Texans 20, Colts 17

In a must-win game, Texans grind out a big victory over the Colts

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The Texans were in a must-win situation against the Colts Thursday night and came through with a huge win. They won it 20-17. Here is how it all played out:

Offense

Positives: They were able to get some big plays in the passing game to both DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. The latter is rarely healthy enough to play, but on the few occasions he is on the field, he helps stretch the defense. It aided in Deshaun Watson throwing for 298 yards and 2 TDs on 19 of 30 passing. Fuller had a big third down catch late in the game to ice it.

Negatives: Watson had a first half pick that led to points. He also made a terrible pass on fourth and three in the third quarter that gave them no chance at converting. The running game was an absolute joke until Carlos Hyde broke free for 33 yards in the fourth quarter.

Defense

Positives: Early on, they kept the Colts at bay, not allowing any points until late in the second quarter. They came up with three straight stops in the second half that allowed them to win the game. They held Jacoby Brissett to just 129 yards passing. They had a massive stop on fourth and seven late in the fourth quarter that essentially won them the game.

Negatives: For a stretch, the Colts were able to run the ball almost at will, hit tight ends and running backs out of the backfield in the passing game and basically dominate for a time where they scored three straight times when the Texans missed tackles and looked sloppy. Fortunately they did just enough when it mattered. Still they forced zero turnovers, had just one sack and allowed the Colts 175 rushing yards and a 4.5 yards per carry average. The Colts dominated time of possession by almost seven minutes, converted 9 of 15 on third down and ran 65 plays to the Texans 55. Still, they got out with a win.

The bottom line

The Texans had to have this to have a realistic shot at winning the division. It was a tough, grind it out win, which the Texans have done a lot this year. As bad as they were on Sunday against the Ravens, this was a strong bounce back. Watson was clutch, the defense was OK enough and the Texans were able to escape with a victory. At 7-4, they lead the AFC South and with the Patriots up next they needed this one in the worst way.

Fortunately, they got it.

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The Houston Texans have a huge game against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week, and they must come away with a victory if they want to avoid falling to 0-3 on the season.

And don't look now, but beating the Jags just got a little more difficult with Aaron Wilson reporting that Derek Stingley Jr is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury. Plus, nickel corner Tavierre Thomas will also be out after having surgery on his hand.

The Texans are dealing with a massive amount of injuries just two weeks into the season. But one could argue some of these could have been avoided.

Both Stingley and guard Kenyon Green (IR) had injury concerns coming out of college and GM Nick Caseiro decided to draft them in the top half of the first round, despite those red flags.

Green will miss the rest of the season needing shoulder surgery, and if Stingley is placed on IR and misses 4 games, he will have only played in 11 of a possible 23 games to start his career. Don't forget, Stingley missed time due to a hamstring issue in 2022 as well.

And let's not forget, Caserio passed on All-Pro corner Sauce Gardner, when he decided to draft Stingley No. 3 overall in 2022. The Jets selected Gardner with the very next pick.

Be sure to watch the video above as we discuss the implications of these injuries for the Texans and Caserio's future in Houston.

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