Houston Texans, NFL

Penalties, secondary woes plague Texans in loss to Colts

By DENNIS SILVA II, Times Sports Editor
Posted 10/20/19

A depleted Texans secondary was helpless against Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Sunday, Oct. 20, as Brissett torched the hapless defensive backfield for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-23 Colts win at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Houston Texans, NFL

Penalties, secondary woes plague Texans in loss to Colts

Posted

A depleted Texans secondary was helpless against Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Sunday, Oct. 20, as Brissett torched the hapless defensive backfield for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-23 Colts win at Lucas Oil Stadium.

With no timeouts and the ball at its own 36-yard line with 1:41 left, trailing 30-23, Houston got to midfield before Colts linebacker Darius Leonard picked off Keke Coutee’s juggle of a Deshaun Watson pass to seal the win for Indianapolis.

The Colts take over first place in the AFC South at 4-2. The Texans drop to 4-3.

The Texans’ three losses have come by a combined 15 points.

“You are what your record says you are,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “We’re 4-3. We have a lot of improvement to make. There’s a lot of football left and it’s about how fast we can improve and get better to play better against Oakland (on Sunday).”

With Houston already missing starting cornerback Bradley Roby (strained hamstring), starting safety Tashaun Gipson (back) and starting cornerback Johnathan Joseph (shoulder) also left the Colts game early due to injury. Cornerback Phillip Gaines left in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.

Brissett took advantage. Boasting the fourth-best rushing offense in the NFL, Indianapolis picked Houston apart early and often with its passing game.

The Colts managed 62 yards on 24 carries, or 2.4 yards per carry, but Brissett completed passes to eight different receivers and threw touchdowns to three different receivers.

Indianapolis had 18 first downs via passing, none via rushing.

“The goal is to stop the run, and we did that effectively, but we let them get too many passing yards,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “Give credit to them and their quarterback. He took a ton of hits and he kept popping up; I respect the hell out of that. I respect that toughness. I respect the way he plays.”

Offensively, the Texans failed to sustain much of an offensive rhythm until late in the game. The running game (100 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries) was mediocre. After combining for 84 points and 1,064 yards in the previous two wins against Atlanta and Kansas City, Houston produced just two offensive touchdowns.

Watson completed 23 of 34 passes for 308 yards and one touchdown to two interceptions. He was sacked three times after not being sacked in either of the previous two games.

Running backs Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson, each of whom played admirably in the previous week’s win over Kansas City, combined for 69 yards on 19 carries.

Most significantly: on five red zone trips, the Texans settled for field goals on three of them. The Colts scored touchdowns on all four of their red zone appearances.

“We didn’t struggle; they just had a disciplined defense,” Watson said. “They didn’t give up the big plays. They had a lot of zone coverage. They sat on everything. Of course we want to score and get it in, but you’ve got to give them credit. They did their job.

“When the plays are there, we’ve got to connect. We didn’t execute enough to be able to capitalize.”

The Texans had 10 penalties for 54 yards. On the opening drive of the game, when Houston moved the ball well, the Texans were set back by two illegal formation penalties. The Texans’ final drive consisted of a false start by offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil that cost five yards and resulted in 10 seconds being removed off the clock.

The Colts had five first downs because of Texans penalties.

“These games come down to penalties,” O’Brien said. “We have too many self-inflicted penalties. Anytime you lose yardage, that hurts you. We have to clean up, coach it better. We’ve got to stop doing it. It comes down to us coaching better, demanding more, and guys being more consistent.”

Entering the Colts game, the Texans ranked eighth in the NFL in penalty yards per game at 70.2.

NO WORRIES ABOUT PICKS

Watson has thrown four interceptions in the last two games after throwing one in the previous five games.

But O’Brien is not concerned. At all.

“You have to look at the interceptions,” O’Brien said. “I mean, there should be categories for interceptions. I don’t think twice about them. I have so much trust in that guy that he’s going to make the right decisions. Interceptions are going to happen. The ball will be batted or they’ll have a good coverage call … I’m not concerned about that at all.”

Watson agreed, breaking down both of his giveaways against the Colts.

“The last one tipped up off Coutee’s hands. Darius made a great play,” Watson said. “The other one, I was throwing it back; against zone coverage, I was trying to get it to my tight end, my checkdown, and when I turned and was throwing, I think it was (Colts defensive lineman Denico Autry) in my face … I couldn’t come all the way down and (the ball) sailed on me. (Colts defensive back Pierre Desir) was sitting right there in the perfect position. I could’ve taken the sack, but I was trying to hit my checkdown and it just sailed on me.”

FAIRBAIRN BOUNCES BACK

After missing a field goal and extra-point attempt the previous week at Kansas City, Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn redeemed himself against the Colts.

Fairbairn connected on all three of his field goal attempts—from 47, 31 and 26 yards, respectively—and made both of his extra-point attempts.

“We have a lot of confidence in Ka’imi,” O’Brien said. “He kept us in there. He’s made a lot of big kicks for us. He kept us in the game.”

STILLS RETURNS

After missing the previous two games with a concussion, receiver Kenny Stills made his return to the field in a big way against the Colts.

Stills caught four passes for 105 yards. He was targeted five times.

“He’s a guy like Hop (DeAndre Hopkins) that can go deep, make some big-time plays,” Watson said. “He wanted that opportunity, he got it and he took advantage of it. He’s a great addition to this football team.”

Hopkins caught nine balls for 106 yards.

Houston Texans, NFL