INDIANAPOLIS – With Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison in the building, it was fitting for T.Y. Hilton to end his quiet run of games as of late.
The Ghost was mighty noticeable on Sunday afternoon.
Hilton caught all 9 of his targets from Andrew Luck, for a season-high 155 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
During the Colts’ recent run of consecutive wins, Hilton has been one of the few offensive headliners not feasting as he usually does. Coming into Sunday, Hilton had just 8 combined caches for 136 total yards and 2 touchdowns in three consecutive wins.
That changed on Sunday, with the Colts maintaining their winning ways.
“T.Y. was huge,” Frank Reich said after the team’s No. 1 receiver torched Tennessee cornerback Adoree’’ Jackson. “We just had a good feeling about this plan for T.Y., his matchups. We have a lot of respect for their corners but we just had a good feeling T.Y. was going to deliver in a big way.
“I give T.Y. a lot of credit. He’s a leader and a great player. But when the tight ends are going off, he’s getting his 3 or 4 catches and making an impact. Just happy that we are winning and playing well. Great to see for him. He’s been leading by example and he came up big today.”
Reich said himself and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni had a feeling this week that Hilton would get back to his normal self and the offensive staff was ‘determined’ No. 13 would have a big day.
Hilton accomplished that by routinely dusting the shadow assignment Tennessee gave to Jackson, the 18thoverall pick in the 2017 Draft.
During the Colts’ recent win streak, filled with big offensive days, the attention towards Hilton has allowed others to step up in big ways.
But Sunday was time for the ‘T-Y’ celebrations to rev up again, no more so than on a 68-yard touchdown in the second quarter, when Luck uncorked the patented deep ball for his draft mate.
“He’s special,” Luck said of Hilton after the 38-10 victory. “He’s so unassuming. He does things very, very well. I was happy for him. He’s been knocking on the door, helping guys. Certainly the injury earlier in the year (hurt). When he’s rolling it’s fun to be a part of. It’s fun to throw the ball to him.
“You need explosive plays in your offense, you do. It helps a lot. It really does.”
And credit should also go to a guy like Eric Ebron, who’s touchdown-filled season has finally forced opposing defenses to acknowledge another consistent receiving target for the Colts.
Ebron said the Titans used a nickel corner on him Sunday.
“You knew what T.Y. was,” Ebron said of Hilton’s reputation around the league. “All it took was for one of us to establish that we were a threat and we moved coverage off T.Y.
“That’s what happened (Sunday) and T.Y. got back to his old ways. I’m happy to be a part of it.”
As Wayne was concluding his Ring of Honor induction ceremony at halftime on Sunday, Hilton made sure to find his old teammate.
The two embraced on the sideline and you know some words were shared about what No. 13 had just done in the first half.
“Reggie speaks for himself,” Hilton said after his big day. “I played with him and 12 played with him, so just to have him out here, he broke us down (Sunday), it meant a lot.”
And you know Reggie was loving what his understudy was doing in his best Harrison and Wayne impression.
PHOTO: Michael Hickey/Getty Images
