What Must Change From First Colts/Texans Matchup?

1. Run Game Anomaly

Run Game Anomaly

Joe Mixon ran all over the Colts in Week 1.

And Jonathan Taylor hardly made a dent into the Houston defense.

Mixon had his most rushing yards (30 carries for 159 yards) in 3 years. What was most damning, was Mixon’s best quarter of the game was in the final period, when everyone knew the run game focus would be there as the Texans tried to preserve their lead.

On the other sideline, Taylor had just 48 rushing yards on 16 carries (3.0 yards per carry).

The Colts put much of their run-game issues from Week 1 on defending the pass first, and not having as much focus on Mixon.

How will that impact Sunday’s rematch?

Mixon had a big game last week, while Taylor’s status remains up in the air after missing the last 3 weeks.

2. Hit More Singles

Hit More Singles

That opener will largely be remembered by Colts fans for the big passing plays from Anthony Richardson.

The insane 60-yard touchdown throw to Alec Pierce as one of the most impressive throws you’ll ever see. And then in the 4^th quarter, with the Colts down multiple scores it was a Richardson frozen rope to Ashton Dulin for a 54-yard catch and run. And another home run ball to Pierce for 57 yards.

Outside of those plays though, Richardson was 6-of-16, finishing the day completing just 47 percent of his passes.

The inability to hit more singles was a big reason why the Colts had a scoring lull until those late-game fireworks.

3. Wide Receiver Changes

Wide Receiver Changes

On paper, perhaps the biggest advantage from Week 1 for the Colts is the fact they have Josh Downs this time around and the Texans won’t have Nico Collins.

Frankly, Collins has been a Colts killer over the last two years so his stay on injured reserve due to a recent hamstring injury is a huge advantage for the Colts. Without Collins, C.J. Stroud had one of his poorest games as a pro last week in the loss to Green Bay.

The presence of Downs wasn’t there in the opener, but his return has led to many thinking he might be this team’s best player so far in 2024. Although, Downs wasn’t targeted in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins.

Now, the health/availability of Jonathan Taylor and DeForest Buckner will be big for Sunday.

Former Colt defensive lineman Denico Autry is back from his 6-game suspension, which should help offset the recent suspension of Mario Edwards for Houston. The Texans were without a pair of linebacker starters and secondary starters last week.

4. Rush AND COVER

Rush AND COVER

C.J. Stroud having a season-high in efficiency against the Colts is not too much of a surprise.

What is a surprise when acknowledging that aspect from Week 1 is the fact that the Colts actually got after Stroud with a pass rush which otherwise has been very quiet.

The Colts sacked Stroud 4 times and hit him 10 times on 34 pass attempts.

Yet, despite that, the Colts only got their hands on 1 of Stroud’s 34 pass attempts.

That’s why he finished the afternoon with season-highs in 75% completion and a passer rating of 115.9.

The Colts did the rushing part in Week 1, but didn’t sniff the cover part of things.

5. Kicking Mattered

Kicking Mattered

One of the biggest weapons for the Texans back in Week 1 was the right leg of kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.

The veteran kicker booted field goals from 51, 50 and 51 yards, in the 29-27 victory.

His exceptional day helped overshadow the Texans poor clock management to end the first half, keeping them from another field goal attempt heading into intermission.

In the kicking department, the Colts did benefit from a very-needed blocked punt in the third quarter, which set up a short score during a time in which the Indy offense was struggling to move the football.

The kicking game, with Matt Gay missing the opener due to recovery from a sports hernia surgery, had a big impact in Week 1.