weeks in a row after taking down the Chiefs on Christmas Day. They now travel to Indianapolis to take on a Colts team that is in a three-way tie atop the AFC South.
Indy is looking to bounce back following their disappointing loss to the Falcons in Week 16. Gardner Minshew turned in one of his worst performances of the season, and the Colts’ defense failed to force any turnovers despite being one of the more opportunistic units in the NFL this year.
The big question for the Colts offense is the health of Michael Pittman after he missed Week 16 with a concussion after initially being cleared but re-developing symptoms late last week. His return would be a major boost for the offense as his 29% target share and 30% air yard share on the season put him in the clear WR1 tier.
Jonathan Taylor returned to the lineup for Indianapolis last week and handled 82% of the team rush attempts, so he should be in line for a full workload in this matchup.
With Pittman out last week, Josh Downs led the team in targets (9) but only managed 39 yards on 6 catches. Alec Pierce (7 targets), Kylen Granson (7), and Will Mallory (4) all played a meaningful role in the passing game but would likely take a step back if Pittman returns. The two TEs are interesting players to watch over the last few weeks with an eye towards 2024.
The Raiders' impressive defensive performance against Kansas City hid some serious issues in their passing game, as Aidan O’Connell threw for only 62 yards. Zamir White carried the offense with 22 carries for 145 yards and would continue to be the feature back if Josh Jacobs sits again.
The Colts' defense has been much stronger against the pass than the run, so whoever gets the start at RB will likely rank as a strong fantasy start, but be sure to check the Fantasy Life consensus ranks later in the week to see exactly where they slot in.
Davante Adams logged his third straight game with a target share of at least 33% so he still ranks as a low-end WR2 despite his lack of fantasy production. Jakobi Meyers has also failed to produce for fantasy, but his usage hasn’t been nearly as strong, so he is a desperation flex play at best this week.