The Indianapolis Colts had the stave off a late Houston Texans rally en route to a 33-28 victory. After beginning the year 0-2, Indianapolis has now reeled off four consecutive wins and sits atop the AFC South. The Texans have now dropped two in a row and sit at .500 for the season.
The Colts have knocked off divisional foes three of the past four weeks, and are beginning to prove to be one of the premier teams in the AFC. The Texans, on the other hand, played a very competitive game down to the final minutes, but were unable to complete the late-game comeback.
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ win (and Texans loss) on Thursday night:
Andrew Luck, Colts look legitimate
The Colts were one of those teams that began the year 0-2, and even after back-to-back wins over Jacksonville and Tennessee — teams that’ll likely be picking in the top five come the spring — we weren’t ready to anoint the Colts serious contenders just yet.
But after consecutive victories over Baltimore and now Houston, Indianapolis is making a serious case to be considered in the elite class along with the Broncos and Chargers. Their quarterback is making a case to be in that elite quarterback discussion, too.
Earlier this year, after the Colts came up short against Philadelphia, I warned fans not to anoint Luck “elite” too soon. Oh, and how he’s proving me wrong. Luck threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns last night, which gives him two more 300-yard passing games than he had all of last season.
Luck is building up an MVP-like resume for the season. He’s starting to develop a rhythm with his receiving corps and has found balance with Ahmad Bradshaw in the backfield. He’s coming into his own before our eyes, and this might just be the year he moves from being a good young quarterback to an elite one.
J.J. Watt continues his MVP campaign
Through the first six weeks of the season, Watt is making a very convincing case to be the first defensive player since Lawrence Taylor to win the league MVP. Watt recorded seven tackles, two sacks, three tackles for a loss, three pass defenses, and returned a fumble 45 yards for a touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.
With the score, Watt’s touchdown total was upped to three, more than some of the best offensive players in the league.
TOUCHDOWNS: 2014 JJ Watt: 3 Calvin Johnson: 2 DeSean Jackson: 2 Reggie Bush: 1 LeSean McCoy: 1 #INDvsHOU pic.twitter.com/XZ2YyrVZp5
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) October 10, 2014
In wins or losses, it seems like Watt is always making a play to keep the Texans in the game. There’s no other defensive player in the game that’s been so impactful in a season since Taylor. The NFL is quite offense-centric, but Watt is doing everything he can to garner attention.
Colts D, Bjoern Werner still feisty without Robert Mathis
The Colts defense looked like a deer in the headlights in the early going, and after strong outings against the Jaguars and Titans earlier this month, the unit has been stellar against the Ravens and now the Texans. More impressively, they’ve endured success without their marquee pass-rusher, Robert Mathis.
Last night alone, the Colts registered five sacks of Ryan Fitzpatrick and hit the Texans’ signal-caller eight times. Werner, a former first-round pick in 2013 who’s filling in for Mathis, recorded a sack. As did D’Qwell Jackson, Ricky Jean Francois, Erik Walden and Jonathan Newsome.
With the strong performance, the Colts are tied with the Jets and Bills for the league lead in sacks (17).
The onside kick
When the Colts perfectly executed the onside kick in the first quarter after moving ahead 3-0, Pat McAfee completed his third onside kick of the year, giving him a perfect 3-for-3 batting average on the season.
Obviously, part of the success of an onside kick is the spontaneity of it. But McAfee’s positioning and the special teams’ execution of it deserves credit, too. Indianapolis is the only team to successfully pull off an onside kick this season.
Texans: contender or pretender?
With the way Watt is playing this year, it’s hard to discount the Texans from the playoff race. But if we’re being realistic, let’s count both the Chargers and Broncos in the playoff picture. The AFC East is muddled at this point with no clear front-runner, and the AFC North looks like a three-team race, with the Browns not yet out of contention either.
The Texans are right behind the Colts in the AFC South, but at 3-3 they have their work cut out for them. Houston travels to Pittsburgh and Tennessee, then hosts Philadelphia before the Week 10 bye. Houston has a legitimate chance of going 2-1 or 1-2 down that stretch, but you have to wonder if Fitzpatrick under center is going to eventually catch up to them. Because among the potential Wild Card teams in the AFC, there’s Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and then Fitzpatrick. Who do you trust?
