Early struggles erased for wild-card opponents

Indianapolis started 1-5; Houston began 0-3

HOUSTON — An AFC wild-card game Saturday between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts is a matchup that seemed improbable early this season after Houston dropped its first three games and the Colts limped to a 1-5 start.

Instead of letting their tough starts lead to disappointing years, these teams which both finished 4-12 a season ago turned things around to lead the AFC South Division and charge into the postseason.

Houston’s rebound began at the expense of the Colts (10-6) and it was thanks in part to a controversial call by Indianapolis coach Frank Reich in overtime. The score was tied, 34-34, when, instead of punting on fourth-and-4 from his 43 and likely settling for a tie, Reich called for a short pass from Andrew Luck to Chester Rogers. Luck’s pass fell incomplete, Houston got a 24-yard completion on the next play, and Ka’imi Fairbairn made a 37yard field goal as time expired to give the Texans (11-5) a 37-34 victory.

“We knew that to be able to come out on the winning end of that game was a big thing for us, but that’s a long time ago,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said. “The teams have evolved over time, so it’s a new ballgame now.”

The win was the first of nine in a row for Houston. The Texans didn’t lose again until a visit from the Colts Dec. 9, a 24-21 Indianapolis victory. Houston then won two of its final three games, capped by a 20-3 victory Sunday against the Jaguars Sunday to clinch the division — and become the sixth team since 1980 and first since 1998 to make the playoffs after a 0-3 start.

The Colts’ loss to Houston in Week 4 was the second of four consecutive defeats that dropped them to 1-5. Indianapolis then won its next five and nine of its final 10 to make its first playoff appearance since a 2014 AFC championship loss at New England. Yes, the “Deflategate” game.

The Colts are the third team in NFL history to reach the postseason after losing five of the first six games.

These teams have more in common than their difficult starts. They’re both led by a player making a comeback after an injury.

Luck returned after missing the 2017 season with a shoulder injury to throw for 4,593 yards and rank second in the NFL with 39 touchdown passes. His best games this season have come against Houston, piling up 863 yards passing with six touchdowns.

Trying to slow him down Saturday will be Houston’s comeback star J.J. Watt, who played all 16 games after starting just eight games combined in the previous two years because of back surgeries and a broken leg. Watt led the AFC with 16 sacks, had 25 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for a loss and forced a career-high seven fumbles, which tied for most in the NFL.

Watt said Luck has been getting rid of the ball quicker this season, which makes his job as a pass rusher much more difficult.

“You try and do different things, but at the end of the day, you try and get there, and if you can get your hands up, you get your hands up,” he said. “You just try and get there. You can’t really let it affect you, and you hope maybe he holds it for an extra second.”

Some of T.Y. Hilton’s most memorable moments have come against the Texans — especially when he visits Houston.

The Colts’ top receiver has caught 41 passes for 933 yards with seven touchdowns in seven games at NRG Stadium, and in the past two trips to Houston Hilton has 14 receptions for 374 yards and two TDs. So even though he has been hobbled by a bad ankle, which he initially injured Dec. 9 at Houston, Hilton insists he’ll be fine Saturday.

“That’s probably why it’s starting to feel better,” Hilton joked earlier this week when asked about playing in Houston for the second time in a month.