A whopping nine wins separate Thursday Night Football’s combatants tonight as the AFC South Champion Houston Texans travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the finally-not-winless Colts. Will this be a game… or a slaughter?
(10-4) Houston Texans at
(1-13) Indianapolis Colts
Let’s just get this out of the way right now. Indy isn’t “dangerous.” Could they win behind Dan Orlovsky and a healthy dose of Donald Brown? Sure, maybe. That’s essentially what the offensive gameplan that Houston’s will employ. However, what will really be the factor tonight is the defense. Indianapolis just won’t be able to create the same turnovers or get the same stops as Houston’s can. They’re still pretty bad. They even have a reason to lose as they must ensure they get the number one pick. (Not saying they’ll do it on purpose, but hey, they probably should.)
For Houston, they’re going to need to follow the same formula they’ve been using all season. Hand that ball to Arian Foster and make sure the quarterback (whoever it is) doesn’t screw up. T.J. Yates had his issues last weekend against Carolina, but he won’t have to put up that kind of point total tonight. Lucky for him too, since he’s still without Andre Johnson. Houston is the forgotten division winner, having lost their top two quarterbacks and wide receiver to injury. They’ve had a successful season, but who could really pick them to get any further than the divisional round?
This shouldn’t be an absolutely blow-out (too many hand-offs), but the result should never feel up in the air. Game on!
Keywords: Arian Foster, Donald Brown, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Joe Anello, NFL, T.J. Yates
