4 winners & 3 losers Texans important divisional win in Week 8

A win over the Indianapolis Colts helped the Houston Texans improve to 6-2 on the season and 3-0 in the AFC South. Two of those wins were over the Colts, meaning they have a two-game lead and tiebreaker advantage over the second-place team in their division.

They're about to face a serious test with their next three games in prime time. They have a Halloween meeting on Thursday Night Football with the New York Jets in Week 9 followed by a Sunday Night Football clash with the Detroit Lions. Then in Week 11, it will be the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Before worrying too much about those games, let's take a moment to go back over the win over Indy. Here, we identify four winners and two losers from the weekend.

Winner: Jalen Pitre, S

Jalen Pitre has been a menace this season. The third-year pro from Baylor has been a chess piece for defensive coordinator Matt Burke. On Sunday, he again stood out with his first big play coming midway through the first quarter. Indianapolis just gained 29 yards thanks to big runs from Jonathan Taylor and then Anthony Richardson.

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They wanted to keep pounding the ground game and went for a run from the shotgun formation. This time, Pitre was ready as he shot through the line to tackle Taylor for a three-yard loss. Indy punted two plays later, one of which included Pitre recording a QB pressure on the blitz.

Pitre was part of a terrible play later in the first quarter when he ran into Alec Pierce while covering Josh Downs. That left the wideout all alone for a 69-yard touchdown. Pitre made up for this by picking off an ill-advised pass from Richardson to give his team the ball on the Houston seven.

That led to C.J. Stroud throwing a touchdown to Tank Dell, giving them the 17-10 lead at the half. Pitre was on the wrong end of a couple of plays but overall, he showed why he's such an integral piece of their defensive puzzle.

Loser: Folorunso Fatukasi, DT

In a close game, every point matters, and the Colts got three on the board thanks to an error from Folorunso Fatukasi. The big defensive tackle was flagged for being offside on a punt in the third quarter.

Houston should have had the ball on their own 14 but the penalty led to a decision to go for it on fourth-down. Indy made good on that, with Anthony Richardson gaining 12 yards on the QB-designed run. The defense kept them out of the end zone but Matt Gay still hit a 37-yarder.

Winner: Eric Murray, S

With Jimmie Ward out for the past several weeks, Eric Murray has been playing more in the secondary. On Sunday, he had a solid outing, starting with an impressive opening drive.

Up 3-0, the Texans' defense was in a bad spot to start their drive. A 55-yard kick return had them in Houston territory. They held the Colts to just 12 yards, however, all of which came on one play. Outside of that pass to Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis had four attempts fall incomplete. Two of those were thanks to Murray, who broke up a pass to Michael Pittman and later Mo Alie-Cox.

He continued to shine, breaking up a pass on second-and-13 on the second drive. This time, Anthony Richardson somehow got off a good pass despite pressure and hit WIll Mallory on the hands. Murray was there and did just enough to record his third break-up of the first quarter.

He finished with seven tackles as well to go along with his tight coverage and multiple pass defenses.

Loser: Kenyon Green, G

There's no denying the main weakness for Houston this season has been the offensive line, with Kenyon Green standing out as a problem. He entered this contest as one of the lowest-rated guards according to Pro Football Focus and then drew a tough assignment.

DeForest Buckner was back following a stint on the IR, and he made life tough for Green. He recorded a pressure and QB hit on a first-and-10 late in the first quarter. That hit could have been disastrous as C.J. Stroud's pass floated in the air for what felt like an eternity before finally falling harmlessly to the turf. Two plays later, Green was unable to contain Dayo Odeyingbo, who sacked Stroud on third-and-11.

That should have been the end of the line for Green, who was benched in favor of Jarrett Patterson. That wasn't the case as Patterson was injured after a solid drive. Green was back on the following drive, which was a three-and-out, due in large part to Stroud being destroyed on second down by Grover Stewart, who beat Green.

To his credit, Green owned his struggles when speaking to reporters after the game. He knows he needs to be better, now he just has to figure out how to get it done.

Winner: Joe Mixon, RB

With Nico Collins out, the Texans' offense continues to lean heavily on Joe Mixon. The veteran running back is off to a hot start and once again put this team on his back with his fourth 100-yard performance of the year.

Trailing 10-3, Houston put up a 10-play, 70-yard drive. Half of those yards came from Mixon who moved the ball to the Indianapolis 14 on an 11-yard pass. He followed that up with a 14-yard touchdown, which was one of the more impressive runs he's had this season.

Mixon had 102 yards on the ground and 32 through the air. With Stefon Diggs also suffering an injury in this one, he's going to be asked to keep putting up triple digits. The good news is that he's been up to that task so far.

Winner: Danielle Hunter, EDGE

Danielle Hunter signed a two-year, $49 million with Houston this offseason to give them a stellar veteran opposite Will Anderson, Jr. Through eight games, it's clear they made a wise investment.

Hunter had two sacks in the fourth quarter to help seal the win. The first was on third-and-long after the Colts recovered a fumble deep in their own territory. That kept Indianapolis from taking the lead and allowed the Houston offense to run the clock down to 54 seconds.

The Colts moved the ball to midfield but were unable to get a Hail Mary pass into the air, thanks to Hunter. He picked up his second sack of the quarter and forced a fumble in the process.

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