T.Y. Hilton Injures Hamstring in Colts' Win

The Colts' offense struggled for much of Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, but it appeared as if the Colts escaped the game with a win and without any injuries.  After the game, however, head coach Chuck Pagano said that wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had left the game early with a hamstring injury and that he would be evaluated more tomorrow.  As he left the field following the win, he had his left leg wrapped.

Hilton, the team's number one wide receiver, caught just four passes for 50 yards on Sunday, but on the season he has caught 82 passes for 1,345 yards and 7 touchdowns.  The next leading receiver on the Colts is Coby Fleener, who has 682 yards receiving on the season.  In other words: T.Y. Hilton nearly has twice as many receiving yards as the second-leading receiver on the team, on a team that leads the NFL in passing yards.  That's just a slight glimpse into how good Hilton has been this year and how important he has been to the Colts' offense.  Losing him would be absolutely crushing.

The good news for the Colts is that they locked up the AFC South division title today, meaning they have the freedom to rest players if need be.  Chuck Pagano said last week on his weekly radio show that the Colts will not rest their starters, as they will play all sixteen games to win, but he added a caveat that they will be smart with injured players in getting them rest.  If need be, the Colts have the final two weeks of the regular season to get Hilton (and others) rested up for the playoffs.

"I hope so," Hilton said after the game when asked by Scout.com's Phillip B. Wilson whether he'd be ok.  "I'll know more after I go get an MRI and talk with the doctors."

Will Carroll, who writes for Sports Medicine and Bleacher Report and who has developed a reputation as a top injury source in sports, had this tonight:

TY Hilton sent for mri tonight in indy. Unusual only that normally wait until tomorrow for many reasons. Following ...

— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) December 15, 2014

I'm not sure what to make of that, but it's another bit of information.  Hopefully the injury isn't serious, because that would be a crusher for the Colts' offense.  Hilton injured his hamstring in the Colts' win and will undergo further tests.  Like Hilton, Colts fans are hoping all the tests check out ok.

Stay tuned to Stampede Blue for the latest on this and any other Colts news as it becomes available.

[UPDATE:] You can take a breath now, Colts fans.  T.Y. Hilton's MRI came back negative and the receiver is fine.  Head coach Chuck Pagano expects him back at practice later this week.