Fantasy News & Analysis

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

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Benny Snell Jr. (24) rushes the ball Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

  • 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.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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

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.

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