Texans rally comes up short in 20-14 loss to Colts

Tom Savage managed to generate just seven points of offense against the Colts on Sunday. Tim Warren/Getty Images

At the end of an up and down sports week in Houston I think we all knew the Texans offense would struggle without Deshaun Watson. The No. 1 scoring offense going into week 9 was held in check for most of the game by the No. 32 scoring defense. Tom Savage just does not look like an NFL quarterback. The opposite of Watson, he was uninspiring to the players around him. The Texans were bailed out by their defense but the little mistakes they made allowed the Colts to put up more points that they should have and at the end of the day walk out with a 20-14 win over the Texans.

I think the wind was taken out of the room when Watson was lost for the season and there was little expectation for Savage, who started the game proving everyone right. The Texans' first three drives went for a total of 27 yards, all ending in punts. The eye test was easy; the Texans were not running the ball well, and doing so in predictable fashion. Tom Savage was making wild passes that couldn't be caught. It just looked awful.

On the other side, the defense started off on the wrong foot, allowing the Colts first drive to end with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to T.Y. Hilton. The defense was playing soft on that drive and the success of some underneath passes set up the big play deep. Fortunately that wasn't a precursor to their effort the rest of the afternoon. But with a struggling offense, 7-0 after one drive looked like it could be the final score.

It wasn't all bad for the Texans offense in the first half. They did have one long drive into the red zone at the end of the first quarter and into the second. A 19-yard catch and run and a pass interference penalty by the Colts put the Texans at the Indianapolis 16-yard line. Sadly, a penalty and poor play forced the Texans to attempt a 39-yard field goal that was the first miss by Ka'imi Fairbairn on the season and the score still 7-0.

The Colts got another good drive during the second quarter, getting the ball down to the 4-yard line in seven plays. Most of their 51 yards were gained with one pass from Brissett to Hilton for 30 yards. The defense held their ground near the goal line and Adam Vinatieri kicked a field goal to out the Colts ahead 10-0.

After that it was back and forth with punts until just under two minutes remained before halftime. Texans Defensive Coordinator Mike Vrabel had been keeping his team in the game with aggressive play calling and a defense holding the Colts in check. It was that aggression that finally put points on the board for Houston. It happened on a 3rd and 5 with 0:56 left on the clock. Safety Eddie Pleasant got to Brissett for a sack and forced a fumble that was taken by Lamarr Houston 34 yards for the score. Now it was 10-7 and not an insurmountable lead.

Each team traded punts twice after the half and neither team held any promise for adding points. But one big play involving a mental lapse changed that. The Colts had the ball at the their own 20-yard line and faced a 3rd down and 9. T.Y. Hilton caught the ball on a crossing route and finished in the end zone after two players failed to put a hand on him while he went to the ground. The play was upheld on review and the Colts had regained their 10-point lead in the third quarter.

The Texans would get 30 yards on eight plays but no points and out came the defense again, trying to limit any further damage. It didn't work out that way. The next Colts drive finished with a field goal after eating up 60 yards in seven plays. Now the lead was 13 points and for all intents and purposes, the game might have been over.

But wait! The Texans' offense finally did something. After starting the next drive the same way they had the others, Savage was able to get consecutive short passes for 12 and 15 yards before a third pass went for a 34-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins to put the Texans right back in the game, 20-14. That pass was Savage's first career touchdown pass and it cut it to a one-score game.

The defense held again and suddenly momentum was with the home team. Savage in the fourth quarter looked legit, at one point completing six consecutive passes. With under two minutes left in the game Savage used his arm to drive the ball to the seven yard line but it was there he turned right back into what he is, not a legitimate starting quarterback. After three consecutive incompletions, a fourth down game on the line play ended with the Colts stripping him of the ball and recovering to seal their victory.

It can't be underestimated how import the defensive effort was to the Texans in this game. They finished the game with three sacks for negative 29 yards and a fumble returned for a touchdown while being on the field for over half the game, and more than 60 plays. Eddie Pleasant had two of those sacks and became the first defensive back with multiple sacks in a game since 2004. They gave up a lot of yards and held their own but it was almost too much too overcome.

The Colts were a very beatable team and the Texans just made too many mistakes. The long plays on defense were the big difference in the score. It could have been a lot closer. There's no help coming and it will be up to the coaching staff to get this offense back to a decent level, they will have one week to do it before they head to Los Angeles to play Jared Goff and a dynamic Rams offense.

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The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)

But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.

Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.

Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”

Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.

Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.

Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.

Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.

Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.

In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.

Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.

By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.

Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.

That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.

“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”

The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.

The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.

Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.

Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.

“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.

“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.