The Indianapolis Colts (1-1) grabbed their first victory of the season in a 31-20 win over the Houston Texans (0-2) on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
The Colts were leading from the first drive of the game in this one thanks to two rushing touchdowns from rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, the second of which came off the back of a turnover from the defense.
Buy Colts TicketsThe Colts have an even record entering Week 3 for the first time since 2019, and the status of Richardson will be the big storyline throughout the week.
Here’s our instant analysis of the Week 2 win for the Colts:
What went right
- QB Anthony Richardson looked really good before exiting with a concussion. He looked poised and accurate as a passer and added two rushing touchdowns early in the fourth quarter.
- QB Gardner Minshew was fantastic in relief, completing 19-of-23 passes for 171 yards, one touchdown and a 112.1 passer rating.
- The offense gained 353 total yards and averaged 6.3 yards per play. They also were 6-of-12 on third down and a perfect 4-of-4 in the red zone.
- RB Zack Moss took 18 carries for 88 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown while adding four receptions for 19 receiving yards.
- The Colts defense recorded six sacks and nine quarterback hits.
- On top of that, the defense recorded 10 tackles for loss.
- The run defense was stout, containing the Texans offense to 23 carries for 51 rushing yards. They allowed a long run of 10 yards.
- The offensive line allowed no sacks and just one quarterback hit.
- The red-zone defense was stout, allowing just 1-of-4 trips inside the 20-yard line to be a touchdown.
What went wrong
- QB Anthony Richardson and C Ryan Kelly both suffered concussions.
- The defense struggled at times to get off the field, allowing the Texans to convert 9-of-19 attempts on third down and both of their fourth-down attempts.
- The secondary struggled to contain Texans WR Nico Collins, who went off for seven receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown.
- Though a few were questionable, the Colts had eight penalties for 42 yards.
The Bottom Line
The Colts should have won this game considering how depleted the Texans roster was, and they were able to take care of business. The offense looked extremely strong with Richardson under center, and it didn’t stop humming with Minshew. The defensive line was able to make impact plays throughout the game. They were leading for the entire game and never looked like they were going to give up that lead. It will be a much tougher test against the Baltimore Ravens, but this was a pretty dominant effort on both sides of the ball against an inferior team.
