At Indianapolis
1:03 p.m. ET
73 Degrees
| TEAM | PLAY CALLING |
PERSONNEL | GAME PLANNING |
IN-GAME ADJ |
CLOCK MGMT |
HCR |
| HOU | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6.6 |
| IND | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5.8 |
Key Coaching Decision #1: (HOU ball, leading 14-7 / fourth-and-6 at IND 40 / 3:30 2Q)
• With Houston leading the game 14-7 and facing a fourth-and-6 at the Colts’ 40-yard line, Bill O’Brien decided to go for it. Deshaun Watson completed a 10-yard pass to rookie tight end Jordan Akins for the first down. We feel this was a good call by O’Brien, and it showed trust in his offensive personal. The gamble did not pay off in points, however, as they had to punt after Watson was sacked near midfield.
Key Coaching Decision #2: (IND ball, trailing 28-17 / 2-point conversion attempt / 7:45 4Q)
• Andrew Luck hits Eric Ebron for a 5-yard score that cuts the Texans’ lead to 28-23. Frank Reich decides to go for a two-point conversion attempt, which falls incomplete in the end zone. We feel going for two points was an unnecessary risk and kicking the extra point was the right call with almost eight minutes left in the game.
• Houston’s next drive resulted in a field goal that put the Texans up by eight points. The Colts ended up scoring a touchdown with 45 seconds left to cut the lead to two. Instead of just needing an extra point to tie the game the Colts needed to attempt another two-point conversion — which they did to tie the game at 31 and force overtime.
Key Coaching Decision #3: (IND ball, score tied 34-34 / fourth-and-4 at IND 43 / 0:27 OT)
After trading field goals in overtime the Colts and Texans were tied at 34 with 27 seconds left in overtime. The Instead of punting, Frank Reich decided to go for the first down. Luck took the shotgun snap and threw an incomplete pass to Chester Rogers, giving the ball to the Texans in great field position. On the next play, Watson hit DeAndre Hopkins for a 24-yard gain to the Colts 19-yard line. Ka’imi Fairbairn then hit a 37-yard field goal to win the game for Houston. In this situation, we feel Reich should have punted and played for the tie. His team had battled back from an 18-point second-half deficit and shouldn’t have left the stadium with another loss to their record.
Key Observations:
• Andrew Luck played well but cannot be asked to throw the ball 62 times, especially coming off a shoulder injury. The Colts only called 17 running plays, which resulted in 41 yards. They need to find a way to have more offensive balance as the season moves forward.
• The Colts seem to be much improved even if their 1-3 record does not show it. Luck looks healthy and every game they have played has been competitive and they’ve had a shot to win in the fourth quarter.
• Deshaun Watson played well and he looked much more comfortable than he did last week against the New York Giants. Bill O’Brien did a nice job of getting him outside the pocket and using his mobility to create big-play opportunities.
• Jadeveon Clowney played his best game of the year and finished with two sacks a fumble recovery for a touchdown. With Clowney and J.J. Watt healthy, the Texans defense has the ability to give any offense problems.
• A fantastic rookie debut for Texans WR Keke Coutee, who was a fourth-round pick out of Texas Tech. He had 11 catches for 109 yards and proved to be a very reliable option for Watson.
