Fantasy football projections, Week 12: Steelers-Colts featuring Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, .T.Y. Hilton, more

The Week 12 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts features two offensively gifted teams going head-to-head. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

After what can only be as described as a subpar performance against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9, running back Le’Veon Bell has been nothing short of outstanding in the last two weeks. In Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns, he touched the ball an impressive 36 times and turned those touches into 201 total yards and a touchdown.

What was most impressive about the effort was that Bell was responsible for 79 yards on the team’s opening drive of the game. Now that he’s kicking things into high gear, Bell should be all over the Colts in Week 12. It’s hard to imagine a scenario that doesn’t involve him crushing his projections once again.

It’s possible that Bell’s performance in Week 11 took a little bit of fantasy value away from wide receiver Antonio Brown. Brown caught eight passes for 76 yards against Cleveland. The totals were solid to fantasy owners in PPR formats, but those in standard leagues probably thought they got robbed by the game-flow scenario.

Week 12 could see Brown in a similar spot as the Steelers should be heavily favored and potentially up by a lot of points in Indianapolis. That said, fantasy owners would be crazy to move away from Brown whether the projections side with him or not.

Quarterback Andrew Luck did not practice on Tuesday as he continues to recover from a concussion. Teammate Scott Tolzien will likely start Thursday’s game. That likely means running back Frank Gore will be counted on to provide some production out of the backfield, more so than usual. Gore only managed 50 yards on 18 carries against the Tennessee Titans in Week 11. He did even that out with four catches for 71 yards to go with the rushing total.

It’s hard to expect that even with Luck out Gore will repeat those numbers against the Steelers. Then again it’s likely Indianapolis will be playing from behind in the game. A high-volume of short-range passes always benefits the starting running back. Gore could blow the roof off of his projections in Week 12, especially in PPR formats.

If he struggles, the best remaining option in Indy on Thursday will be T.Y. Hilton. Hilton scored his first touchdown in three weeks against the Titans. He added five catches for 97 yards to go with the score. Given that the Colts are likely starting their backup quarterback against Pittsburgh, it might be tough for Hilton to repeat those numbers in Week 12.

Consider the quarterbacking situation, along with the fact the Steelers give up the fifth-fewest number of fantasy points to opposing receivers. Thanksgiving Day could be a long one for Hilton and his fantasy owners.