The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that,
a review of Week 18’s regular season finale:
A tale of two halves: With a slim chance for a home playoff game, Houston played most of its starters in a near-equal first half. However, if it seemed that Houston might be a bit distracted, it was because they kept one eye on the activities in Jacksonville. The Titans offered a brief glimmer of hope, going up 7-0. However, the Glitter Kitties were up 31-7 by halftime. With that knowledge, Houston turned this game into a glorified preseason affair, pulling key starters in the 2nd half. The ideal would have been a dominant Texans’ first half and bringing in the backups in a stress-free situation, but this worked out. Houston avoided any major injuries and secured the #5 seed.
A little humble pie for the defense: DB Jalen Pitre made headlines last week when he rated Houston’s defense second, (maybe), only to God. Religious beliefs notwithstanding, the defense came into this matchup against the Colts ranked 1st in yards and points allowed. They surrendered a season-high 30 points. Yes, the second half of the game saw Houston play backups against Colts’ starters. However, Texans starters surrendered 17 points in the 1st half. To slip in the points allowed ranking (now 2nd in the league) and to see the-going-nowhere Colts put up this kind of performance…it might burst some defensive egos. Ryans and Burke have some surefire ammo to puncture any defensive overconfidence.
Special Teams mostly good, save a 1st Quarter sequence: The Texans’ defense gets most of the headlines and praise. However, the Texans’ special teams are also formidable. Fairbairn was Fairbairn (more later). Townsend only punted three times, placing two of his punts well inside the 20. Kick coverage and returns were solid as well, and Noel trucked Colts PK Blake Grupe on a 3rd Quarter kick return. About the only negative was in the 1st Quarter, when the Colts managed to successfully executed a fake punt pass for a 16 yard gain. No sooner had the Colts done that, when the punt team went hurry-up, executing a QB/P sneak, catching the Texans in a mass substitution frenzy, yielding a 5-yard penalty. That drive resulted in a FG for the Colts. However, the Frank Ross unit had way more good than bad in this game.
The Decisive Play
1:52, 3rd Quarter: IND Ball, 3rd and Goal at the HOU 6. Leonard pass to Pierce Incomplete. 15-yard personal foul penalty on Pierce, Pierce Ejected
At the later part of the 3rd Quarter, Leonard continued his torrid passing pace, dicing up the Texans secondary and moving the Colts inside the HOU 6. At worst, the Colts figured to take the lead over the Texans, who led 26-24. Leonard took the snap in shotgun, looking to his top receiver, Pierce, who had Ingram on coverage in the back right part of the end zone. The pass was too high for Pierce. However, Pierce voiced his displeasure to the field judge. To demonstrate the type of coverage Ingram had, Pierce grabbed the official. The flag quickly came out. The personal foul/15-Yard call was expected. The ejection was not. Perhaps an overreaction by the field judge, but the call was the call. Thus exited Pierce and his 4 receptions/132 yards/2 TDs. The Colts kicked the 39-yard FG, going up 27-26. However, a TD there would make the score at least 30-26, depending on the conversion. At that point, Houston would need TDs, not FGs. With Mills unable to get going until the final drive, it is highly possible the Colts win, knocking Houston down to the 6-seed and a date with the Jags at their house, where Houston already lost this season. If Pierce is not ejected, the Colts still have that big play ability, which might have won them the game.
FUN WITH NUMBERS:
1: Wild Card Berths Clinched in Franchise History. A bit wierd to write, but this the Texans’ first Wild Card appearance. In their previous 8 playoff appearances, they entered as division champs. They will open on the road in the playoffs. As the 5-seed, there is a minuscule chance that they could end up hosting a playoff game, but a lot of upsets would need to happen.
0: Total number of sacks surrendered by the Texans in the last 3 games. At least the offensive line can hang their hats on protecting Stroud. In the past 6 games, Stroud has only been sacked 6 times, 3 coming against the Chiefs at Arrowhead. Yes, he’s been under pressure, but he is getting just enough protection to avoid the big lost yardage plays. This ties the longest stretch of games where Stroud hasn’t been sacked.
GAME BALLS:
PK Ka’imi Fairbairn: Delivered a career day, setting the franchise mark with 6 FGs in a game, including the game-winner. His 20 total points accounted for 63% of the team’s scoring. Fairbairn has a legitimate, serious case for team MVP.
RB British Brooks: 13 carries for 63 yards. When the second half turned into a preseason game, and with Jawhar Jordan out injured, Brooks got his chance to shine. He effectively led the second half offense, moving the chains and giving Houston a chance to stay in the game against the Colts. While he might be relegated to special teams for the playoffs, he did offer some semblance of faith that if called upon, he can get positive yards as a runner.
DL Tommy Togiai: 4 tackles (all solo), 1 pass defended, 1 TFL. He is on this list for his TD at the end of the game. He was supposed to get a FB-type TD in the 2nd Quarter, but Stroud did not hand him the ball. Good play by the QB, but Stroud had to make amends to avoid ticking off the strongest man (650lb squad, 500lb bench) on the squad. Togiai got his in the end.
SHOULD BE FORCED TO OFFER A FULL REPORT EXTOLLING THE VIRTUES OF CHRIS BALLARD’S FULL GM TENURE, WITH ANNOTATED BIBILOGRAPHIES AND FOOTNOTES, WHICH MUST ALSO INCLUDE A FORWARD BY JACK EASTERBY:
DB K’Von Wallace: Wallace won’t want to dwell on this game. He dropped perhaps the easiest INT attempt he’s ever had, all the more painful when it bounced right off of his facemask. He missed a drive-killing tackle on a Leonard scramble on a 3rd and long in the 4th quarter that allowed the Colts to keep a drive alive and kick a go-ahead FG. It wasn’t all bad, as he produced 4 solo tackles, defended a pass and intimidated WR Michael Pittman into a key drop in the 1st half on a 3rd Down play. Still, more bad than good on this day.
Colts’ Kick Returners: You could understand a team playing aggressively with nothing to lose. However, twice the Colts returned a kickoff from deep in their end zone. A 1st Quarter one cost the Colts 11 yards in field position. The 4th quarter situation was far more damaging. After Houston went up 32-30, the Colts would get the ball back with 0:12 left on the clock. Fairbairn blasted the kick into the end zone. If the Colts’ returner just knelt and took the touchback, the Colts get the ball at their 35 with no time lost. Only needing a FG, they could run a play to get the needed 20-25 yards (sideline or penalty) to try a FG or move closer for a more legitimate Hail Mary attempt. Instead, the Colts ran the kick back, only getting to the IND 25 with 0:05 left. That set up the lateral follies, which gave us the Togiai TD, but bad decision-making by the Colts on these kick returns.
Houston matched its franchise record with 12 regular season wins at 12-5. Barring some major upsets, this was likely Houston’s last game at NRG this season. They travel to meet the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football to close out Wild Card Weekend next Monday at 7:20 CST on ESPN.
