Out with the old, in with the new.
There was a time when the Indianapolis Colts ruled the AFC South. Peyton Manning was torching all the division rivals and the Texans were still trying to find their identity.
In that same era, quarterback Philip Rivers was gun slinging for the then San Diego Chargers, prior to retiring.
This week, the youthful, energetic, pack-of-wild-dogs that are the Houston Texans 2025 defense are taking on Philip Rivers and the no-longer-on-top Colts.
If you caught last weekend’s
Colts game against Jacksonville Jaguars, you saw an un-retired Philip Rivers look as if he might need a walker to keep standing behind that Colts line under the pressure of the Glitter Kitties front 7.
As currently formidable as the Kitties’ D might seem, it’s not at the level of Matt Burke’s unit in H-Town.
As odd as the storyline has been for Rivers’ return to the NFL – and kudos to him for coming back in his 40s and not totally sucking against some lofty competitors – it’s very likely to end like General Custer at Little Big Horn.
Now, Rivers is clearly the “old” in the opening statement. Up next: the “New”.
Now, I’m not remotely close to the biggest fan of AI, and shame on anyone who uses it for the arts, but it has proven to be pretty accurate at times when it comes to parsing data and spitting out predictions.
Personally, this is my favorite so far:
Think of this for a moment. For Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud to be the best player in the NFL in 5 years, and still a Texan, there’s likely one or more Super Bowl Championships to back the #1 claim. And for that to happen, the Texans are going to have to stomp the Baby Horses, Glitter Kitties and BESFs an awful lot. I see nothing wrong with this.
And, all that starts this weekend as the Texans go for 9 in a row. If they do go on to defeat the Colts, and the Glitter Kitties somehow manage to ineptly lose to the 3-13 BESFs, Houston will 3-peat as AFC South Champions and jump to the #3 playoff spot.
Indianapolis Colts week 18 stats
- QB PHILIP RIVERS passed for 147 yards & TD in Week 17. Aims for his 5th in row vs. Hou. with 65+ comp. pct., 225+ pass yards, 2+ TD passes & 100+ rating. Completed 22 of 28 atts. (78.6 pct.) for 228 yards & 2 TD passes with 124.4 rating in his last game vs. Hou. (12/20/20).
- RB JONATHAN TAYLOR led team with 84 scrimmage yards (70 rush, 14 rec.) & had rush TD last week. Leads NFL in scrimmage TDs (20) & rush TDs (18), ranks 2nd in rush yards (1,559) & ranks 3rd in scrimmage yards (1,924) this season. Became 4th player ever with 18+ rush TDs in 2+ career seasons (2). Became 6th player all-time with 9,000+ scrimmage yards (9,028) & 75+ scrimmage TDs (76) in 1st 6 seasons. Has rush TD in 3 of his past 4. Had 121 scrimmage yards (85 rush, 36 rec.) in Week 13 meeting.
- WR JOSH DOWNS had 34 rec. yards in Week 17. Had 4 catches for 109 yards & TD in last meeting at Hou.
- WR MICHAEL PITTMAN has 5+ receptions in 10 of his past 11 on road.
- TE TYLER WARREN had 5 catches for 43 yards last week. Ranks 2nd among rookies in receptions (71) & ranks 3rd in rec. yards (791).
- TE MO ALIE-COX had 1st TD catch of season in Week 17.
- LB ZAIRE FRANKLIN had 5 tackles last week. Has 5+ tackles in each of his 7 games on road this season. Had 13 tackles in Week 13 meeting.
- LB GERMAINE PRATT had 7 tackles, 2 PD & INT in Week 17. Has PD in 7 of his past 8. Had 9 tackles, FF & PD in Week 13 meeting.
- DE LAIATU LATU had sack & PD last week. Aims for his 4th in row with sack.
- CB SAUCE GARDNER had 3 tackles & PD in Week 17. Has PD in 6 of his past 7 games.
- CB KENNY MOORE had 10 tackles & 2 TFL last week. Aims for his 4th in row vs. Hou. with 5+ tackles.
- S CAM BYNUM had 4 tackles in Week 17. Had 6 tackles, TFL & INT in Week 13 meeting.
- S NICK CROSS led team with 12 tackles & had TFL last week.
After failing to win a single game in his improbable return, the Baby Horses announced this week that “Old Man” Rivers will ride the bench this weekend in favor of “new” rookie QB Riley Leonard.
Leonard is not likely to strike fear in the Texans defense based on his formidable career stats:
- QB Riley Leonard has played in 4 games for the Colts. Completing 18 passes on 33 attempts for 145 yards, 8 first downs, 2 interceptions and 0 touchdowns. Riley has been sacked 1 time for a 9-yard loss and compiled an overall QB rating of 40.6
Meanwhile, this is the line Leonard has to work with going up against the worst defense in the NFL:
Granted, Riley is far more mobile than Rivers… which isn’t saying much.
Houston Texans week 18 stats
- TEXANS became 5th team since 1990 to begin 0-3 & qualify for playoffs. Need win & Jaguars loss to secure 3rd consecutive division title. Lead NFL in total defense (272.4 yards allowed per game) & scoring defense (16.6 points allowed per game) in 2025.
- QB C.J. STROUD passed for 244 yards & 2 TDs in Week 17. Has 240+ pass yards & 2+ TD passes in 2 of his past 3. Is 4-1 in 5 career starts vs. Ind. with 1,443 pass yards (288.6 per game) & 7 TDs vs. INT with 103.8 rating.
- RB WOODY MARKS (rookie) rushed for 71 yards last week. Has 65+ scrimmage yards in 4 of his past 5. Rushed for 64 yards in Week 13 meeting.
- WR NICO COLLINS had 57 rec. yards in Week 17. Aims for his 10th in row with 55+ rec. yards. Has 5+ catches & 90+ rec. yards in 4 of his 5 games vs. division this season. Had 5 receptions, 105 scrimmage yards (98 rec., 7 rush) & rush TD in Week 13 meeting.
- WR JAYDEN HIGGINS (rookie) had 88 rec. yards & 5th TD catch of season last week. Had 5 catches for 65 yards in Week 13 meeting.
- WR JAYLIN NOEL (rookie) had 54 rec. yards & TD catch in Week 17.
- DE DANIELLE HUNTER had 4 tackles & sack last week. Aims for his 5th in row at home with sack. Had PD in Week 13 meeting.
- DE WILL ANDERSON had 3 tackles, 2 TFL & half sack in Week 17. Ranks 5th in NFL with 19 TFL this season. Had 4 tackles & TFL in Week 13 meeting.
- DE DEREK BARNETT had 2 sacks last week. Aims for his 3rd in row with sack.
- DT DENICO AUTRY had sack & FF in Week 17.
- LB AZEEZ AL-SHAAIR had 6 tackles & INT last week. Has 6+ tackles in 4 of his past 5. Had 8 tackles in Week 13 meeting.
- LB HENRY TO’OTO’O led team with 12 tackles & had TFL in Week 17.
- CB KAMARI LASSITER had 6 tackles & PD last week. Aims for his 5th in row with PD.
- CB DEREK STINGLEY had 3 tackles & PD in Week 17. Has PD in 3 of his past 4.
Now, it’s pretty obvious glaring something wild – like a meteor strike on NRG stadium – that the Texans defense is going to dominate the Baby Horse offense.
But what about future #1 player Stroud and the oft-inept Nick Caley, OC of the Texans?
Once our offense gives us 7 points, it should be a mentality that that’s enough for us to go win the football game.“ – Demeco Ryans
Combine that with one of the recent talking heads to call a Texans game dropping this “well duh” comment:
The Texans are not a good red zone offense.
And you get this season full of nail-biter games where the defense looks absolutely elite while the offense seems like Caley can’t decide if he gets paid by the Texans or the opponents.
But, so far in 2025, the Texans offense has had a few games where the stars align and they pop off for a pile of points.
Seems like this weekend is due time for that to happen again.
Maybe I’m wrong and we get an ugly, low scoring affair. Maybe. But there’s something in the air… out with the old…
Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans prediction
Indianapolis Colts 12
Houston Texans 37
Count on at least 1 if not 2 defensive touchdowns, and a few big plays for the offense, wrapped up in a lot of stop-start offensive momentum that finally sees the dam burst late in the game.
Welcome to Houston, Riley Leo0nard – you have a problem.
