By James Boyd, Tobias Bass and Larry Holder
A solid outing by C.J. Stroud and a 100-yard performance from Joe Mixon helped the Houston Texans hang on to a 23-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium on Sunday.
Houston rode Mixon heavily to the tune of 25 carries, while Stroud threw for 285 yards on 37 attempts with one touchdown.
The Texans quarterback easily outplayed Colts starter Anthony Richardson, who entered halftime 2 of 15 for 81 yards a touchdown and a costly interception he threw with 34 seconds left in the second quarter. His two completions were the least of any quarterback with 15 attempts at the half in 30 years. He ended with just 10 completions on 32 attempts for 175 yards on a 48.3 passer rating.
A scary moment for the Texans when star wide receiver Stefon Diggs went down with a non-contact knee injury late in the third quarter. He fell to the ground grabbing his right knee. Diggs, 30, exited with five catches and 81 yards receiving.
The Texans now move to 6-2 and have beaten the Colts (4-4) in five out of their last six games and own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Richardson’s up-and-down day
Richardson started 1-of-7 passing Sunday, though he was throwing the ball well. The Colts QB’s incompletions were more a result of Houston’s defensive backs making a few nice plays on the ball than Richardson being inaccurate. Richardson finally broke the Texans’ defense with a 69-yard TD pass to wide receiver Josh Downs late in the first quarter, which was the longest pass of Richardson’s career.
But it was tough sledding from there. Richardson didn’t complete a pass for the rest of the first half and threw his seventh interception of the year. He picked it up in the second half, including a 24-yard completion to Downs in the fourth quarter that set up Jonathan Taylor up for a 1-yard TD run two plays later.
On a head-scratching sequence in the third quarter, Richardson left the game for one play after he was sacked by Houston linebacker Jake Hansen. Richardson tapped his helmet following the play to let the coaching staff know he needed a sub, but per the CBS broadcast, Richardson was just “a little shaken up, a little out of breath,” and not injured. Richardson was replaced by Joe Flacco and returned to the game on the next drive. He did not miss any more offensive snaps. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer
Colts stars back in action
Taylor returned from a right high ankle sprain that had sidelined him since Week 4. He racked up 20 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown Sunday to notch the 19th 100-yard rushing game of his career and his third this season.
Indianapolis’ defense also received a boost with the return of DeForest Buckner. The star defensive tackle sustained a right high ankle sprain in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve. He registered one sack and two QBs hits in his first game in over a month, but it wasn’t enough to help the Colts notch their third straight win. — Boyd
Required reading
- NFL playoff projections 2024: The Athletic’s model predicts the field
- NFL Week 8 scores and live updates: News, inactives, predictions, odds, schedule, channels
- Colts are about to embark on a brutal stretch. Is defense ready? Is Anthony Richardson?
- Return of the veteran RB? Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and early glimmers of a revival
(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
