5 Things Learned: Colts Swept By Texans

1. Steichen Fails Colts Late In Half

Steichen Fails Colts Late In Half: We can’t forget about the sequence that should be attributed to the Colts losing this game. Facing a 3^rd-and-3 at their own 12-yard line with 34 seconds to go until halftime, the score was tied 10-10. At this point, Anthony Richardson had completed 2 of his 14 passes, and was fortunate not to be picked off on the play prior. The Colts weren’t going anywhere with just 2 timeouts left, having yet to convert a third down in the game, a totally incompetent passing game and a quarterback in zero sort of rhythm. Yet, Shane Steichen played with fire after a near interception on second down. Steichen called a pass play on 3^rd down and that risk was costly. Perhaps a deep shot down the field would have been lower risk, but this decision to throw over the middle of the field led to a Richardson interception when targeting a blanketed Michael Pittman Jr. The interception turned into a Texans touchdown one play later. Just like that, the Texans had the halftime lead at 17-10. Instead of Steichen realizing it was time to waive the white flag, run the ball, get into halftime tied, knowing the Colts were starting the 3^rd quarter with the ball, the head coach got way too greedy, and it was beyond costly. For the 8^th straight week, the Colts have played a one-possession game, and their head coach’s mistake to end Sunday’s first half was a major, major reason for this one ending in a loss.

2. Anthony Richardson Questions Rising

Anthony Richardson Questions Rising: The Anthony Richardson passing box score from Sunday is pretty darn ugly: 10-of-32 for 175 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Now, context is always needed. And that is Richardson got little help early on form his pass catchers in creating separation/catching passes and the offensive line had arguably its poorest protection day of the season (Richardson was sacked a career-high 5 times). While Steichen shouldn’t have put Richardson into that late-half position, the quarterback also has to have better situational awareness, too. Same with his scramble at the end of the game, electing to not get out of bounds. And Richardson still had misses on Sunday with his own accuracy, and throwing with anticipation when bigger windows of open targets are there. You also had an awkward moment in the 3^rd quarter when Richardson took himself out of the game, following an impressive sack avoidance of what would have been a huge loss. Richardson tapped his helmet after the long run, saying afterwards he was “tired” and that’s why he didn’t go in for the 3^rd down hand off to Jonathan Taylor. This is something you see with various skill players throughout, but rarely ever do you see that at the quarterback position. Simply, “tired” being a reason for a quarterback to exit a must-have divisional game is a tough look. As far as Richardson’s own play, questions just continue to rise on him as a leader of a passing offense. Yes, his head coach/play caller needs to be better finding easier answer underneath, so the Colts aren’t living in 3^rd-and-longs. And personnel support around Richardson is always needed. But the second-year quarterback himself has a downward pointing arrow on his individual play/growth as he reaches the mid-way point of his second NFL seasons.

3. Mixed Bag From Colts Defense

Mixed Bag From Colts Defense: Honestly, it’s hard to fault the Colts defense too much for this loss. They gave up 23 points (7 of those off a short field). But the unit also responded to several poor field position situations to keep the Texans away from points. And it was Dayo Odeyingbo providing some late-game life with a blown-up pitch attempt to Joe Mixon. Still though, the Colts defense allowed Mixon to eclipse 100 yards. And a Texans passing offense that had really struggle without Nico Collins still threw for 285 yards, with some timely down-and-distance pickups well behind the chains. Again, this defense certainly had some good on Sunday, with the pass rush humming pretty consistently. But the question of “Can the Colts beat a quality QB remains” as more of those show up on the upcoming schedule. In the last 10 Colts wins, these are the quarterbacks they’ve beaten: Tyler Huntley, Will Levis, Caleb Williams, Justin Fields, Aidan O’Connell, Mitch Trubisky, Will Levis, Baker Mayfield, Mac Jones, Bryce Young.

4. Welcome Back Jonathan Taylor, DeForest Buckner

Welcome Back Jonathan Taylor, DeForest Buckner: Not only did Jonathan Taylor and DeForest Buckner return to game action on Sunday, neither appeared to be limited in any way. Taylor was on no apparent pitch count, and looked very much like his Pro Bowl self. Taylor had 20 carries for 105 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and added a nice 12-yard catch and run via a screen. Lateral movement/cutting was of no hinderance to Taylor. He was easily the most consistent skill player for the Colts. And Buckner, just like Taylor, didn’t have a noticeable pitch count either. No. 99 wrecked several plays with 2 hits on C.J. Stroud and a first-half sack that knocked the Texans out of field goal range. Sunday was a reminder of how great these two Colts are. It also was a reminder the Colts are 0-3 in the three games Taylor and Buckner have both played in this season. The Colts must be a better football team, around these guys, and not think their returns are some ultimate team-wide cure.

5. Another Major Divisional Title Blow

Another Major Divisional Title Blow: Well, that’s a major blow to the Colts ending their decade-long divisional drought. Far too often in the last 10 year these games—contests against the best AFC South teams—haven’t ended with the Colts victorious. And this is the latest example, just like the Week 1 home loss to the Texans. With the loss, the Colts (4-4) are now 2 games in back of the Texans (6-2) record wise and have also lost the ever-critical head-to-head tiebreaker. Shane Steichen harped this week that the Colts needed to play better, knowing the competition was rising. They didn’t do that on Sunday. As the Colts reach the mid-way point of the season, Sunday’s result means a playoff path is likely going to have to come through the Wild Card, and not the division. If you want some Sunday hope though, seemingly every AFC Wild Card type team lost in the early window of games. It looks like that scoreboard watching will be needed again in 2024.

6. QUICK HITTERS

-Injury Report: The following Colts were INACTIVE on Sunday: DE-Genard Avery (foot), WR-Anthoy Gould, DE-Isaiah Land, CB-David Long Jr. OL-Danny Pinter. These Colts got hurt on Saturday and did not return: S-Trevor Denbow (right knee)

-Key Stat: Anthony Richardson was 10-of-32 for 175 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

-What’s Next: The Colts (4-4) are on the road again in Week 9, playing their first primetime game of the season. It’s a trip to take on the Vikings (5-2) on Sunday Night Football.