After the Houston Texans fell apart at the seams last Sunday against the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter, here are “5 Bold Predictions” for Week 6 as the Texans look to get back into the win column by taking on the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
After a crushing defeat, look for the Colts to press against the Houston Texans while trying to correct everything that went wrong last week. The Houston Texans and the Colts both are 1-4 overall entering this Week 6 AFC South showdown, with the Texans currently on a four-game losing streak.
Now for the “5 Bold Predictions” for the Texans on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. ET kickoff with the game airing on CBS.
5: Defensive line shows up!
After an impressive showing to start the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans defensive line hasn’t been able to impact the opposing quarterback. With injuries along the offensive line of the Colts, look for defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to send four-plus players to the quarterback early-and-often on Sunday afternoon.
Look for that rush especially when playing a quarterback like Colts quarterback Carson Wentz who when pressured gets happy feet and makes mistakes. To have a chance in winning this game on Sunday the Texans defensive line must get in Wentz’s face and bring him to the ground.
Bold Prediction:
The Houston Texans sack Wentz five times while also forcing one fumble. This is a game where the defense line should cause havoc, especially with the way defensive coordinator Lovie Smith plays in his platoon style, there will always be fresh bodies going full speed downhill.
4: Four forced turnovers
Along with pressuring Colts quarterback Carson Wentz, and getting him off his spot, comes interceptions on bad throws. The Houston Texans time-and-time again are flying to the ball every week. The only problem is they have been dropping easy interceptions week after week.
This is the week that changes because players like Justin Reid, Desmond King II, and Lonnie Johnson Jr. are be players to watch around the ball, along with linebacker Kamu Gruiger-Hill as they are players that constantly have their hands on the ball.
Bold Prediction:
The Houston Texans will force a total of four turnovers in this Week 6 game against the Colts, with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. This type of performance can get this defense back on track with their takeaways per game goal. As long as Wentz is pressured by the defensive front the opportunities for these turnovers will present themselves.
3: Nico Collins goes off in his return
With Nico Collins coming off of injured reserve, and most likely returning against the Colts, a monster game may be in store for the rookie wide receiver. Before getting injured Collins started to show his ability and promise as a solid option for Texans quarterbacks.
One can look at the game Texans wide receiver Chris Moore had last week against New England as a measuring stick for what to expect from Collins in his return.
Both players are built with relatively the same look for Mills to target Collins the way he did Moore last week against the defense of the Patriots. Collins can not only take the top off the defense, he is also a reliable target over the middle for Mills giving the possibility for more targets through the game. His return will improve the Texans offense immediately.
Bold Prediction:
Nico Collins finishes the game with eight receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns against the Indianapolis defense.
2: Davis Mills continues to impress
After a disastrous performance in Buffalo, the ability to learn from his mistakes and improve for Davis Mills was on full display against New England. Mills’ performance was so good it made history in multiple different ways.
Following the best performance ever by a rookie quarterback against a Bill Belichick coached Patriots team, look for Mills to continue his improvement during his rookie season. With comments earlier the week by Houston Texans head coach David Culley saying that Tyrod Taylor will be the starting quarterback upon his return, one should expect Mills to do his best to make that decision as tough as he possibly can with his performance against the Colts.
Bold Prediction:
Davis Mills shows more of what he can do this week ending with a stat line of 28-of-37 with 350 yards and four touchdowns. Week 6 is a statement game for Mills and it happens to be against the Colts on Sunday.
1: Houston Texans win
If not for poor coaching, and bad time management decisions, the Houston Texans would be coming into this game following a win that included an impressive showing from their rookie quarterback.
Look for offensive coordinator Tim Kelly to dial up a game plan like the first half against New England, unleashing Davis Mills. As the Mills and Kelly get more comfortable together, the play design will be better and more exotic, so expect to see more movement this weekend creating easy reads for Mills.
This win can also happen with the defense doing their job, meaning hopefully they force the Colts into multiple turnovers. If that happens, one can see the Texans winning this game.
The Colts are a 1-4 football team and aren’t as good as people think, so a 10-point spread is disrespectful especially following last week’s performance regardless of the final score.
Bold prediction:
The Houston Texans defeat the Colts by a final score of 34-21 in a good old-fashioned beat down, while telling the Vegas odds makers where they can take their 10-point spread. A victory for the Texans can happen as long as Culley doesn’t make the wrong calls and Mills doesn’t implode.