When the official NFL schedule dropped last Thursday, every fanbase finally knew the breadth of what their respective teams' seasons would look like. As a result, questions galore have arisen pertaining to various matchups across the league in 2026. For us at Fansided, we've debated topics like "Game of the Year", "Revenge games", "Toughest stretch" and everything in between.
Lee Vowell, Indianapolis Colts expert and Site Expert for division counterpart site Horseshoe Heroes, answered one of our questions in a particular way that should catch the attention of not only Houston Texans fans, but the entirety of team as a whole.
When asked, "What do you view as your team's easiest game and why?," Vowell gave a very interesting answer. "The Indianapolis Colts don't truly have an "easy" stretch in 2026, but the weeks between 10 and 13 could be a salve to a difficult road," began Vowell. Nothing much to see so far, until he mentions the teams within that play-range for the Colts. He then specifically states, "the run begins with the Miami Dolphins at home, followed by a road trip to the Houston Texans, only to return home to play the New York Giants and then get a bye week."
(Note: A "salve" is defined as 'anything that soothes, mollifies, or offers relief.')
The Dolphins and Giants taking shots in the statement are par for the course, considering they both finished as one of the 12 worst teams in the NFL last season (11-23 combined record). However, the Texans being wedged in between those two might give pause for those looking for bulletin board material ahead of the season's official September starting period.
It might be a bit of a stretch, but we'll go ahead and entertain the notion that Colts fans consider a road game against the Texans any part of a "salve" for the sake of this article. In that case, their division matchup in week 11 just got a little more juice to it.
Texans and Colts meeting up in week 11 just got a little more juice
Since quarterback C.J. Stroud was drafted second-overall in 2023, Houston has gone 5-1 against Indianapolis. This includes 2024's now famous 23-19 victory in a week 18 "win and in" game from Lucas Oil Field, where head coach DeMeco Ryans and co. got the better of head coach Shane Steichen and crew en route to securing both their first AFC title and playoff berth since the 2019-2020 season. Houston would continue their winning ways from then on, accumulating a total record of 32-19 with another division title and two additional AFC playoff berths tacked on.
Meanwhile, the Colts have gone a combined 25-26, finishing second in the division from 2023-2024 and third this past season. They did with a carousel of signal callers, fielding Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew, Anthony RIchardson again, Joe Flacco and finally Daniel Jones.
This past season started in immaculate fashion for Indianapolis, considering they were 7-1 and one point, while putting up some of the best offensive numbers in NFL history for a stretch. The wheels then fell off big time unfortunately, as major injuries to key contributors like star cornerback Sauce Gardner and the aforementioned Jones hijacked the back end of their campaign. After getting their record to 8-2, they then went on a seven game losing streak to close the year at 8-9 (which included dropping both divisional games against Houston). A fantastic start ended with a catastrophic thud.
For the Texans, their season was the polar opposite. After an 0-3 start and a concussion suffered by Stroud in week nine against the Denver Broncos, Houston went on to amazingly churn out a nine-game winning streak to not only salvage their regular season, but to secure their third consecutive playoff trip in the process. It truly was a tale of two seasons for these organizations. Now, they'll meet up for the seventh and eighth time in 2026, with both teams having Super Bowl aspirations on the line.
Texans and Colts will add to their history in 2026
Both teams have made improvements, so it'll be interesting to see how they matchup when the whistle sounds off during the year. There's also the reality that both teams have several narratives swirling around the team that have already created an organic buzz for the matchup. "Is Daniel Jones really the guy?", "Can C.J. Stroud turn his career around?", "Is Houston's defense really the best in the NFL?", "When will Shane Steichen finally produce a playoff team in Indy?".
So many questions, and so much time before an actual NFL game is played. However, if you ask me right now, my money will be on the team with the best defense in the NFL, a proven head coach, a hungry quarterback looking to restore his reputation and an offense in year two that's just waiting to prove itself to the NFL world.
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