Texans Closer Than Ever, But Still Unable To Win In Indy

It takes a couple of days to recover from a missed opportunity like that one was.

Despite letting Peyton Manning slice up the Texans defense in the first half worse than Dexter Morgan would his victim, Houston had many chances to win this game. And even in the end, with the defense playing out of its mind again (which is becoming par for the second half of games this year), Kris Brown had the opportunity to send the game into overtime with a game tying field goal as regulation expired. Mr. Automatic. Little Golden Foot. The guy who had hit a 56 yarder earlier in the afternoon. A 42 yarder being missed didn’t even creep into my mind. But, in usual Texans vs. Colts fashion, history should have been an indicator that he was going to miss. Wide left. Colts win…AGAIN.

Matt Schaub got off to a slow start and would probably be fine if he never sees Colts DE Dwight Freeney ever again...

I have said before that I would rather lose a game by two touchdowns than lose this way. At the final moment. Thus, ripping out the heart of Houston sports fans all over the city. What is sad is that it has happened three of the four times Houston has lost this season. The Texans lost to Jacksonville and Arizona by 7 and now The Colts by 3. And all three of those games, we lost on a final play that would have tied the game. That’s the kind of things that keep a good team from being a great team. The inability to finish. Now, who’s to say if Houston doesn’t lose in overtime? Who knows. But you have to tie it before you have the opportunity to win it. That is what is the difference between a possible 8-1 record and the 5-4 record they have.

With the way the game began, I was pretty sure that Houston was being exposed. They looked completely out of their element. It appeared by the end of the 1st quarter that Indianapolis was going to just flat out embarrass Houston. Manning was unstoppable, which wasn’t a surprise, and the Houston offense went three and out twice and an interception once in their first three possessions.

After falling behind 13-0, Matt Schaub led one of those 8 minute drives that took Houston all the way to the red zone. Just when it looked as if Houston was about to score, Ryan Moats was brought down at the 1 yard line nearing the two minute warning until halftime. They got back to the line and decided to let the clock run down until said mentioned two minute warning. Which turned out to be a big mistake. Because this gave Colts head Coach Jim Caldwell plenty of time to notice that there was a questionable call on the field. It appeared as if Ryan Moats fumbled on the goalline as he went out of bounds. Well, even though the ball was whistled dead by an official standing about a foot away from the play, the challenge was upheld and Indy got the ball on their own 20 after a touchback.

For The Love of God...Stop. Fumbling. THE BALL!!!

There has been plenty of criticism towards Moats, Gary Kubiak, Matt Schaub and all the assistant coaches for not making sure Houston ran the next play real fast. I was one of them at first. But, if the ball was whistled dead by a ref standing right in front of the play, I can see why they didn’t think it was an issue. There is a lot of debate over this topic right now and I am sure the Texans brass is going to send the tape into the league office to be reviewed. Even though it doesn’t matter now. The bottom line is that Ryan Moats got the start over Steve Slaton because Slaton couldn’t quit fumbling the ball. He seizes the opportunity by doing the same thing. At the goalline. Ouch.

The second half for Houston was like a completely new team. After 17 unanswered points, Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson had led Houston to a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter. In Indy. Like many events for Houston this year, that was a foreign event.

On the next Colts possession, Bernard Pollard intercepted a poor throw from Reggie Wayne (Yes, you read that right…) for his second pick of the day. Just when it looked like Houston would have the opportunity to take control of the game, some questionable play calling was made. A rush and then a couple of sump passes led to a very quick three and out. This is, of course, when Matt Turk had his worse punt of the day. Manning quickly led the Colts down the field to take back the lead at 20-17 with about 7 minutes remaining. Plenty of time. Well, you would think. Matt Schaub was cruising along until Chris Myers got completely blown up at the line of scrimmage and Schaub got clubbed in the head. The result was a Chris Sessions interception that appeared to seal the game.

But, the Houston defense simply would not be denied as they were finally able to put consistent pressure on Manning and got the three and out. Houston got the ball back with 1:46 remaining, but no timeouts left. No problem, as Schaub was quick and accurate and took them 53 yards as one second remained on the clock. This set up the inevitable Kris Brown miss.

Yes, we all made a face quite similar to the usually automatic Kris Brown after the miss...

As it showed Kris Brown lying on the field, disgusted with himself, you could see the look on every Texans players faces. They looked like their dog had just been hit by a car. The feeling was pretty much unanimous all through Houston. All we could do was look on in disgust and disappointment as we fell to 1-14 all time against The Colts.

Yes, it was tough, but the team showed amazing heart to have an opportunity to tie or even win this game. Their resiliency is becoming amazing, as they don’t seem to have one ounce of quit in them. Most teams would have mailed it in after the way the game started and they appeared to be getting hosed by some of the questionable penalty calls. But they never gave up. And that has to count for something.

I’m not a big “Moral Victory” guy, but this was certainly one. And you better believe this team is going to be chomping at the bit to get back on the field on Monday Night Football on November 23rd. And I’m sure they have their calendars circled for November 29th when they get another crack at The Colts in Houston. As always, highlights below.

Tags: Andre Johnson, Arizona Cardinals, Bernard Pollard, Chris Myers, Chris Sessions, Dwight Freeney, Gary Kubiak, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jim Caldwell, Kris Brown, Matt Schaub, Matt Turk, Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Ryan Moats, Steve Slaton, Tennessee Titans