Houston @ Indianapolis preview
Lucas Oil Stadium
Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2017 ) Houston 13, Indianapolis 22
The Houston Texans have had their share of tough breaks, but they’ll try to change their luck and earn their first victory when they travel to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in an AFC South matchup. The Texans have lost their first three games by a total of 15 points — and all by a touchdown or less — while the Colts are coming off a tough loss of their own.
Indianapolis led for much of last week's 20-16 loss at Philadelphia, although the offense continued to struggle. The Texans have moved the ball effectively but have been hurt by turnovers and penalties, as well as slow starts. “It’s hard to win games coming from behind, so starting fast is something that we’re practicing this week, something we’re working on,” Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins told reporters. “We’ve put ourselves behind in a lot of games. It’s hard to beat any NFL team being behind.” The Colts have dominated the series over the years, leading 25-7 after winning both meetings last season.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Colts -1.5. O/U: 47
ABOUT THE TEXANS (0-3): Houston has plenty of offensive weapons with quarterback Deshaun Watson throwing to Hopkins while Will Fuller and Lamar Miller anchor a solid ground game. The Texans rank eighth in the league with just under 400 total yards per game but are 22nd in scoring offense because of their struggles in the red zone, coming away with just four touchdowns on 11 trips inside the 20. The defense has been solid against the pass and decent versus the run but has failed to yield a turnover in the last two games.
ABOUT THE COLTS (1-2): The Colts’ offense has struggled, as quarterback Andrew Luck has proven unable to throw deep and a rotation of unproven running backs has yet to get the ground game going. Indianapolis didn’t commit a turnover in last week’s loss, but it also gained a season-low 209 total yards. The revamped defense has played well, forcing five turnovers in three games, but gave up 152 rushing yards against the Eagles.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Luck has thrown two or more touchdown passes in seven of eight career games against Houston.
2. Texans DE J.J. Watt has registered four sacks in his last four contests against the Colts.
3. Colts WR T.Y. Hilton has made nine TD catches in 12 games against the Texans and averaged 101.3 receiving yards with three scores in the last three meetings.
PREDICTION: Colts 23, Texans 21