INDIANAPOLIS — Anthony Richardson was the Indianapolis Colts’ leading rusher Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The defense allowed 213 rushing yards on an average of 5.3 yards per carry.
And the Houston Texans won the all-important turnover battle.
Yet, the Colts still went toe-to-toe with the reigning AFC South champions in a 29-27 loss that extended the home team’s winless streak in Week 1 to 11 games.
“It was a good fight, but in critical situations, we’ve got to be able to win our share,” cornerback Kenny Moore II said. “So they just made a lot more plays than we did when it comes down to it, to the critical moments. So we’ve just got to be better, and we’ve gotta be intentional throughout the week to win those matchups.”
The most critical play came with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Texans facing third-and-11 from their own 29-yard line.
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud sprinted to his right, looking for star wide receiver Nico Collins. Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones had blanket coverage, but Stroud threw the ball low and to a spot only Collins could get to.
The wide receiver extended to make the catch as he was going to the ground and managed to get his knee down inbounds for an incredible reception that kept the drive alive.
Three plays later, running back Joe Mixon broke through the middle of the Indianapolis defense for 9 yards on third-and-3 and the Texans were able to run out the clock for the victory.
“Week in and week out, it’s gonna come down to these one-score games a lot of times,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “We’ve gotta take advantage of it when it happens.”
There are several moments from this one Indianapolis would like to have back.
Richardson twice missed rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell on wide-open passes that appeared to be walk-in touchdowns.
Cornerback JuJu Brents had an interception negated early in the third quarter after he got one foot in and got the toe down on his other foot before his heel landed out of bounds.
And a fourth-quarter interception by Moore was wiped out by a holding penalty against Jones.
The miscues weren’t limited to the field of play.
Steichen questioned his own run-pass play-calling ratio — running back Jonathan Taylor got 16 carries while Richardson attempted 19 passes — and his decision to go for two points after Taylor’s touchdown with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter and the Colts trailing 15-13 was widely questioned.
“Encouraged with the effort, but we’ve gotta — coaches, players — we’ve got to make the plays in the critical moments,” Steichen said. “Watching the game, standing there on the sidelines, players, everything, we’ve got to make the plays when it matters. So we’ve got to get that thing cleaned up.”
There were also plenty of plays to be encouraged by.
Richardson had touchdown passes of 60 yards to Alec Pierce in the first quarter and 54 yards to Ashton Dulin in the fourth.
He also had Indianapolis’ longest carry of the day with a 19-yard rush to convert a third down, and his extra effort resulted in a 3-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal with 2:14 remaining in the game to cut the deficit to the final margin.
“Shane called the play, fourth down, near the goal-line, it’s a gotta-have-it situation,” Richardson said. “He told me we’ve gotta have it, so I just had to find a way to make sure we put up some points.”
Richardson’s final numbers reflected the roller-coaster nature of his day.
He was 9-of-19 passing for 212 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, and he carried the ball six times for 56 yards and another score.
The offense often felt like it was boom or bust.
The Colts ran just 43 plays, only three of their nine possessions lasted longer than five snaps and Indianapolis’ total time of possession was just 20 minutes.
That did little to help a defense tasked with slowing down the reigning offensive rookie of the year.
Stroud was efficient, finishing 24-of-32 for 234 yards with two touchdowns. But the Colts largely took away Houston’s offensive explosion.
Only two of the Texans’ 76 plays gained more than 20 yards.
Houston was happy to take the long route, however.
The visitors scored on six of their 10 possessions and ran out the clock on one of the four series that failed to score points. Each of the Texans’ scoring drives lasted at least seven plays, and they ran nearly a full quarter off the clock — 14:29 — on a pair of scoring drives at the end of the third period and start of the fourth.
Mixon led that charge with 30 carries for 159 yards, and Collins provided the big plays with six catches for 117 yards.
Ka’imi Fairbairn added three field goals of at least 50 yards as Houston built leads of 15-7, 22-13 and 29-20.
“They did a great job rushing the ball today,” Indianapolis defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “As a d-line, we’ve gotta do a better job of getting off blocks and just not having too many busts … we kind of beat ourselves.”
Pierce led Indianapolis with 125 yards on three receptions, but Taylor was held to just 48 rushing yards.
Indianapolis is 0-1 for the 10th time in the last 11 years — the 2022 season started with a tie at Houston — and travels to Green Bay next week.
“Every game is a big game because it’s the biggest. It’s the game this week,” Moore said. “So we just want to go out there and execute each game to the best of our ability.”
