Texans lose 33-27 to Colts – Defense Struggles in 2nd Half

The Houston Texans are 0-7 on the road all time against the Indianapolis Colts after Sunday’s loss at Lucas Oil Stadium.  The Texans led 13-9 at halftime only to see Peyton Manning and the Colts get their offense rolling in the second half.

For the second week in a row the Texans took a lead into halftime only to lose.  This time they kept the game within reach until Sage Rosenfels was intercepted by former Texas A&M player Melvin Bullitt with 38 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.

There are some positives to take from the game from a Texans perspective.  They were in this game until the end.  The Texans have also found a tremendous running back.  Steve Slaton rushed for 156 yards on the day which is the Texans rookie record.  He scored on a 71 yard run from scrimmage over the right side to put the Texans back in front of the Colts 20-16 in the 3rd quarter.  The Texans would later score on a 2 yard run by Ahman Green to end the scoring for the Texans.  Another positive for the Texans were the turnovers.  The late pick thrown by Sage was the only one they committed.

The difference in the game was the Texans defense in the second half.  After holding the Colts to only 9 points in the first half, the defense allowed the Colts 24 points in the second half.  What happens to the defense in the second half of games?  They come out looking great in the first half and then look terrible in the second half.  The dam breaks at halftime.

This was a winnable game.  If the Texans can figure out what happens to their defense in the second half, they’ll be competitive the rest of the way.