The Texans held Peyton Manning to 76 yards passing and no TDs in the second half (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
In the end I'm not sure whether it was the awful start, the three turnovers, the thirteen penalties, or the lack of situational awareness by the coaching staff on Ryan Moats fumble at the 1 yard line that contributed most to the Texans 14th loss against Indy in 15 tries.
I'm almost willing to let the bad start slide because the Texans fought back to take the lead and eventually had the opportunity to win.
The penalties hurt, but the Texans were able to overcome them - for the most part.
The turnovers were killer. Schaub's pick with 2:20 remaining should have ended the game, but the defense, which played much better than the early stat lines showed, gave the Texans one last chance to tie.
Kris Brown should have made the kick - no excuses - and it certainly put a damper on that 56 yarder just before half. Too bad Jim Caldwell didn't call another time out.
The play sequence that really hurt the Texans was when Ryan Moats fumbled at the 1 yard line just before the two minute warning in the first half.
Shame on Moats for pulling a Slaton, but double shame on the Texans coaching staff for lolly-gagging around and letting the clock run down to 2:00 when everyone watching the game knew it was a fumble.
Gary Kubiak has been criticized less this year for game management issues, but his (and his upstairs coaches) lack of situational awareness at that point helped to ruin a 12 play 73 yard drive that cost the Texans a touchdown at a point when the defense was gaining control and momentum was clearly shifting.
I was probably among thousands of Texans fans yelling 'run a play!' after the first replay of Moats' fumble, but instead the Texans let a good 20 seconds run off the clock to 2:00 where the play received additional scrutiny. For that, I throw the red flag at the Texans coaching staff for being asleep at the wheel. Why did the guys in the booth not see what Solomon Wilcots and everyone else was seeing?
See game photos below.
The game looked like it was going to careen out of control early and it's amazing that the Texans were able to come back and make it close.
I peeked at the game stats at the 13:01 mark of the second quarter and the Colts led in 1st downs 15-0, total yards 196-12, and passing yards 176-5 to go along with the Texans 7 penalties. If the Texans defense hadn't made two stops forcing field goals, it could have easily been 21-0 early.
This game started just like the good old days when we used to go up there and get blown out 49-14.
But credit the defense for holding tough and credit the offense for getting their act together in the second half to make a game of it. In other words, the adjustments worked. Almost.
The problem was that the Texans were their own worst enemy - again. You can overcome only so many mistakes.
Despite the early lopsidedness and Peyton's gaudy stats in the first half the Texans came back to out-gain the Colts on the day 382 to 378 and win time of possession by a whopping 9 minutes.
But stats are for losers in this case as it came down to the drive killing turnovers and inattention by the coaching staff on Moats' fumble that ultimately doomed the Texans.
The Texans o-line kept Schaub fairly clean, allowing only two sacks but Schaub clearly missed Owen Daniels. New starting tight end Joel Dreessen had only two catches for 15 yards.
It's going to be a long two weeks to carry this bad taste around. No moral victories. We've been down that road too many times.
The Texans should have won this game today and they know it. At 6-3 they could have solidified their playoff position but they didn't. Instead, they fall behind San Diego who's now in the 6th seed and into a mix with three teams at 4-4.
The only way to avenge this loss is to win the next two against the Titans and Colts. That would put the Texans back on track at 7-4, give them a 3-2 record in division and 6-3 in conference as they head into another revenge game at Jacksonville.
If I'm Gary Kubiak giving the guys the bye week farewell speech on Monday, I'm giving them that goal upon returning to work.
Comments
Self destruct? Your columns, AJ, are some of the most even keeled. Even this one. But your headline reeks of headline grabbing hyperbole. We saw a team play their butts off, even when down to one of the best teams in the league. They put themselves in position to win if the coin flipped right. Kris Brown missed, and he has been way too consistent to criticize for one kick (which you didn't). But by no means is battling back in a game you are "supposed" to lose by 9 on the road a self destruction. No, instead, a galliant effort
@JMay - just for you, I'll change the headline to 'No Moral Victories.'
I gotta agree with JMAY, I come away from this loss with a "half-full" verdict on the Texans. I dunno why Brown doesn't make that kick when he makes one about 15 yards longer at the end of the first half ? Same reason the other Brown fumbled at the GL vs the Jags and prempts another chance for the Texans in OT ? Must be the boogie-man ?
My real complaint is how come the Texans offense comes out so cold in the first half and kept giving the ball back to Peyton ?
How many times has Kubiak/little-Shanny played up in Indy by now ? It's like they didn't know the crowd up there was loud, or they hadn't heard they have a guy named Freeney who plays for them ? How many times do the Texans & Kubiak have to visit Indy
to get ready for the Colts, which BTW was missing just about their entire seconday including ProBowler Sanders ?
The picture you have there clearly shows the fumble before Moats is out of bounds. The ball is touching Bethea who is clearly out of bounds. I was under the impression that the ball is 'dead' if a player is out of bounds and touches the ball. I'm going to try to look this up, but if you know what the rule is, please let me know. I'm curious.
I would also like to know why it was rules a 'touchback' when the guy grabs it on the one, and goes out of bounds voluntarily at the one...
As a colts fan my hats off to the Texans. They played an excellent game.I believe the flags were fair. When you play with alot of emotion you tend to commit more penalties. The game could have gone either way. The Colts were able to take advantage of mistakes and pulled out a win. Its what seasoned good teams do.If the Texans can stay together they will be able to do the same in the future. Hopefully just not against the colts. It will be a great game in a few weeks.I just hope the colts are healthy to give you a real game.
I am tired of being "in the position to win." That means the other team is also in the same position, which leads to a 50-50 chance and a 500 team. You want to win? Go into the 4th quarter with a 17 point lead. Dominate a game from start to finish. Then you will start to win. Until then expect 8-8.
No, there are no moral victories and I doubt they're taking it that way in the lockerroom. But as non participants we can look at the situation and be realistic. Realistically, the Colts are a better team (though not by a ton) and we can hope to split with them. Realistically, that's more likely to happen at home.
They (at lest the O) played poorly in the first half, took a punch in the mouth, and fought their way back in. Driving to get a 42 yard field goal to tie the game isn't self destructing but doing what it takes to put yourself in position to win.
Like all Texans fans today, I'm still in a state of shock. 6-3, we should be 6-3.
Kubiak's apparently still learning. Sometimes I forget that he's only been a head coach in this league one more year than Okoye's been a player.
@ChrisB, as I understand it, the play was correctly ruled a touchback because Powers (#25) touched the ball as it was laying on the goal line with only one foot down. At least that's what the official said during his explanation. If Powers had two feet down, he could have picked it up and ran with it. With only one foot down, he hadn't fully re-established position so it's treated like a fumble out of the back or side of the endzone. I'm checking on the dead ball rule because I agree the ball touched Bethea's left arm while Bethea's right leg (and maybe even his elbow) was out of bounds. I've stop actioned it a million times and it seems to me that the part they didn't get right was a dead ball ruling at that point and it shouldn't have mattered what happened after that. I have an expert source on this and I'm in the process of getting an answer.
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