Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans Box Score on Oct 16, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Oct 17, 2016

HOUSTON -- Nick Novak nailed a 33-yard field goal with 8:10 remaining in overtime, and the Houston Texans came from behind for a 26-23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night at NRG Stadium.

Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler completed a 38-yard pass to receiver Jaelen Strong to the Colts 12-yard-line put Houston in position to ice the victory. Osweiler completed 25 of 39 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns despite struggling for most of the night.

The Texans (4-2) improved to 4-0 at home by rallying from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

For most of the game, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who passed for 252 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, outplayed his counterpart. His 14-yard dash on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Texans in what looked to be an insurmountable 23-9 hole given the performance of Osweiler.

However, Osweiler rallied Houston in improbable fashion, leading a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by his 10-yard scoring pass to running back Lamar Miller that cut the deficit to 23-16 with 2:37 left.

The Texans regained possession with 1:50 to play, and Osweiler needed just three plays to cover 53 yards, throwing a dart to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz that yielded a 26-yard touchdown and a tie game with 49 seconds left.

Miller finished with 149 yards rushing and a touchdown on 24 carries. Frank Gore paced the Colts (2-4) with 106 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

Fiedorowicz caught six passes for 85 yards. Luck completed 21 of 32 passes.

Late in the third, Osweiler threw behind receiver DeAndre Hopkins deep in Houston territory, a pass that was picked off by Colts cornerback Vontae Davis at the Texans 21. Two plays later, Luck dashed through a gaping hole on the left side for a score that extended the Colts lead to 20-9 with 14:53 remaining in the contest.

The Texans' offensive woes continued in earnest in the first quarter, with Houston mustering just five total yards on 10 plays stretched over three fruitless series. By the time the Texans mounted a sustained drive late in the first half, one that concluded with a 27-yard Novak field goal with 1:57 left, the Colts led 13-0.

Given all the issues the Colts have had protecting Luck, they managed to reach the intermission without surrendering a sack. Luck, in turn, engineered three methodical scoring drives, sandwiching a pair of Adam Vinatieri field goals around a 22-yard scoring pass to tight end Jack Doyle that gave Indianapolis a 10-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter. That scoring drive covered 74 yards over 10 plays.

NOTES: Texans CB Robert Nelson, active for the first time after being signed off the practice squad last week, recorded an interception of Colts QB Andrew Luck late in the first half. The Texans were missing two starters in their secondary: SS Quintin Demps (calf) and CB Kareem Jackson (hamstring). ... With Colts DT Zach Kerr (ankle) sidelined, Arthur Jones earned the start and made his first appearance since the 2014 AFC Championship against the Patriots. ... Texans rookie WR Will Fuller (hamstring) was active but did not play. Fuller did not practice on Saturday, fueling speculation that he would be inactive for the first time.