Texans Try To Snap Losing Streak; Host Colts Sunday Night In Prime Time

This AFC South matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans Sunday in Week 9 of the NFL Season probably looked as if would have more luster surrounding it at the start of the year. But with Houston not playing well, the Colts will be expected to take care of business and further separate themselves in the division. This is the Sunday Night Football matchup, with coverage on NBC starting at 8:30pm ET for kickoff.

The Colts come in at 5-2 with a two-game lead in the division over the Tennessee Titans. It’s not the Texans who have been the biggest threat to Indianapolis this season. However we use the term threat loosely in the AFC South. At 2-5, Houston haa lost five-straight games and are trying to stop the quicksand from becoming too overwhelming that there season gets lost halfway through. A victory over the Colts at home on Sunday night could potentially go a long way to doing that.

But to get the win, the Texans will need to quit turning the ball over and putting their defenses on short fields. Houston holds a -11 turnover margin which is the third worst in the NFL. Even Jacksonville has a better turnover margin than Houston. But it’s not just the fact that they are turning the ball over, it’s the fact that those turnovers have led directly to scores; many times right there with four-straight games where an interception was returned for a touchdown.

Indianapolis ranks 2nd in the AFC in turnover margin, behind only Kansas City. This matchup definitely favors the Colts here.

Indianapolis will continue on with life after Reggie Wayne. The receiver is out for the season with an ACL, and suddenly Andrew Luck’s most reliable target is gone. We will continue to watch Luck and his progressions made without Wayne in the lineup. Perhaps Trent Richardson’s role will get even bigger with the ground game going forward.