Stephen Holder | IndyStar

Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s something we can all agree on: T.Y. Hilton is in the midst of a disappointing stretch.

If production is used as the single metric, there’s no sense in debating this. Five receptions for 61 yards in a three-game span is not nearly enough for a guy who led the NFL in receiving yards last season.

But the Indianapolis Colts’ Pro Bowl wideout cannot and should not be judged merely by his recent numbers. If you want a truer indication of what’s happening, no problem.

Just go to the tape.

What that tape says is there are a number of factors in Hilton’s meager production of late, most of them unrelated to his own performance. It’s not as if Hilton forgot how to play football within the past three weeks, not when he put up a 177-yard performance against the San Francisco 49ers four weeks ago.

The tape shows Hilton doing what Hilton always does: Stressing defenses, making precise cuts and running smooth routes. He looks like he always looks.

{{props.notification}} {{props.tag}} {{props.expression}} {{props.linkSubscribe.text}} {{#modules.acquisition.inline}}{{/modules.acquisition.inline}} ... Our reporting. Your stories. Get unlimited digital access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now

What’s changed is just about everything else. Defenses are paying particular attention to Hilton, as the Bengals did last week in rolling a safety to Hilton’s side of the field throughout the game. Meanwhile, the Colts aren’t getting consistent production from other receivers, making Hilton more of a target. The routes assigned to Hilton on some play calls are deeper routes that tax the team’s shaky pass protection. And, finally, quarterback Jacoby Brissett is a factor, too, as he is not totally comfortable throwing into the tight windows teams are creating around Hilton.

All told, it’s become a frustrating situation for Hilton, who let his emotions boil over last month when he criticized his offensive line in postgame remarks to reporters.

Clark Wade / IndyStar

Now, Hilton’s saying the right things. But the frustration is still apparent in the brevity of his comments.

“They’re trying to take me out of the game,” Hilton said this week. “But at the end of the day, I just have to make the plays that are (available) to me.”

Hilton didn’t elaborate. But he didn’t have to. Everyone knows the Colts will be hard-pressed to win many games when their most dangerous offensive weapon is a relative spectator.

“We’ve got to do it. We’ve got to keep figuring out ways to try to get him some free access,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “Again, all 11 (players) have to be working together.”

This past Sunday’s game in Cincinnati provided some prime examples of Hilton’s travails.

Just minutes into the game, Hilton draws single coverage and catches a slant for a 17-yard gain. He's off to a good start, but things would rarely come that easy the rest of the day.

Later in the quarter, Hilton was unable to make a catch on an intermediate throw down the sideline because Brissett was late with his delivery. On the next play, the Colts try to get the ball to Hilton again on a receiver screen, but the Bengals sniff it out and a defender fights through tight end Jack Doyle’s block to break up the pass.

Late in the second quarter, the Colts had another chance for a big play to Hilton, but Brissett waits a millisecond too long to deliver the ball to the single-covered Hilton on a deep cross, and the pass overshoots him.

All the while, the Colts were dealing with a consistent pass rush that impacts the timing of plays. And they had to navigate the extra attention Hilton drew from the defense, something they expect will continue against the Houston Texans on Sunday.

The Colts have to find some solutions. If you can’t get the ball to your most electrifying player, your offense is guaranteed to sputter.

“I’ve got to (find) some things that we can have that opportunity,” offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said. “I felt like we’ve done that and had some of those opportunities, and for different reasons, as we’ve talked about in here before, sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”

Chudzinski has to do his part. He might have to settle for getting the ball to Hilton in less ideal ways. The attempt at setting up a screen pass was one example, even though the execution left much to be desired. Formations can help address the problem, too. Maybe the Colts should put Hilton in motion a bit more to make it tougher for the defense to roll the coverage to him.

Then there’s the fact that Brissett is going to have to trust his top receiver. It’s asking a lot of a young quarterback to throw vulnerable passes down the field. But there are two reasons the Colts have had one of the NFL’s most productive passing attacks in recent seasons.

Their names are Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton. And, with Luck on injured reserve, only one is available to them.

“He’s last year’s leader in receiving in the league, he gets a lot (of attention) and he deserves that,” Brissett said of Hilton. “We have to find ways to avoid that attention. … If he’s open and I don’t see it because I felt he wasn’t open, then I just have to live and learn.”

It’s not happening for Hilton right now. But just know this: Hilton is doing his part.

It’s time everyone else did theirs.

Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

More on the Colts: