The Indianapolis Colts closed the 2025 season with a 38-30 loss to the Houston Texans, spiraling to a seventh straight loss and finishing with a losing record.
Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard’s first NFL start came against the league’s most unforgiving defense, but was dealing when sticking to the game plan. Leonard was credited with three turnovers that all led to Houston scores, but one was on the last play of the game as the Colts deployed a pitchy-pitchy woo-woo in an attempt to lateral the ball
around, but Texans Tommy Togai recovered the loose ball and plunged into the end zone as time expired.
Leonard threw for 270 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. Receiver Alec Pierce torched Houston’s vaunted secondary for 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns before a controversial ejection, but the Colts’ late-season spiral continued in a 38-30 loss to the Texans on Sunday. The defeat was Indianapolis’ seventh straight to close the 2025 season.
Houston entered the finale as the NFL’s top defense in both points and yards allowed. The Texans largely lived up to that billing late, forcing a fourth-quarter interception and sealing the game with a fumble return touchdown as time expired. Still, the afternoon belonged to Leonard and Pierce, even in a loss that summed up a season of near-misses and frustration for Indianapolis.
Leonard, making his first professional start, wasted little time announcing himself. On his third snap, he launched a deep strike that traveled more than 54 air yards and hit Pierce in stride for a 66-yard touchdown — the longest reception by a Colts player this season. It was the type of fearless throw that defined Leonard’s debut, even against an elite Houston defense.
The Colts led 7-3 early and leaned into creativity to sustain drives. Head coach Shane Steichen dialed up a fake punt midway through the first quarter, with punter Rigoberto Sanchez completing a 16-yard pass to Mo Alie-Cox. The Colts hurried to the line afterward, catching the Texans with too many men on the field and extending the possession. Leonard capped the drive with an 11-yard read-option run that set up a 50-yard field goal from Blake Grupe, who finished a perfect December run by making all three attempts Sunday.
Houston answered with consistency rather than explosiveness. C.J. Stroud guided the Texans into scoring range repeatedly, but the Colts’ defense held firm early, forcing three field goals by Kaimi Fairbairn in the first half. A short-field touchdown following a Leonard fumble briefly swung momentum, yet Leonard responded with poise. Houston managed to reach the end zone three times, but just once on a true offensive drive.
Leonard faked the handoff to Taylor, set his feet and fired a 25-yard pass to receiver Josh Downs to march into Texans territory. The rookie commanded a 92-yard drive late in the second quarter that ended with his second touchdown pass to Pierce, an 8-yard strike that cut the deficit to 23-17 at halftime.
Pierce was nearly uncoverable, connecting again with Leonard for a 53-yard reception early in the third quarter to set up Leonard’s 1-yard rushing touchdown to give Indianapolis a 24-23 lead. By then, Pierce had surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season and cemented his status as the league’s most effective target in yards per catch for the second straight year. Pierce will end the season leading the league averaging 20.3 yards per catch, two yards shy of the same feat he accomplished last season.
The turning point came moments later. On third-and-goal late in the third quarter, Pierce was flagged and disqualified on a contested play in the end zone, ending his afternoon and removing Leonard’s most dangerous weapon. The Colts settled for a field goal instead, and Houston slowly reclaimed control behind Fairbairn’s steady leg and a timely interception by A.J. Huzzie early in the fourth quarter.
Leonard finished 21 of 34 with one interception, showing both the promise and growing pains expected from a rookie thrust into a difficult matchup. Indianapolis briefly retook the lead with a field goal midway through the fourth, but Fairbairn answered twice more, and the Texans’ defense delivered the final blow with a fumble return touchdown on the game’s last play.
For the Colts, the loss closed a season defined by transition and unanswered questions. After starting the season 7-1, the Colts lost all seven games after the late BYE week. But amid a seven-game skid, Leonard’s debut and Pierce’s breakout provided a glimpse of what Indianapolis hopes can be a potential future duo.
