Colts Escape on Fumble Recovery
The situation appeared ominious, but in a second half where the Houston Texans didn’t score a point, the Indianapolis Colts caught a huge break.
Not just huge, but a game-sealing turnover.
The Texans had the ball at the Colts’ 2-yard line and in position with under 2 minutes remaining to score a go-ahead touchdown late when a bad snap resulted in linebacker Anthony Walker falling on the football to clinch a 26-20 road win at NRG Stadium.
Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart broke through to prevent Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson from recovering the loose ball, which was batted backward, where Walker recovered at the 9 with 1:22 remaining. The Texans were out of timeouts and couldn’t stop the clock.
“I think ‘Grove’ saved the day more than I did,” Walker said.
It was a defensive end to a game where the only points scored after halftime were on a safety.
"We got the break there," Colts head coach Frank Reich said. "We made the break. They dropped a snap. We had a good recovery, guys hustling to the ball, getting it on our side. Certainly, take it any way we can get it.”
Deshaun Watson tries to recover from a bad snap.
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Watson was so dejected about the missed opportunity, he sat alone on the bench with a towel over his head as the teams shook hands.
The Colts endured to pull even atop the AFC South Division with the Tennessee Titans (8-4), who lost at home 41-35 to the Cleveland Browns. The Titans have the division-record tiebreaker edge on the Colts at 3-1 versus 2-2. The defending division champion Texans fell to 4-8.
Linebacker Anthony Walker celebrates the fumble recovery.
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There’s nothing like a road trip to the Lone Star State to bring out the best in wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. The ninth-year pro has had some of his best games at Houston and provided another with eight catches for 110 yards and one TD.
It’s the first time the 31-year-old Hilton has topped 100 yards receiving in 23 games. In seven previous games at Houston, the four-time Pro Bowl standout averaged 115.1 receiving yards with seven TDs. He surpassed Reggie Wayne (1,636) for the most receiving yards against the Texans in team history. And Hilton did it in 17 games, seven fewer than Wayne.
Justin Houston sacked Watson for a sack in the end zone for a safety and a 26-20 lead in the fourth quarter.
Houston also joined three others for the most safeties in NFL history with that third sack of the game.
Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who missed the previous game after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, had a solid return with two sacks.
In the first half, Colts quarterback Philip Rivers and Watson took turns taking apart defenses as the Colts held a 24-20 lead at the break.
Hilton got the scoring started with a 21-yard TD reception on a crossing route in the first quarter. It’s the second consecutive week he’s scored. In his first nine games this season, he had 29 receptions for 327 yards. In his last two starts, he has 5-81 and two TDs.
Rivers completed 27-of-35 passes for 285 yards and two TDs. Watson completed 26-of-38 passes for 341 yards.
Colts running backs Nyheim Hines and Jonathan Taylor scored TDs, Hines on a 5-yard rush and Taylor on a 39-yard reception. The latter gave the Colts a 21-10 lead in the second quarter.
Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II wrestled a pass reception away from Brandin Cooks for a third-quarter interception. It was the first time Watson has been intercepted since Week 5 and snapped a franchise-record streak of 237 passes without an interception.
