Houston Texans Games by Difficulty: No. 9
By Josh McSwain
As we round out the first half of the countdown, we have another divisional opponents–the Indianapolis Colts:
Last year was an odd year in the AFC South. The Colts have dominated the division for most of the history of its existence, but last year none of the teams took the division by the horns as the Texans won it with a 9-7 record. The week six showdown in Houston on Sunday Night Football comes in as the ninth most difficult game of the season.
Andrew Luck has had uncommon success against the Texans since he took over in 2012. In six games against the Texans he has 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions en route to a 5-1 record. If he’s back in the lineup, this will be a tough game.
DeAndre Hopkins had two good games against the Colts last season, catching 19 passes for 263 yards but was unable to find the end zone. This time around there will be a stable quarterback and others to divert attention from him, which should allow him to have good games this year in what figures to be two shootouts.
The Texans have not played well against the Colts in their 14 year history. Peyton Manning was a thorn in side of the Texans for years. The Texans got their first win over the Colts in 2006, which was the year the Colts would eventually go on to win the Super Bowl.
The Colts were in the middle of a free fall as Kris Brown kicked a game winning field goal in Houston to lift the Texans 27-24 in the tenth all-time meeting. The Texans wouldn’t beat the Colts again until 2010, when Arian Foster had his coming out party in the season opener. It started a streak of three straight years in which the teams split the season series. Finally, the Texans got a road win in the series as they won 16-10 in week 15 last season.
Despite having a weak offensive line, Luck has managed to have success against the Texans. There will be plenty of chances for J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney to get after him in this game, and they will need to put Luck on the ground in order to win. The Texans will also have to control the ball with Lamar Miller, keeping it out of Luck’s hands, and exploit a weak Colts run defense.