The second time around, can the Indianapolis Colts find a way to contain Houston Texans’ running back Joe Mixon?
When these two teams first met in the season opener, Houston came away with the 29-27 win, with Mixon and the Texans running game playing a big factor in the outcome.
Mixon would carry the ball 30 times in that contest, totaling 159 rushing yards at 5.3 yards per attempt. As a team, the Texans totaled 213 yards on the ground against the Colts.
That ability to lean heavily on the run game coupled with the Colts struggles on offense to sustain drives resulted in a massive time of possession discrepancy.
The Texans would hold the ball for 40 minutes compared to just 20 minutes for the Colts, which led to Houston running 76 plays on offense to Indianapolis’ 43 plays.
Mixon, however, has not only found success against the Colts but just about every opponent this season. On the year, he ranks eighth in yards per rush among all backs. Mixon would miss three games with an injury but has eclipsed the 100 yard mark in three of the four games he’s appeared in.
Perhaps truly stopping Mixon shouldn’t be an expected outcome, but the Colts have to find a way to contain him. When offense’s can move the ball in the run game, generally that results in short down-and-distance situations, which then can open up the passing game for a Houston offense that doesn’t need a ton of help through the air.
In 2nd-and-four situations, the offense has the advantage with the entire playbook open to them. On the flip side, on 2nd-and-eight, the defense often has the edge with the offense in a predictable passing situation.
The Colts run defense has gotten better since the first two games, but better is still a relative term in this instance. Overall, the 4.6 yards per rush surrendered by Indianapolis ranks 21st and the 28 rushes allowed of at least 10 yards are the second-most in football.