Colts survive in Houston- Big game with Vegas looms
By ADAM RIPBERGER
ISL Contributor
INDIANAPOLIS — In what was another game that came down to the final minute, the Indianapolis Colts were able to escape the Houston Texans late surge and hold on for a 26-20 victory. The win brought the Colts to an 8-4 record and keeps them holding on to the 7th and final playoff spot, while also drawing even record-wise with the Tennessee Titans.
The game was by no means picture perfect, but the Colts did just enough. And in the NFL, it doesn’t matter how you get it done, as long as you keep winning. One of the trends the Colts have had this year is how inconsistent their play can be from half to half. One week they start out great, and finish slow, and then the next week, its just the opposite. Sunday was no different, as they were able to put up 24 points in the first half before going completely silent for the rest of the game. In fact, the only points the Colts were able to score in the 2nd half was a safety
by the defense late in the 4th quarter making it 26-20.
The Colts defense however, responded by not allowing a single point in the 2nd half, and when it looked like they were about to give up the lead late, a bad snap and fumble by Houston allowed the Colts to recover
and seal the victory in the final minute.
“Really proud of the guys hanging in there,” Coach Frank Reich said. “Great team win. We knew coming on the road against a division opponent who was hot, who could score some points, who has a special player at quarterback, it was going to require all three phases and we hung in there and did what we needed to do to win the game.”
One of the major positives Sunday was the emergence of T.Y. Hilton and his continued dominance over the Texans on the road. Since Hilton was drafted, it seems like every year when the Colts play at Houston, Hilton goes off and has a monster game. In fact, over his career, he has averaged over 110 yards per game and three of his four biggest receiving games have come against the Texans. Hilton was able to produce over 100 yards again Sunday and add a touchdown giving him two in his last two games. So far this season, Hilton and Rivers had not been connecting a lot and with injuries to T.Y., building that chemistry has been a little rocky, but the past couple games, they have been connecting more and making defenses pay attention to him. Clearly, Hilton isn’t the guy he was a few years ago, but games like this show that he can still get behind the defense and have an impact on the game in a big way.
“I feel like we’ve said it all year long: it’s just a matter of time till he really gets rolling,” Colts QB Philip Rivers said of Hilton.
The Colts defense got a huge boost as well with Deforest Buckner coming off the injured/COVID list and it showed in a big way what the defense was missing last week against the Titans. Along with three sacks and safety credited to Justin Houston, Buckner was able to produce two more sacks on Deshaun Watson and terrorize the quarterback for most of the afternoon. Performances like that show why the Colts traded for a player like Buckner and time and time again, he has produced when his team has needed him the most. Buckner’s presence also allowed the Colts to hold the Texans under a 100 rushing yards for the game and force them to throw the ball more in the 2nd half. When this defense is at full strength, they can be as good as anyone, but health will be a major factor going forward since we saw the impact it can have from game to game.
Next up:
The Colts will travel out to Vegas next week to take on the Raiders in what could very well determine a playoff spot as both teams sit at 7th and 8th in the conference with the 7th seed being the final spot. This game looms larger, because the Colts have already lost to the Ravens and Browns, two teams that are in position for wild card spots and a loss to the Raiders would put the Colts in a very tough spot in trying to get a wild card berth into the playoffs. If the Colts defense can stop the Raiders offense and Rivers can avoid the turnovers again, the Colts should be in a good position to get the victory.
