Raritäten/Infos » HOUSTON (0-3) at INDIANAPOLIS (1-2)Sunday

Indianapolis Colts T-Shirts , 1 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE – Pick-emRECORD VS. SPREAD – Houston 0-3, Indianapolis 2-1SERIES RECORD – Colts lead 25-7LAST MEETING – Colts beat Texans 22-13, Dec. 31, 2017LAST WEEK – Texans lost to Giants 27-22; Colts lost to Eagles 20-16AP PRO32 RANKING – Texans No. 30, Colts No. 26TEXANS OFFENSE – OVERALL (8), RUSH (8), PASS (13).TEXANS DEFENSE – OVERALL (16), RUSH (20), PASS (14).COLTS OFFENSE – OVERALL (28), RUSH (29), PASS (23).COLTS DEFENSE – OVERALL (18), RUSH (15), PASS (15).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Texans have lost league-high nine straight and are one of three winless teams in NFL this season. … Houston’s last win came Nov. 19 vs. Arizona. … Deshaun Watson is first Texans quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard games since Matt Schaub in 2012. … Watson has connected with Will Fuller for TD pass in seven straight games. … WR DeAndre Hopkins has caught at least one pass in all 82 games played. … DE-OLB Jadeveon Clowney needs two tackles for loss to reach 50 in career. … S Kareem Jackson needs one interception to tie Johnathan Joseph’s franchise record (14). … DE J.J. Watt has eight sacks against Andrew Luck, second-highest total of any active quarterback behind only Blake Bortles (nine). … Since 2014, Texans are league-best 21-1 when leading at halftime and have held opponents to league-low 34.2 percent on third-down conversions. …Indy swept last season’s two-game series after losing three straight to Houston and is 14-2 at home against Houston. … Colts’ next win will be No. 300 since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. … K Adam Vinatieri needs one field goal to break Morten Andersen’s NFL record (565). Vinatieri also needs three field goal attempts to pass Gary Anderson (672) for second all-time and one game played to pass George Blanda (340) for No. 4. … Luck has thrown TD pass in league-best 26 consecutive games and needs one more game to tie Peyton Manning for No. 2 in franchise history. … Luck also needs 260 yards passing to reach 20,000 and 16 yards rushing for 1 https://www.coltsfanshop.com/hats ,500 in career. … WR T.Y. Hilton needs two catches for 450. … Indy ranks sixth in sacks allowed (five), while defense is tied for fourth in sacks (10). … Colts also have most tackles for loss (22) in NFL this season. … Rookie LB Darius Leonard has 31 tackles last two weeks and leads NFL with 41. … Fantasy tip: Hilton has historically played well against Texans. With Luck back, Colts looking for more big plays and Houston struggling, Luck and Hilton could have another big day against familiar foe. To say this Thursday’s game against Houston is important may be an understatement. A match-up to potentially decide the fate of the division, winning would give Indianapolis a one-game advantage AND the tie-breaker should both they and Houston finish with the same record. Meanwhile, a loss would spell a one-game disadvantage and a steep hole to climb out of.Ultimately, this one is for all the marbles. If three position battles go Indy’s way (admittedly a big if), it looks like Frank Reich and company will take those same marbles back to Lucas Oil Stadium.1.Colts Wide Receivers vs. Texans Defensive BacksArguably the two most injured position groups in the entire league, this one might simply come down to who stays healthy.For the Colts, Devin Funchess is still out while Parris Campbell and T.Y. Hilton will be game-time decisions. Hilton’s status is key in this one, as not only is he obviously their top target, but he’s seemingly had his way against Texans corners for the good part of a decade. Ultimately if he isn’t able to suit up, Zach Pascal will be #1 option once again. He’s played great as a complementary piece, but it’s a role he’s simply too limited to fully excel in.As for Houston, their secondary is a poor unit to begin with, (3 of their top 4 corners have allowed 100+ passer ratings this season) and that likely won’t improve on a short week. Their top corner (Bradley Roby) and 3 of their safeties (Justin Reid, Tashaun Gipson, Mike Adams) are all questionable to play Indianapolis Colts Hoodie , while depth corner Lonnie Johnson might not even be able to suit up as well. Jacoby Brissett isn’t a QB known for his deep ball, but testing this porous secondary will be key to a Colts victory - even if their wideout group is just as hobbled.2.Texans Wide Receivers vs. Colts Defensive BacksMore position groups. More injuries.Just like Houston’s secondary is in an iffy spot regarding health, Indy is in an extremely similar situation on their back-end. Emerging rookie Khari Willis has been ruled out this week, which leaves Clayton Geathers to take over the starting strong spot. With Pierre Desir also questionable, it leaves the Colts in a pickle. Desir has been one of the only corners in the league that’s actually been able to limit Deandre Hopkins these past few seasons. Thus, without him, it would leave Houston with an understandable advantage.To win this match-up, Indy will either need Desir healthy or promising rookie Marvell Tell to put together a spectacular performance. Despite Tell’s strong game against Jacksonville, the organization is likely hoping for the former to come to fruition.3.Colts Interior Offensive Line vs. Texans Interior Defensive LineGood teams build from the inside out. Both the Colts and Texans abide by that same philosophy.It’s no secret Quenton Nelson has been the best offensive guard in football this season and his impact from the interior has allowed the Colts to sport one of the league’s top rushing attacks. How he, Ryan Kelly, and Mark Glowinski play is going to go a long way in determining the winner of this game - as per usual.The main difference in this match-up compared to others, however, is that Houston has an equally dominant run defense, with nose tackle D.J. Reader holding the highest run stop% of any player in the league with 50% or more of his team’s snaps (via PFF).If Indy can control the trenches, things will likely be looking good, but they’re going to need Nelson and the O-Line to bring their A+ game.