Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans: Full Report Card Grades for Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Colts now have the outright lead in the AFC South after a 33-28 win over the Houston Texans, but things could have ended differently on Thursday Night Football.
In the first quarter, it looked like fans were watching another Thursday night blowout, with the Colts taking a 24-0 lead through the first 15 minutes. The team was completely dominant on both sides of the ball, holding the Texans to just two total yards of offense.
The Texans began to chip away at the deficit in the second quarter, getting a couple of touchdowns from Andre Johnson and Arian Foster. Adam Vinatieri was able to kick a field goal before halftime, but the momentum was beginning to swing back in Houston's favor.
Things got even worse for the Colts in the second half. The two sides traded touchdowns in the third before a muffed snap in the fourth led to a 45-yard fumble return touchdown for J.J. Watt, cutting the Indianapolis lead to just five points. The Colts offense wasn't able to extend the lead, but a game-winning strip-sack from Bjoern Werner helped his team secure a win.
It could have been a lot worse for the Colts had they continued to slip, but it was still an ugly finish. Still, the Colts did what they do best, controlling the clock with nearly 37 minutes of possession along with 363 net passing yards.
As the Colts head into a mini bye week with some extra time to rest for Week 7, let's take a look at the full report card grades from Thursday night's win.
Quarterback
1 of 10
It was an easy night for Andrew Luck, who had no problem exposing the Houston secondary throughout the entire game.
In the first quarter, Luck already looked dialed in, going 12-for-18 with 208 yards and two touchdowns. He had no problem looking deep, finding T.Y. Hilton on multiple passes over 30 yards.
Luck's numbers started to come back down to Earth in the second quarter. A bad break on a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage led to an interception, and Luck added just 32 more yards in the quarter. Luck didn't have to go deep on their final drive of the half, however, as the running game was able to lead them down the field before settling for a field goal.
In the second half, Luck kept looking for Hilton to bail him out, and it worked. In the third quarter, the two connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass. While he wasn't as productive in the second half, Luck's numbers were still quite impressive for the night, finishing with 370 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 25-of-44 passing.
On a night where the Colts needed Luck to air it out, he did exactly that, as he continues to put up MVP-caliber numbers. The interception wasn't entirely his fault, but there were a couple of bad decisions that could have ended up in other turnovers as well.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 10
Both running backs were able to get in the end zone in the very first quarter. Trent Richardson took a handoff five yards for the score, then Ahmad Bradshaw caught a five-yard touchdown pass less than four minutes later. While they didn't break off any big plays to start, they made sure to make the most of their red-zone touches.
Bradshaw started to run angry again in the second quarter, finishing the half with 26 yards on the ground on just five carries. Meanwhile, Richardson continued to get stuffed at the line of scrimmage, adding just 18 yards and his earlier score on 10 carries.
Despite some solid runs from both players, the running lanes never consistently opened up. Part of that is trying to deal with Watt, but it was still a disappointing performance on the ground for both. The two combined for just 75 yards on 28 carries, not even averaging 3.0 yards per attempt.
A couple of huge blocks from Bradshaw shouldn't go unnoticed, especially his block on Watt near the goal line that led to an easy touchdown to Coby Fleener. Those blocks will help the grade a bit, but the two running backs could have used a better day on the ground.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
It didn't take long for T.Y. Hilton to make his presence felt on Thursday night. After just two drives, Hilton had already caught two passes for 40 and 49 yards each. He wasn't done there, however, finishing the first quarter with five receptions for an incredible 147 yards.
After struggling at the start of the season, Hilton has continued to improve week after week and started to show off his big-play potential in this one. By the end of the game, Hilton had set a career high in receiving yards, finishing with 223 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions.
The rest of the receivers weren't nearly as productive, but they were able to make some plays. Reggie Wayne had four catches for 35 yards, while Hakeem Nicks added 18 yards on two receptions.
The tight ends were involved a good amount as well, with Dwayne Allen catching three passes for 49 yards. Fleener only had 11 yards on two receptions, but one came on a four-yard pass from Luck for a touchdown.
Hilton was the clear star from tonight's game, catching pass after pass deep down the field. The rest of the pass-catchers could have done better, but they didn't have to because Hilton just kept finding ways to get behind the Houston secondary.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Despite two first-half sacks of Luck, it was hard to complain with how the offensive line was playing in pass protection. They were doing a terrific job keeping Luck upright and containing J.J. Watt despite having two backups at the guard positions and an undrafted free agent at center.
Unfortunately, Jonotthan Harrison messed up late with a bad snap to Luck in the fourth quarter, leading to a 45-yard touchdown return for Watt. Harrison played well in pass protection, but he continues to struggle with snapping the ball, and considering he's a center, that's not a good problem to have.
Luck was sacked three times on the day, but only for seven yards. Watt was able to get his hits on the third-year quarterback and come up with a pair of sacks, but that was to be expected, and the Colts did a good job of keeping the pocket clean for the most part.
The running game was a different story, with the Colts finishing with just 93 rushing yards and just 2.7 yards per carry. The rushing lanes weren't great, but a lot of that probably had to do with the absences of Hugh Thornton and Jack Mewhort.
For a makeshift interior offensive line, the unit held its own and did just enough to give Luck time to throw down the field. In the end, that's all Luck could have asked for.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Josh Chapman made what was possibly one of his best plays of the season in the second quarter, blowing through the offensive line to wrap up Arian Foster in the backfield for a three-yard loss. He hasn't lived up to the hype so far this season, but it was nice to see him make some plays.
Ricky Jean Francois continues to make plays in Arthur Jones' absence, coming up with a pair of tackles in the backfield along with a pass deflection. He's been a key piece to holding the defensive line together, but the unit as a whole still didn't have the best game.
As the game wore on, the Texans started to find bigger and bigger holes in the running game. Arian Foster finished with 109 yards and two touchdowns, while the entire team averaged 5.7 yards per carry for 136 yards on the ground.
Cory Redding has usually been the star of the defensive line, but he was nowhere to be found in this game. A lot of that likely has to do with an aging veteran playing on a short week, so he should turn things around next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.
There were a few plays that stood out on the defensive line, but as a whole, they'll be a lot better once Redding is rested and Jones returns.
Grade: C+
Linebacker
6 of 10
Erik Walden was aggressive early, getting a sack in the first quarter to give him his third of the season. On the very next play, D'Qwell Jackson took Ryan Fitzpatrick down once again for their second sack of the game.
The inside linebackers did a better job of containing the opposing tight ends and running backs in the passing game, but a good part of that was due to the fact that Johnson had such a strong game on the outside. Still, eliminating those weapons in the passing game was a good sign considering how much they struggled defending those positions in previous weeks.
The hero of the game goes to Bjoern Werner, who made a big play when it counted. Despite not recording a sack in the game up to that point, Werner was finally able to get one during Houston's two-minute drill in the fourth quarter, stripping Fitzpatrick in the process. The ball ended up going to the Colts, ending the game.
The linebackers are starting to make plays, and that's good to see. Jerrell Freeman is going to have to stay healthy considering how much Josh McNary has struggled, but if he can do that, then the Colts should at least be able to get by with their linebackers.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
It's been an incredible season for Vontae Davis, but he had his worst game of the season trying to contain Andre Johnson. Fitzpatrick wasn't afraid to throw Davis' way, and more often than not it resulted in completed passes.
Meanwhile, the Colts definitely appeared to miss Darius Butler, with Josh Gordy struggling to cover the slot. While he made a couple of good plays in the game, he struggled in pass coverage, helping Damaris Johnson put up 62 yards on three receptions.
It seemed like all of the cornerbacks struggled, even when they were playing good coverage. Greg Toler was blanketing Andre Johnson on his touchdown, but the receiver was somehow able to make the play. Still, Toler had other bad plays, seriously struggling to make open-field tackles.
While the safeties had stepped up over the past few weeks, Mike Adams and Sergio Brown made little impact in this week's game. Adams had a pretty embarrassing play when Foster trucked over him and gained an additional 10 yards on a 34-yard run.
Most weeks, the secondary has been the biggest bright spot on the defense. That wasn't the case this week, as the corners got worked quite badly by the Texans wide receivers. Butler's presence might have helped a bit, so things should get better when he returns, but it would have been nice to see more from Davis or Toler in this one.
Grade: C-
Special Teams
8 of 10
The special teams unit has been reliable this season for the Colts, and while they didn't see a ton of work on Thursday, it was still a good game overall.
Adam Vinatieri continues his streak of consecutive field goals made, now 12-for-12 on attempts this season. It's hard to be more consistent than that at this point of the year, but now every kick will have some added pressure to keep the streak alive.
Even though he only averaged 39.8 yards per punt, Pat McAfee had another good night punting, consistently pinning the Texans inside their own 10-yard line. "The Boomstick's" biggest play of the game came on a kickoff, however, kicking the ball to himself for an onside recovery after noticing that no one was covering the middle of the field.
Griff Whalen made up for his rough returning last week, bringing back two punts for 31 yards. As long as he can secure the ball and avoid any more fumbles, the special teams will continue to get good grades every week.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
The coaching staff didn't stand out too much on Thursday night, but that's usually a good thing.
There were some good calls early, including the decision to go for the onside kick. Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for recognizing the mismatch that Hilton brought and consistently running him deep after containing him for most of the season so far. Those deep throws ended up being a game-changer on offense, helping the Colts score 33 points.
On defense, Greg Manusky was doing a good job early sending blitzes and putting frequent pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, the blitzes were dialed down as the game continued, and that helped the Texans get back in the game.
Hamilton continues to adjust how his offense plays out based off of who the Colts are playing, and he's been a big factor in the Colts leading the league in passing and scoring. If the offense can keep it up, Hamilton's critics will continue to get more and more quiet.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A- |
| RB | B- |
| WR/TE | A- |
| OL | B |
| DL | C+ |
| LB | B |
| Secondary | C- |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | B- |
Had this game ended after the first quarter, the Colts would have gotten A's across the board. Unfortunately, the rest of the game didn't go according to plan, and while fans may be quick to panic about the sloppy finish, keep in mind that teams tend to struggle with a short week when playing on Thursday night.
The defense needed to answer the call on Thursday, but instead we saw plenty of inconsistency. Fortunately, Luck and Hilton were able to keep the Colts ahead with frequent big passing plays, but it would have been nice to see the defense step up against a quarterback like Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Even if some of the players struggled on Thursday, the team probably won't mind because the Colts are now on top of the AFC South thanks to four straight wins.
The good news for the Colts is that they'll now have 10 days to prepare for a big AFC matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams are trying to prove that they belong among the AFC's elite, and the winner of that game will have a pretty good case.
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