Colts 21, Texans 7
Texans fall to the Colts in Wild Card playoff 21-7
Jan 5, 2019, 6:51 pm
Deshaun Watson had a rough day. Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Texans playoff run came to a brutal end at home against the division rival Indianapolis Colts 21-7. This game was never really close as Indianapolis jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and the Texans played catch up the rest of the way. Not much went right but the biggest play of the first half was a tipped pass by J.J. Watt that was intercepted by Brandon Dunn. Only down 14-0, it could have shifted the momentum, but like they did four times in this game, Houston failed to gain 10 yards for a first down and gave the ball back to Indianapolis. Playing from behind, Houston was only 2 for 5 on fourth down, and they walked off the field with nothing.
After Houston gave the ball back, the Colts marched down the field again for their third touchdown and a commanding 21-0 lead. They never looked back, and Deshaun Watson and company could never find their footing. J.J. Watt would have another tipped pass, but the defense was overmatched, including Houston's dominant front seven who failed to sack Andrew Luck in this game.
With a big lead in the first half, Indianapolis could spend the rest of the game walking the line between aggressive and conservative play calling. That led to 422 yards of offense for the Colts, 200 on the ground and 222 in the air. Andrew Luck had a big day finding open receivers, especially T.Y. Hilton who caught five passes for 85 yards. Luck finished the day 19 of 32 for 222 yards, two touchdowns and the lone interception. His touchdowns were thrown to tight end Eric Ebron, who had a big year in the end zone for the Colts, and Dontrelle Inman who finished the day with four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
It took Houston until the fourth quarter to finally get on the board. Faced with a 21-point deficit they put together a 16 play, 89-yard drive that finished with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Keke Coutee who was playing after a long absence due to injury. The touchdown sparked the offense, and on their next possession they went 65 yards to the Colts 24-yard line. It was there that Watson fell apart. He missed on four consecutive pass attempts and Houston turned the ball over on downs with 4:09 on the clock.
The Colts, who had a huge day running the football, were able to eat up the rest of the time and walk away with a victory. Colts running back Marlon Mack became the first 100-yard runner against Houston all season as he carried the ball 24 times for 148 yards, 47 coming in the final minutes when Houston desperately needed the ball back to have any hope of a comeback. At the end of the day, Watson was 29 of 49 for 235 yards and one touchdown. Coutee was the leading receiver with 11 catches, 110 yards and a touchdown. The All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins was shut down all day and managed only 5 receptions for 37 yards. Houston's running game was led once again by Watson, who took it eight times for 76 yards.
This was largely a demoralizing game for the Texans, who rode a nine-game winning streak to an AFC South Championship. They didn't look the same at the end of the season as teams were making a playoff push, and their shortcomings were exposed in a big way early against the Colts. Now their season is over and changes will come as they prepare for 2019.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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