5 takeaways from the Texans’ monumental victory over Colts

The Colts could have walked away with a huge advantage in the playoff hunt. Instead, the Texans have the upper hand.

The Indianapolis Colts left the AFC South playoff hunt on a cliffhanger. They couldn’t get a win over the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football in Week 12. The Texans won, 20-17.

Had the Colts pulled off a win, they would have taken the lead in the AFC South with a head-to-head advantage over Houston. Now, the teams have split their matchups, and will have to defer to divisional records in the event they finish with the same record. Essentially, the Texans have taken a narrow lead for the AFC South’s playoff bid. But they’ve hardly secured a spot on the field on wild-card Sunday.

Here are five more thoughts from the Texans’ win over the Colts.

1. Stop it. That fourth-down call was the right one.

When the Colts asked Jacoby Brissett to convert a fourth-and-7 in the fourth quarter, the Indy quarterback was averaging 5.2 yards per passing attempt and 5 yards per rush. And yet Colts coach Frank Reich wasn’t foolish when he decided to go for it.

Indy was on the 47-yard line and was methodically (and perhaps inefficiently) moving the ball down the field. Because of that plodding approach on offense they were probably going to need all three of the minutes left on the clock, if they were going to score a touchdown. And they really needed a touchdown. The timing for a field goal probably wouldn’t favor the Colts — it would likely put the ball back in Watson’s hands.

So the Colts were going to need to retain the ball, and not let their defense attempt to cover the Texans’ receivers, who had been owning the Colts’ man coverage all night. They tried to control the game on their own terms — and they failed. But that didn’t mean they were wrong for trying.

2. The officials missed another one.

They missed a clear and obvious fumble in the closing moments of the game. And then for inexplicable reasons, they elected not to review it.

But with a minute and a half left in the game, the Colts could have absolutely changed the outcome of the game if this call had been called properly. This was an atrocious error. The officials have been so bad this year that I can’t even get myself worked up anymore.

This was the explanation from the NFL’s officiating account:

3. Can the Texans just be good already?

It feels like Houston pulls away in the division almost every year, only to disappoint in the postseason. They do it with such regularity that no one takes them seriously when they look like an explosive and impressive team (like they did on Thursday night).

Houston could be on their way to winning the division for the fourth time in five years. And yet they’re 1-3 in the playoffs over the last four years.

Please, let this be the first time they make a legitimate playoff run, if only because Watson deserves more respect as one of the NFL’s best.

If the Texans want to show they’re no longer a postseason joke, they can begin to make make a case with a win over the Patriots in Week 13. O’Brien is 0-5 against his former boss, Bill Belichick.

4. DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller are the perfect tandem for Deshaun Watson. They have the potential to be the best WR pair in the NFL.

Watson, Hopkins and Fuller could be the reason why the Texans finally get over their hump as the overlooked team with a good record. We’ve known for some time that Watson is special. We’ve known for some time that DeAndre Hopkins is one of the best receivers in the NFL. But Fuller genuinely changes the offensive dynamic. Watson averages 62.5 more passing yards per game and 1.1 more passing touchdowns when Fuller plays, per NFL Research.

With Fuller healthy, those three showed the Colts, the 11th-ranked passing defense heading into Week 12, that the Texans passing offense can be simply unstoppable.

Marvel at Watson and Fuller:

And you think that throw was special? Watson and Fuller made the deep-ball connection routine. Again, marvel at Watson and Fuller:

It’s just preposterous.

If the Fuller, Hopkins and Watson can do this every week, they’ll be unstoppable. With Watson whipping the ball downfield with ideal ball placement, Hopkins and Fuller look like the best receivers in football. On Thursday, Hopkins had six catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Fuller had seven catches for 140 yards.

5. Jacoby Brissett is a competent quarterback in totally opposite ways to Watson.

I’m going to cut Brissett a break for his performance. He wasn’t confident with his footwork in his return from an MCL injury. It appeared as if the Colts rushed him back. Because his legs weren’t working right, his passes weren’t going where he wanted them to. And even when it became clear Brissett wouldn’t be the passing threat he’d been for most of the season, he worked away with a quiet competence completing 16 of his 25 passes for 129 yards. There were a few costly drops (Looking at you, Nyheim Hines and T.Y. Hilton.) And while the Colts’ playoff hopes took a major hit on Thursday, they should feel good about their future and their signal-caller, who has been a delightful surprise in the absence of Andrew Luck.

Brissett couldn’t complete the fourth-and-7, as mentioned. He came up short in one of the most influential games of the season. But his injury cost them crucial wins — that’s out of his control. Indy was prepared to lose one quarterback (Luck) but couldn’t handle the loss of their second (Brissett). That’s fair.

Their 6-5 record isn’t bad. And maybe they can muster some late-season magic as Brissett gets healthier. If the Texans lose to New England — which is distinctly possible — and the Colts beat the Titans next week, then they’re basically neck-and-neck again.

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