SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 16, 2012
Texans 29, Colts 17: Andre Johnson had 11 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown as host Houston clinched its second straight AFC South Division title.
Matt Schaub threw for 261 yards and a score and Arian Foster ran for 165 yards as the Texans (12-2) rebounded from last week's loss at New England and remained in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Rookie Andrew Luck threw for a pair of touchdowns but was limited to 186 yards on 13-for-27 for Indianapolis (9-5), which had its three-game winning streak snapped but remained in control of the fifth seed in the postseason chase.
Houston jumped out to a 13-3 lead before getting a huge play from its special teams when Bryan Braman blocked a punt and returned it 8 yards for a touchdown and a 20-3 lead with 1:46 left in the first half.
Luck answered 39 seconds later with a 61-yard scoring strike to rookie T.Y. Hilton and later connected with rookie tight end Dwayne Allen to pull the Colts within 23-17 with 2:32 left in the third quarter, but Shayne Graham kicked his fourth and fifth field goals in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Foster piled up 131 of his yards in the second half and eclipsed 1,200 yards for the third consecutive season. ... Rookie RB Vick Ballard ran for 105 yards on 18 carries for Indy in his first 100-yard game. ... DE J.J. Watt had three of Houston's five sacks against Luck to give him an AFC-high 19.5.