Familiar foes a hot topic
In third meeting this season, both teams know what to expect in playoff matchup
For the first time in team history, the Texans are playing an opponent three times.
Unfortunately for the Texans, that opponent is the Indianapolis Colts, who return to NRG Stadium for Saturday’s playoff game having won nine of their last 10 games.
The only blemish on the Colts’ record over their last 10 games was a 6-0 shutout at Jacksonville. That may have been the most mystify-
ing outcome of any game in the NFL this season.
Bill O’Brien and Frank Reich engineered remarkable turnarounds. The Texans overcame an 0-3 start to finish 11-2. The Colts overcame a 1-5 start to finish 9-1.
It seems so long ago when the Texans and Colts played for the first time. Back on Sept. 30, Jacksonville and Tennessee were 2-1 and tied for the AFC South lead. The Colts were 1-2. The Texans were bringing up the rear at 0-3.
The Texans won their first game 37-34 in overtime at Indianapolis. That Deshaun Watson-led victory ignited a nine-game winning streak.
By the time the Colts came to Houston, they were 6-6 and coming off the shutout in Jacksonville. The Texans were 9-3 and running away with the division. The Texans had a chance to beat the Colts and, for all practical purposes, ruin their playoff hopes. They couldn’t do it.
With Luck throwing for 399 yards and two touchdowns, the Colts won 24-21 to end the winning streak. Indianapolis used that victory to jump start a four-game winning streak to finish the season, including winning at Tennessee on Sunday night to secure the last wild-card berth in the AFC.
Now the Colts return. The game features two coach-of-the-year candidates in O’Brien and Reich. Luck and J.J. Watt are the leading contenders to be voted NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
There are so many intriguing story lines for a game in which coaches and players know each other so well it’s almost like pitting family members against each other.
“I think it’s always challenging to play a team three times,” O’Brien said Monday. “I’m glad it’s at home. I think that’s a big deal that we’re at home. I know our crowd’s going to be into it. We have the best crowd in the NFL.”
The Texans will need their fans and a whole lot more to play better against Luck and his favorite target, T.Y. Hilton. If NRG Stadium feels like their second home, that’s understandable.
Luck, who’s 3-2 in his hometown, completed 67-of-103 for 863 yards and six touchdowns against the Texans this season. He was intercepted once and sacked six times. The Colts allowed 18 sacks, the fewest in the league.
The Texans accounted for six of those sacks. They sacked Luck four times in the first game, the most they surrendered this season. Pressure on him from Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus is essential if the Texans hope to avoid another loss to the Colts and elimination from the playoffs.
“Andrew’s a great player,” O’Brien said. “He has great respect for the game. You’ve got to do the best you can to mix it up. If you think you’re going into the game with one thought and that’s the thought that’s going to win the game, that’s probably not the way to go.
“He’s so smart and competitive. You’re not going to trick him. He’s seen it all. He’s a very alert guy, very focused. He knows what he’s looking at. We have to do a good job this week of preparing our guys.”
Nobody knows how to make himself more comfortable at NRG Stadium than Hilton. In seven games in the Texans’ house, Hilton has 41 catches for 933 yards and seven touchdowns. This season, he had nine receptions for 199 yards.
The Texans couldn’t cover Hilton in Indianapolis, either. He had four catches for 115 yards in that game, and he was playing hurt.
Both teams have come a long way since that first game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Both teams have evolved over the year,” O’Brien said. “We have a great deal of respect for the Colts, the way Frank coaches and the type of team (general manager) Chris Ballard’s put together and the way they play. We’ve got to have a great week to get ready for them.”
The way both teams recovered from awful starts says a lot about O’Brien and Reich and their players and assistant coaches.
“The mental toughness of both teams is evident, there’s no doubt about it,” O’Brien said. “That’s why it’s going to be a huge battle. Our guys know that.
“It’s going to come down to takeaways and giveaways. It’s going to come down to penalties. It’s going to come down to who can execute at the highest level. We know it’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”