T.Y. Hilton

Indianapolis receiver T.Y. Hilton had a monster game in the Colts 33-28 win over Houston on Thursday night. Hilton caught nine passes for 233 yards and a TD. The 233 yards were a career-best.

What caught my eye in that game was that it seemed that whenever there was a big play, it was a pass play from Colts QB Andrew Luck to Hilton. Of Hilton’s 233 yards, 159 of those yards came on just four plays. Hilton had big-play receptions of 40, 49, 37 and 33 yards in the contest.

Big play receptions is not uncommon for Hilton. In fact, since Hilton came into the league in 2012 as the 92nd pick overall (from Florida International University) by the Colts, he has 26 receptions of 30 yards or more. That is the second most in that category since 2012 (Denver’s Demartyius Thomas leads the NFL in that category since 2012 with 27).

Here’s a look at the receivers who have had the most receptions of 30 yards or more since 2012 (through games of October 9, 2014).

27: Demaryius Thomas, Denver

26: T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis

23: Dex Bryant, Dallas

22: A.J. Green, Cincinnati

21: DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia/Washington

21: Jordy Nelson, Green Bay

20: Vincent Jackson, San Diego/Tampa Bay

20: Torrey Smith, Baltimore

19: Calvin Johnson, Detroit

18: Josh Gordon, Cleveland

18: Golden Tate, Seattle/Detroit

During this same timeframe, Peyton Manning has the most pass completions of 30 yards or more with 68. He is followed by Drew Brees (63), Joe Flacco (61), Andrew Luck (52), Russell Wilson (51) and Aaron Rodgers (50).

Some other stats concerning pass plays of 30 yards or more (2012 to current)…

* There have been 1,441 pass plays of 30 yards or more since 2012. Of the 1,441, 795 were by the winning team (55.2 percent). About 26.9 percent of these plays resulted in a TD (387). Forty percent of them happened on first down; 29.3 percent happened on second down; 29% happened on third down; 1.2 happened on fourth down.

* The Kansas City Chiefs have allowed the most pass plays of 30 yards or more since 2012 with 65. The Houston Texans, who allowed Hilton to have four such plays last Thursday, rank second with 61.

Research resource: pro-football-reference.com

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