Cheers & Jeers: Colts-Texans, Part I

In what seemed like a microcosm of the Indianapolis Colts’ season, there were plenty of positives and negatives in Sunday’s 26-20 road triumph over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.

The Colts were exceptional at times, then fell flat at other moments. Thanks to a bad snap with 1:28 remaining, in which Colts linebacker Anthony Walker recovered a fumble at the Colts' 9-yard line to clinch the outcome, the Monday appraisal has more cheers than jeers.

If the Texans had converted from 2 yards out for a go-ahead touchdown, and a Colts offense that didn’t score in the second half was unable to drive for a game-winning score with little time left and no timeouts, this installment would have a decidedly different tone.

Alas, the bottom line is the result.

Cheers

— The Colts’ 8-4 record is their best start since the same mark in 2014.

— Linebacker Anthony Walker recovered a fumble off a bad snap with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter after the Texans were looking at second-and-goal at the Colts’ 2 and on the verge of scoring a go-ahead touchdown. Walker shared the credit with defensive tackle Grover Stewart, who quickly penetrated and realized he couldn’t recover the ball but batted it backward and away from Watson so that Walker could fall on it.

— Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton returned to his “second home” and was his old four-time Pro Bowl self with his best game of the season. His eight receptions for 110 yards and one TD snapped a 23-game streak including the playoffs of failing to produce a 100-yard receiving game. He started the scoring with a 21-yard TD reception in the first quarter, the second consecutive week in which he has found the end zone. In nine previous starts at Houston, Hilton averaged 115.1 receiving yards with seven TDs. Hilton passed Reggie Wayne (1,636) for the most career receiving yards against the Texans. This was Hilton’s eighth career 100-yard receiving game against the AFC South Division rivals.

— Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor had his best game with a career-best 135 total yards. Even when he wasn’t utilized enough in the first half, he still produced a 39-yard TD reception and 21 rushing yards on just three carries. The TD reception was his first in the NFL. The Colts relied upon him more in the second half, when he rushed for 70 yards on 10 carries.

— The Colts scored a season-high 24 points in the first half.

— The Colts defense didn’t allow a second-half point and outscored the Texans when defensive end Justin Houston sacked Deshaun Watson for a safety in the fourth quarter. It’s the third time the Colts haven’t allowed a second-half point. The Colts have allowed just 13 points in the second half of the past four games.

— The defense had five sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery, and eight QB hits. It’s the second time this season the Colts have had at least five sacks.

— Houston had his best Colts game in two seasons with four solo tackles, three sacks, three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, the safety, and one forced fumble. The fourth safety of his career ties the 10th-year pro with Ted Hendricks, Doug English, and Jared Allen for the NFL record. For what it’s worth, Houston insists he had another safety that the NFL owes him which was credited as a team safety while playing for Kansas City in a game at Denver. In his mind, he owns the record. Cheers on that.

— It’s the first time since 2016 that Houston has had three or more sacks in a game. He’s just the fourth player since 2000 to have an eighth career game with three-or-more sacks.

— Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner returned from a one-game absence after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list with his best Colts game as he had two sacks, three quarterback hits, four total tackles, and two tackles for losses.

— Walker also had a team-high 10 total tackles, six solos, one special-teams stop, and one pass defended.

— Nickel cornerback Kenny Moore II wrestled a pass reception away from Brandin Cooks for an interception of Watson in the third quarter. That snapped Watson’s franchise-record streak of 237 passes without an interception.

— Moore’s third interception of the season tied a single-season career-high. He also had eight total tackles, six solos, and three passes defended. The latter tied a single-game career-high.

— Linebacker Darius Leonard had six total tackles, including four solos, and one pass defended. His third tackle enabled “The Maniac” to surpass Jerrell Freeman (366) for the second-most tackles in a player’s first three seasons in Colts history. Duane Bickett is the leader at 398.

— When quarterback Philip Rivers reached 22 passing yards, he eclipsed 3,000 for the season to become just the fifth player in NFL history to do so in 15 seasons. The others are Brett Favre (18), Tom Brady (18), Peyton Manning (16), and Drew Brees (16). Rivers completed 27-of-35 passes for 285 yards and two TDs for a passer rating of 119.3.

— The Colts dominated time of possession, 33:31-26:29.

— Rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made one field goal and three extra points to become just the fourth rookie in franchise history to eclipse 100 points in a debut season. He tied Edgerrin James (102) for the third-most points by a rookie in franchise history.

— Punter Ryan Allen, signed last week due to Rigoberto Sanchez needing surgery to remove a cancerous growth, had five punts for 235 yards (47 avg.) with one downed inside the 20-yard line.

Jeers

— The Colts offense didn’t score in the second half.

— The Colts were just 3-of-11 (27 percent) on third down.

— Head coach Frank Reich eschewed a chip-shot field goal attempt that would have provided a 27-20 lead in the fourth quarter, opting to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Texans’ 5 with 6:50 remaining and running back Nyheim Hines was stuffed up the middle for no gain.

— After the Colts scored on the safety for a 26-20 lead, Hines returned the ensuing free kick 72 yards to the Texans’ 12, but Walker was flagged for holding, which based on the spot of the foul cost the team 63 yards in moving the ball back to the Colts’ 25.

— Hines returned a third-quarter punt 35 yards, but again, it came back as Zaire Franklin was flagged for an illegal block above the waist.

— The Texans were stopped on third down at the Colts’ 11 in the second quarter, but Walker was flagged for defensive holding. The Texans immediately capitalized in scoring on the next play with David Johnson’s 6-yard TD rush to trim the Colts lead to 21-17.

— On third-and-1 at the Texans’ 36 in the second quarter, the Colts tried to get cute with an end around but rookie wide receiver DeMichael Harris was tackled for a 3-yard loss.

— The Colts seemingly had Watson boxed in on a third-and-10 pass play in the first quarter, but the quarterback eluded tacklers and unloaded a bomb to a wide-open Keke Coutee for 64 yards to the Colts’ 11. That led to the Texans' first touchdown.

— An offensive line which had to use third-string Chaz Green at offensive left tackle after Le’Raven Clark got hurt allowed Rivers to be sacked three times. The Colts had allowed just 12 sacks in 11 previous games.

— Clark, who was carted off in the first quarter, suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon. Running back Marlon Mack and safety Malik Hooker suffered the same injury this season.

— Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had six tackles, four for losses, and one sack.

— On the first play of the fourth quarter with the Colts facing a third-and-2 play, Rivers was sacked for a 6-yard loss.

— The Texans were without several key wide receivers, most notably No. 1 Will Fuller V (suspended for PEDs), but Coutee and Chad Hansen each enjoyed 100-yard receiving games. Coutee, a third-year pro, caught nine passes for a career-high 141 yards. In 2018, he had a career-high 11 catches for 109 yards against the Colts. Hansen, a practice-squad player who hadn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2017, also had a career game with five passes for 101 yards.

— The Texans outgained the Colts in total yards, 398-371.