INDIANAPOLIS – One year ago, T.Y. Hilton was putting the finishing touches on a terrific, career-defining season.

He led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,448 and had a career-best 91 receptions. Yet, here he is a year later talking about … his run blocking?

That’s what 2017 has come to for the Colts’ Pro Bowl wide receiver. He finds himself taking small measures of satisfaction in the little things.

Just days before the Colts’ penultimate game of this lamentable season, Hilton stood in front of his stall in the back corner of the Colts locker room and spoke, in hushed tones, about putting his 2017 campaign in perspective.

“Hey, if it’s blocking for Frank (Gore) or blocking for Marlon (Mack), I’m just trying to do all the little things,” Hilton said. “And I’m just trying to keep the guys up, too. I’m just trying to have fun with it when we can.”

Most years, this would likely be a discussion about Hilton’s gaudy numbers or the Colts’ playoff chances. But the events of 2017 have abruptly changed the subject.

For Hilton, his sixth season has been a year unlike any other. His franchise quarterback, Andrew Luck, hasn’t played. On a related note, Hilton’s numbers are way down. He might fall short of 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since his rookie year in 2012 (he’s got 852 yards on 48 receptions with two games remaining).

Most of all, the Colts (3-11) are losing at a rate Hilton has never endured. And losing takes a toll.

“I think everyone has to deal with this at some point, but for me, it’s new,” Hilton said. “I’ve never lost this many games in a row. It’s new and I’m still learning (to deal with it).”

We can imagine what Hilton is probably thinking given backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s struggles with finding him for big plays and the offense's overall struggles. The game film shows Hilton winning his usual matchups. He’s no slower than in past seasons, his routes no less precise. But the offensive injuries, Brissett’s inexperience and the ability of defenses to seize upon Hilton as one of the team’s only proven offensive threats have made 2017 something of a chore for Hilton.

The frustration likely is boiling up inside him. We know this because he’s expressed it in the past, specifically when he levied public criticism on the team’s offensive line after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in October. “We’ve got to take some pride up front and block for (Brissett),” Hilton said that day. “What if we put them back there to take those hits?”

Hilton was widely panned for his comments, mostly for taking an internal conversation and sharing it with the world. He was forced to face the cameras and offer an apology. The whole thing was hardly one of his Hilton’s shining moments and it called to memory his criticism of offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski 2015 (“It’s more play calling,” Hilton said then. “… At some point, you have to take your shots and get the defense back.”).

But there was a certain humility coming from Hilton this week. He was introspective in a way he rarely is.

“I’ve grown through this,” Hilton said. “For me, my main thing has been to not get frustrated and always credit my teammates, even when I’m not getting the ball.”

Hilton added, “It’s been tough. But at the same time, I’m not mad at Jacoby. He came in and didn’t have a training camp with us. He came in here Week 1 and just kept learning on the fly. It speaks volumes because he just kept getting better. For me, I just have to keep helping him as much as I can. We’re still learning.”

Hilton’s attitude toward Brissett has not gone unnoticed.

“You see guys all the time at that position get frustrated when they have backup quarterbacks or young quarterbacks or things aren’t going their way,” Chudzinski said. “(Hilton) hasn’t been that way.”

That being said, Hilton and Brissett don't always appear to be in sync. Hilton’s catch percentage (53 percent) is only down slightly. Where there is a considerable difference in 2017 is in how often Hilton is targeted. He’s averaged 140 targets in the past four seasons but is on pace for 102 this season.

Some of that is attributable to Brissett being less aggressive than Luck, who shows no conscience when it comes to pushing the ball downfield to Hilton. But some of it is a result of defenses keying on Hilton. Tight end Jack Doyle has shattered his career high with 92 targets this season (most on the team). That’s largely because defenses often are yielding the shorter routes and denying Hilton the deeper ones.

Hilton says he’s attracted more attention from defenses in 2017 than any point in his career.

“You watch film and you think, ‘O.K., I’ll probably get this coverage,’” Hilton said. “And then they come in and play me a whole different way. It’s just taking me away from the game and not allowing me to play my game. But when the plays are there to be made, I just go out there and try to make it.”

There’s not much time left to make plays. This season finally is nearing its end. It won’t be one Hilton remembers fondly. But it also won’t be a season he forgets. All the struggles, the career lows, the losing, they will stay with him in 2018, Hilton said.

“I think I’ll be even hungrier.”