It’s been a disastrous week for the Houston Texans (3-4). Rookie phenom quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL suffered in practice. They’ll have to regroup when they face off against the Indianapolis Colts (2-6) and their own horrible quarterback situation at NRG Stadium Sunday.
The game will be presented to you at 1 p.m. EST on your local CBS station.
The Game: Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans (-7)
O/U: 45.5
The History
The Colts and Texans have played 30 games since Houston joined the league and AFC South in 2002. Indianapolis, thanks to Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, holds a commanding 23-7 lead in the all time series.
That lead exists even after a Texans sweep last season. Houston won 26-23 in overtime on October 16, 2016. They beat the Colts 22-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 11, 2016.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (2-6)
The Colts continue to battle in spite of their best player, Andrew Luck, being absent from the line up. This week the decision was made by the team to shut Luck down for the year. It was the right one. Indianapolis denies that his career is in jeopardy and for their (and the NFL’s) sake, I hope they’re right. It’s worrisome that Luck hasn’t improved enough to throw, even in practice, but taking a few months off to rehab and recuperate will pay off in the long run. Both for him and the Colts when they have a new coaching regime.
That means it’ll be Jacoby Brissett’s rodeo for the rest of the year. He’s not been horrible, but he’s not a starting level NFL quarterback either. A late Brissett interception off a tipped ball returned for a touchdown doomed Indy last week in a 24-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Other than that complete disaster of a pick, Brissett finished 25 of 39 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Frank “Farewell Tour” Gore continued his decent final season, rushing 16 times for 82 yards. Jack Doyle was Brissett’s favorite target, catching 12 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.
The defense sacked Andy Dalton three times, forced two turnovers and got 10 stops in the backfield. Running back Matt Jones is out for this game. Outside linebacker John Simon and cornerback Quincy Wilson will also sit. Offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday, but did dress out Friday. He’s questionable.
HOUSTON TEXANS (3-4)
Even after a loss, the Texans were all smiles after a 41-38 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Then, for the third time this season, Houston lost one of its biggest stars. Watson tore his ACL on a non contact drill in practice, effectively ruining the Texans’ playoff hopes and adding a spot on the IR couch next to Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt.
That means the Tom Savage shitshow is back on the schedule. Savage played all of one half of terrible football before everyone fell in love with Watson. If he really felt like he got the short end of the shaft in his benching, this is the time to prove it. He most certainly won’t.
Houston added a couple of quarterbacks from free agency, conspicuously skipping Colin Kaepernick’s number for T.J. Yates and the absolutely worthless Matt McGloin. They have to move on, whether they like it or not. It sucks for Watson and it sucks for Houston, but at least the future is bright.
As far as what they can do without their star offensive player, DeAndre Hopkins is still one of the NFL’s best wideouts. Last week he caught eight passes for 224 yards and a touchdown. Will Fuller has been a break out star with Watson on the field. Maybe Savage will look for him too. He caught five passes for 125 yards and two scores.
Joel Heath, the guy the Texans pegged to replace J.J. Watt, is out with a knee injury this week. Inside linebacker Dylan Cole will miss the game with a hamstring.
The Pick
Watson’s absence changes the entire dynamic of this game. Houston has tried to bring in a handful of scrub quarterbacks, but it’s Savage’s show Sunday. It’ll be a show we’ll all soon forget. Colts 24, Texans 13
This week
Straight up: 0-1
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 9-4
Against the spread: 8-5
Season
Straight up: 69-50
Against the spread: 58-61
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