The Indianapolis Colts will face the Houston Texans in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Trey Sermon.
Is Trey Sermon Playing in Week 8?
Sermon is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Colts’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Trey Sermon in Week 8?
Sermon entered the season labeled as the proper Jonathan Taylor handcuff, and when the starter suffered a high ankle sprain, the fantasy community flocked to add the former Buckeye.
Three weeks into this experiment, it’s clear that the Colts and fantasy managers alike are moving on. Sermon is seeing his snap edge over Tyler Goodson evaporate (52.5% snap share last week), and for good reason:
Sermon’s production, Weeks 5-7:
- -33% production below expectation
- 0.3 yards per carry before contact
- 0.6 points per touch
Goodson’s production, Weeks 5-7:
- 5% production over expectation
- 2.2 yards per carry before contact
- 0.9 points per touch
Sermon has earned more than a single target just once this season, lacking the versatility it takes to return any sort of value in a committee situation.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Trey Sermon’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Sermon is projected to score 8.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 11.1 rushing attempts for 42.8 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 1.3 receptions for 7.2 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Trey Sermon’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.Â
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans Insights
Indianapolis Colts
Team: One team this season is giving away at least five minutes in time of possession per game, and it’s the Colts – at -7:34 per game.
QB: Anthony Richardson’s 48.5% completion percentage is the lowest through a team’s first seven games since Josh Freeman in 2013.
Offense: The Colts are allowing pressure on just 27.9% of dropbacks, the third-lowest rate in the league.
Defense: Indianapolis has allowed a touchdown on just 2.2% of deep passes, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
Fantasy: Tyler Goodson has finished each of the past three weeks as RB33 or better (Trey Sermon has finished worse than that in the past two weeks).
Betting: The Colts are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games with a projected point total north of 45 points.
Houston Texans
Team: A win would be Houston’s third straight over Indianapolis, tying their longest win streak ever vs. the Colts (also done from 2015-16).
QB: C.J. Stroud ranks second in EPA per dropback against man coverage (0.36), but only 24th against zone (-0.11). The Colts play zone coverage at the third-highest rate of any defense (78.7%).
Offense: The Texans allowed a 51.7% pressure rate in Sunday’s loss to the Packers, their second-highest in C.J. Stroud’s 22 career starts.
Defense: The Texans have allowed a touchdown on a league-high 7% of opponent passes.
Fantasy: Nico Collins was injured on Stroud’s way to a second straight game with over 330 passing yards and has missed two games now – Stroud has 278 yards through the air in those contests. In Weeks 1-5, Stroud completed 51.2% of his 8.2 deep pass attempts per game and was threatening defenses vertically on a consistent basis. Since, he’s at 36.4% on 5.5 attempts per game.
Betting: Unders are 9-4 since the start of 2020 when the Texans host a divisional opponent (69.2%).
