Michael Pittman Jr. News

Pittman was able to finish a solid third season by recording a touchdown grab for a second consecutive game on a one-yard catch late in the first quarter to open the scoring for the Colts. Pittman finished a campaign that was marred by a revolving door of mostly pedestrian quarterback play for the Colts just one reception short of 100, but he did cross the 900-yard threshold and also tallied four touchdowns. The 2020 second-round pick is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, and given his impressive body of work over the first three years of his career, it remains to be seen if he and the club talk contract extension this offseason.

Pittman led the Colts in receptions and targets while checking in second in receiving yardage. The sure-handed receiver's six-yard scoring grab late in the third quarter served as the only touchdown of the day for Indianapolis, and his production on the day left him just four receptions short of the 100-catch mark for the season, as well as five yards shy of the 900-yard threshold. Pittman has just three touchdowns overall in 2022, so he'll look to improve on that tally in a Week 18 home matchup against the Texans.

Pittman led the Colts with seven targets with Nick Foles under center, though he struggled to produce until late in the game. The majority of his production came with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a 19-yard reception -- his only double-digit gain of the contest. Though Pittman has operated as the centerpiece of the Colts' passing attack, he has surpassed 70 receiving yards in only four of 15 games for the season.

Pittman caught a lucky break in the second quarter, as the officials ruled that his forward progress was stopped at the end of a short catch, negating what would have been a fumble returned for a touchdown by the Vikings defense. He was the only Colts player to record more than two catches in a game that saw the team build up a 33-0 halftime lead, only to watch it slip away in the second half. Pittman remained the featured option through the air in overtime, contributing 24 yards on three catches, but the Colts ultimately punted on their only drive of OT before the Vikings won it with a field goal. Another boatload of short targets likely awaits Pittman in Week 16 against the Chargers.

Pittman was unable to build off of last week's strong fantasy line, instead producing his worst point total of the 2022 campaign. Matt Ryan played exceptionally poor against Dallas' vaunted pass rush, so it's tough to put any blame on the receivers in this blowout loss. The third year wideout still owns a respectable 76/755/2 line through 12 games despite having subpar quarterback play for the majority of his tenure in Indianapolis. Pittman will look to rebound from this poor showing when the Colts take on the Vikings on Dec. 18 following the upcoming bye week.

Pittman's 16 receiving yards in the first half were enough for the team lead, as Matt Ryan mustered just 36 passing yards en route to a 16-3 deficit. Ryan locked onto rookie tight end Jelani Woods (eight catches for 98 yards) for most of the second half but turned back to Pittman for the go-ahead six-yard touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter. It was Pittman's first touchdown since Week 1. After the Steelers went back up 24-17, Pittman jump-started the Colts' last gasp drive late in the fourth with a 28-yard catch, then picked up just enough to move the chains on 4th and three before the drive petered out on the next set of downs. He'll face Trevon Diggs and the Cowboys in Week 13.