The Indianapolis Colts are in a neck-and-neck race with the Tennessee Titans for the solo lead in the AFC South, which makes this matchup against the Houston Texans a very important one. The Texans are eliminated from playoff contention, but they sure want to drag anyone they can out of the playoff picture.
Week 14 was a forgettable time for the Texans, who suffered a 36-7 road loss to the Chicago Bears. That’s Houston’s second loss in a row and third in five games. Deshaun Watson couldn’t get much going for the Texans’ offense. He generated just 219 passing yards and a touchdown on 21-of-30 completions. If the Texans are going to pull off an upset this weekend against the Colts, Watson’s pass protection will have to step up. But even with Houston’s useless offensive line, Watson’s talent alone can rattle any type of defense. Watson had 341 passing yards on 26-of-38 completions (0 TDs, 1 INT) and rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in Houston’s 26-20 home loss to Indianapolis back in Week 13. David Johnson, who missed Week 14 (COVID-19 list), is expected to return to action this week. He had 44 rushing yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Colts.
The Texans are 2-1 against the spread in their last three road games.
We can just imagine the trio of Justin Houston, Denico Autry, and DeForest Buckner licking their chops ahead of this rematch with the Texans. Those three have been huge for the Colts’ defense, especially up front. They have 18 of the Colts’ 30 sacks this season, and they certainly have a great chance at adding more to that total this coming Sunday against Houston’s offensive line that is working like a broken turnstile. It’s a miracle that Watson is still alive and walking after getting sacked 11 times over the last two weeks. In the first meeting with Colts this season, Watson was thrown to the ground five times. But the Colts’ offense could also be good enough to beat Houston. Rivers, who had two touchdowns and 244passing yards (19/28) in the Colts’ 44-27 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders last week, is leading Indianapolis’ attack that is averaging 28.6 points per game.
The Colts are 4-3 against the spread in their last seven home games
