Colts winless drought in season openers continues after grudge match loss to Texans

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts winless drought in season openers reached 11 consecutive games in Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the AFC South rival Houston Texans.

It’s becoming so predictable to watch the Colts secondary fold in crucial moments when the defense needs a stop. The secondary struggled to defend Texans’ receiver Nico Collins, who finished with a game-high 133 receiving yards on six catches. C.J. Stroud’s newest target Stefon Diggs, whom Houston acquired this offseason, scored twice and caught six passes on six targets.

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson let it rip on his second drive and launched a 60-yard missile to Alec Pierce for a touchdown to give the Colts a 7-3 lead. His throw traveled 65.3 air yards, which is the third-longest completion in the Next Gen Stats era. Indianapolis’ 22-year-old franchise QB continues to thrive when running play action and demonstrated his immaculate deep ball connecting twice with Pierce.

Houston dominated the time of possession battle with 40 minutes of offense, doubling Indy’s 20 minutes of possession. The Colts were not prepared to stop the Texans rushing attack and allowed a whopping 213 rushing yards, including 159 rushing yards by Texans running back Joe Mixon, which is the most yards against the Colts since Derrick Henry (178) in ‘20. The Texans broke through the glass coverage on their third drive, ignited by a 55-yard catch from Nico Collins over JuJu Brents and Nick Cross to set up inside the red zone. On third-and-6, Stroud hit receiver Stefon Diggs on a slant across the middle for a nine-yard TD.

After seven designed runs between Jonathan Taylor and Richardson set up the offense in the red zone, the Colts completely wasted their last drive of the first half. Richardson missed receiver Adonai Mitchell wide open in the end zone, then overthrew tight end Kylen Granson and into the hands of Texans safety Calen Bullock to spoil an opportunity to take the lead before halftime.

Indy’s defensive front wrecked Houston’s offensive line on passing downs with four sacks and 10 hits on Stroud. Midway through the third quarter, Buckner and Dayo Odeyingbo met Stroud in the backfield for the Colts fourth sack of the day to force the Texans to punt. Colts linebacker Segun Olubi burst through Houston’s punt protection to block the punt and set up the Colts offense at the Texans’ five-yard line.

Taylor followed up on the ensuing play with a rushing touchdown to cut the deficit to 15-13. Colts head coach Shane Steichen gambled to go for a two-point conversion following Taylor’s score, which cost the Colts later in the game after the attempt was stopped short of the goal line. The Colts pulled within two points three times in Sunday’s defeat, but ultimately fell short in the quest to end the longest active drought in the league.

Houston converted a third-and-14 at midfield as Indy’s secondary allowed Stroud to scramble around and throw across his body to the middle of the field for another Collins grab. Kenny Moore II almost secured an interception at the goal line to thwart Houston’s scoring opportunity, but a holding penalty against cornerback Jaylon Jones negated the takeaway and gifted the Texans first-and-goal at the four-yard line. With under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Texans elected to go for it on fourth down and Stroud hit Diggs in the flat near the pylon for his second TD of the game.

One positive takeaway from Richardson’s return to the gridiron is the Colts never seem to be completely out of it. Early in the fourth quarter, Richardson fired a bullet to receiver Ashton Dulin, who took it to the house for a 54-yard TD. With 2:14 left in regulation, facing fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Richardson kept it himself and bulldozed his way in the end zone. Richardson finished 9-for-19 passing with 212 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, while leading the Colts with 56 rushing yards on six carries.

The Colts travel to Lambeau Field for a Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers (0-1).