By John McMullen, NFL Editor
(SportsNetwork.com) – The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when
Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth
straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium.
The two-time defending division champion Colts have rebounded from a slow 0-2
start with three consecutive wins, including last weekend’s 20-13 triumph over
Baltimore.
Indianapolis has also generally dominated the Texans over the years, winning
three consecutive games in the rivalry and compiling a gaudy 20-4 overall
record against Houston.
Meanwhile, the Colts have also excelled on short weeks, winning nine straight
games when playing on Thursday despite the lack of preparation time.
“It’s annoying for players,” Texans star running back Arian Foster said this
week when asked about playing on Thursday. “I don’t know one player that likes
it. I really don’t know a fan that likes it, either. I think it’s just the
league’s way of trying to generate more revenue. Nobody is ready to play
physically after a Sunday game. But you’ve got to go out there and do it.”
No team has figured out how to do it better than the Colts, who are 11-1-1 in
Thursday games. The only thing trending in Houston’s direction is the fact
that the home team has won four of the first five Thursday matchups in 2014.
Last weekend Luck passed for a touchdown and ran for another score against the
Ravens, connecting on 32-of-49 passes for 312 yards, his fourth 300-yard
passing performance in five tries this season. The only negative aspect of the
ledger for Luck was two interceptions.
Ahmad Bradshaw added 68 yards on the ground but his fumble inside two minutes
left nearly cost the game for the Colts.
“It’s huge to survive our mistakes in a sense,” said Luck. “It’s the epitome
of a team football game, of a defense lifting us up in a sense. We made our
plays enough to get a win obviously.”
The Texans, meanwhile, are coming off a tough loss in Dallas, losing a Lone
Star State matchup with the Cowboys in overtime.
Dan Bailey kicked the game-winning 49-yard field goal in the extra frame to
lift Dallas.
The Texans had scored the last 10 points of regulation to force OT, but punted
on the opening possession of the extra session. The Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray
picked up 11 yards on a 3rd-and-1, and on an ensuing 3rd-and-8, Tony Romo
lofted a rainbow along the left sideline for Dez Bryant. Texans cornerback
Johnathan Joseph had tight coverage on Bryant, who ran a stop-and-go route,
but Bryant was able to reach over top of his helmet to make a spectacular
grab.
“It was the play of the game,” Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said. “I don’t
know if there’s a better guy in the league that can make those kind of
contested catches than Dez Bryant.”
Bailey, who missed a 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to
snap his streak of 30 consecutive field goals, was able to split the uprights
this time from the left hash with 7:45 on the clock.
Foster carried the ball 23 times for 157 yards and two scores for the Texans
(3-2), who have dropped two of three since beginning the year 2-0.
“Our defense did a good job of holding us in there,” Texans head coach Bill
O’Brien said. “We just didn’t do enough offensively.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 16-of-25 for 154 yards with an interception, DeAndre
Hopkins caught six passes for 63 yards and Andre Johnson hauled in five balls
for 58 yards in defeat.
“No loss feels good, but, like I said, we have a quick turnaround,” O’Brien
continued. “We’ve got to get better, and we’ve got to get better fast because
we haven’t played a division game yet and we have a very big division game
coming up on Thursday night in front of our home fans.”
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Luck and the Colts have gotten fat over the past three weeks thanks to a
fortuitous turn in their schedule with two lightly-regarded opponents —
Jacksonville and Tennessee — followed by a home game against Baltimore.
That said you can only play who is put in front of you and Indianapolis
has handled its business, outscoring those three opponents by a combined
105-47 margin or by an average of 35-16.
The Colts defense, which allowed 409.5 yards per game in the first two games
of the season, has settled down and surrendered only 297.3 per game since. The
unit mustered just one sack and one turnover in the first two and had
generated 11 sacks and nine takeaways during its three-game run with outside
linebacker Bjoern Werner registering a career-high two sacks last weekend.
“The good thing about the Colts is that we’re very familiar with them,” Texans
tackle Duane Brown said. “Of course you have a different game plan than we’ve
had in years past, but as far as the personnel and things like that we kind of
know what to expect.”
Of course, the real strength of the Colts lies in their QB, Luck, who pilots
an offense that is second overall in the NFL with 439.6 YPG and tops in
passing offense (321.8 YPG). Luck himself leads the NFL with 1,617 passing
yards and 14 touchdowns but the free thrower is also tops in interceptions
with six.
With seven catches for 77 yards against the Ravens, veteran Indy wide receiver
Reggie Wayne (13,950) surpassed Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the ninth-most
receiving yards of all-time. Wayne needs 55 yards against the Texans to
surpass another Hall of Famer, James Lofton, for eighth place.
Wayne will also look to extend his streak of impressive performances against
AFC South opponents. Since divisional realignment in 2002, Wayne leads all
active players in receptions (376) and receiving yards (5,077) against his own
division.
The impressive Houston defense is led by All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt,
who has two sacks, three batdowns, an interception return for a TD, and an
NFL- high 16 QB hits through five outings, and leads the NFL with 12
takeaways.
Safeties Kendrick Lewis and D.J. Swearinger both have three forced fumbles,
tied for the most in the NFL, and inside linebacker Brian Cushing leads the
unit with 45 tackles.
Offensively the Texans will continue to rely on their own veteran receiver,
Johnson, who needs just 19 receiving yards to become the 15th player in
NFL history to reach 13,000, as well as Foster, who leads the AFC since 2010
with 5,210 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns, including 752 yards (125.3 per
game) and six touchdowns in six career matchups against Indianapolis.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
History says the Colts are usually the better prepared team on a short week
and there is little reason to expect that to change this time around.
Indianapolis has never lost on NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football,”
posting a 7-0 record dating back to 2007 with six of those seven wins coming
on the road.
“You realize once the game starts, it’s football,” said Luck. “There’s no use
complaining or whining about anything. It’s what you do.”
Sports Network predicted outcome: Colts 24, Texans 17
