Texans at Colts
The Indianapolis Colts don't have to view game films to remember what went wrong in their last meeting with the Houston Texans. The cleat marks on the jerseys of their defensive players is all the evidence they need.
The Colts will be looking to avenge a season-opening defeat when they host the Texans in a pivotal AFC South division clash on Monday night.
Running back Arian Foster trampled the Colts for a franchise-record 231 yards and three touchdowns as Houston handed Indianapolis a 34-24 setback in Week 1.
Foster lugged the ball 33 times and did all his scoring in the second half to help his team pull away from a 13-10 halftime edge.
It marked the Texans' second victory in 17 career matchups with the Colts (4-2) and snapped a six-game losing streak at the hands of their division rival.
Houston (4-2) is tied with Indianapolis for second place in the tightly contested AFC South - one game behind the Tennessee Titans. The Colts have the worst record within the division at 0-2.
With both teams coming off bye weeks, the Texans will have a hard time reprising the opening-week victory, having never won at Indianapolis in the first eight years of their existence.
If there's ever a good time to catch Peyton Manning and the Colts, this could be it. Indianapolis has been ravaged by injuries, including the loss of tight end Dallas Clark to a season-ending wrist injury.
Wide receiver Austin Collie, who already has 44 receptions and a team-high six touchdowns, will also miss Monday's game with an injured thumb that required surgery. He torched the Texans for 11 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
The Colts are also hurting in the backfield. Joseph Addai did not practice again Thursday due to a shoulder injury and is expected to be a game-time decision. Backup Donald Brown has missed the last two games with a hamstring problem and also didn’t practice Thursday.
That will put more of a burden on Manning, who is having another stellar season with 1,916 passing yards and 13 touchdowns vs. just two interceptions.
Manning was forced to throw a career-high 57 times in the last meeting with Houston, completing a franchise-record 40 for 433 yards and three touchdowns. He has posted jaw-dropping numbers against the Texans at home in his career, tossing 21 scoring passes and just three interceptions while racking up 2,425 yards in the eight games.
With Houston ranking last in the NFL in defense, allowing an average of 410.5 yards per game, the Texans will likely try and control the clock with a steady dose of Foster, who is fourth in the league in rushing with 635 yards.
Matt Schaub threw for only 107 yards against Indy in Week 1, but he has plenty of firepower at his disposal. Prior to the bye week, Schaub rallied Houston from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 35-31 victory at Kansas City.
He threw for 305 yards and a pair of scores, including the game-winning touchdown to star wideout Andre Johnson with 28 seconds to play.
Johnson had 15 receptions for 170 yards in the two losses to the Colts last season.