Fantasy football advice, Week 6: Who to start/sit for Colts vs. Texans

The season scarcely could have started better for the Houston Texans. Coming off a disastrous 2013 season, the Texans opened up 2-0, while the AFC South favorite Indianapolis Colts were 0-2. Since, though, the Colts have rolled off three straight wins, and the Texans have lost two of three, bringing the two back into a tie atop the division. That means Thursday's matchup between the two is for first place.

The teams are largely clean on the injury report for Thursday's game. The only fantasy-relevant Colt of note on the report is wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who was only listed because he got a regular rest day on a short-rest week. For the Texans, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, running backs Arian Foster and Alfred Blue, and wide receiver Andre Johnson were all listed on various injury reports, but all are expected to be fine for Thursday's game.

Indianapolis and Houston will play at 8:25 p.m. ET Thursday, with the Texans hosting. Thursday games this season have been marked by blowouts, though he Giants in Week 4 showed that it's not always the home teams that dominate. One of these teams could be a near no-show in the game, but it's foolish to guess which. With that out of the way, let's look at the fantasy names to watch in the game:

Start 'em: Before the season, we had Andrew Luck in the tier of quarterbacks after Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Rodgers. But that top tier is now Manning, Luck and Philip Rivers, with Rodgers probably there as well. Luck is an every-week starter, no question. ... Ahmad Bradshaw had his worst game of the season Sunday, marked by a fumble among other struggles, but he still shapes up as a solid low-end RB2. ... With Jimmy Graham and Travis Kelce on a bye, and other big names being hurt or unproductive, I have Dwayne Allen as a low-end starter this week. ... Adam Vinatieri has had a great kicking season and is an easy every-week starter.

Start 'em?: 2014 has been kinder to Trent Richardson then 2013 was, but that's by virtue of lowered expectations as much of anything. You probably don't want to use him. ... Each of T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne has exactly one game this season of double-digit fantasy points; the receivers are nice options, but not guarantees. I have both as high-end flex plays. ... After being maybe the league's worst unit through two weeks, the Colts' defense has put up at least 12 fantasy points in three straight weeks. It's a play with potential.

Sit 'em: When Hakeem Nicks scores, he's helpful, but when he doesn't, he's fantasy-worthless. Far too much hit-and-miss there. ... Similar to Nicks, Coby Fleener's value is far too dependent on occasional touchdowns.

Start 'em: His huge performance Sunday proved Arian Foster is still his must-start self whenever he's healthy, and he's healthy now. ... Sunday was DeAndre Hopkins' worst game of the season, and he still managed six fantasy points. He's a solid upper-level WR2.

Start 'em?: The fact that Andre Johnson is banged up, combined with his generally disappointing performance this year and the fact that the Colts actually fare pretty well against wide receivers, knocks the veteran down to a mid-range flex play at best. ... Randy Bullock has alternated big kicking games with middling ones; if that continues, he's in for a big Thursday, and even if not, he's good for five or six at least.

Sit 'em: Have you seen Ryan Fitzpatrick play football? He puts up numbers sometimes, and I have no idea how or why. ... The return of Foster makes Alfred Blue only useful to Foster owners as a handcuff. He's not worth much otherwise. ... The Texans' tight-end situation is miserable for fantasy, and you can't possibly use Garrett Graham. ... The Texans' defense has had really big games and really bad ones. Against Indianapolis, this might be a good week to look elsewhere.