The 2024 NFL season is here and the Indianapolis Colts will kick things off at home against the Houston Texans–the same way the 2023 season ended, but hopefully this time with a different result.
Houston enters the season as the favorite to win the AFC South and made some splash additions this offseason to bolster their roster. The Colts, however, are very bullish on the roster they have, and took a different approach during the offseason, emphasizing continuity and re-signing their own players.
As Sunday’s game unfolds, here are five things to keep your eyes on between the Colts and Texans:
Colts’ run defense
As I wrote recently, the Colts ability to limit the Texans on the ground will actually go a long way in helping their secondary. When an offense is struggling to pick up yards in the run game, it puts them behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations where the pass rush can pin its ears back and the secondary has the advantage in coverage.
The Colts run defense last season was quite good when Grover Stewart was on the field, but struggled when he wasn’t. The addition of Raekwon Davis will hopefully provide a boost to the run defense depth of this unit.
Colts’ interior offensive line
A matchup that the Colts should be trying to exploit is in the trenches with their interior offensive line against the Texans’ defensive tackles. I spoke with Cole Thompson of Texans Wire recently, and when asked what a potential weak point on this Houston roster was, he mentioned the interior defensive line.
The Colts, meanwhile, have Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Will Fries along their interior, coupled with a healthy Jonathan Taylor, who ran for 188 yards against Houston in Week 18 last season. An added wrinkle to the Colts’ run game will be Taylor sharing the backfield with Anthony Richardson, opening up the playbook for Shane Steichen.
Cornerbacks and safeties
A big unknown for the Colts entering this season is the play of their secondary. This was a group that was wildly inconsistent in 2023 and the Colts largely have the same personnel in 2024, banking heavily on the internal development of JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones, and Nick Cross.
The Texans’ passing game will pose a tough test right out of the gate with CJ Stroud under center, along with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell at receiver. Completely stopping the Houston passing game will be a tall task but the Colts have to find a way to limit their production.
Anthony Richardson
Of course, all eyes will be on Richarson, who is making his first regular season start since Week 5 of last season. As we saw in the preseason finale against Cincinnati, with only 98 career dropbacks, there is still a learning curve being navigated which can result in up and down play.
However, helping Richardson is the playmakers around him, so he certainly doesn’t have to do it all on his own, and the unpredictability element that he and Steichen have with there being limited tape of the two together. The Colts will have the ability to throw some unscouted looks at Houston.
Who else steps up in the passing game?
With Josh Downs already ruled out, the Colts will need someone else to step up in the passing game alongside Michael Pittman. We will likely see AD Mitchell in the slot again, who can be a difficult matchup inside with his combination of size, speed, and route running. Alec Pierce, meanwhile, has put together what GM Chris Ballard called his best training camp.