After Further Review: Colts at Texans

With Andrew Luck sitting out a second straight game Thursday night against Houston, the Colts were again led by the ailing Matt Hasselbeck. Just like last week, the Colts were able to squeak out a win over the Texans 27-20, and extend their AFC South winning streak to 16 games, an NFL record. With this win the Colts have won three straight and are riding high as they turn their attention to the Patriots in week 6. First, let’s talk about what we can take away from Thursday’s game.

Takeaway number 1: Were you worried about Hasselbeck?

As I stated on Monday in my Jaguars edition of this piece, if Andrew Luck couldn’t play on Thursday night, I wouldn’t be worried if Hasselbeck went under center either. Both quarterbacks are capable of leading teams to victory, and Hasselbeck proved that again last night.

If anything I was worried about the Colts protecting Hasselbeck against J.J. Watt and a terrific Texans pass rush. The Colts line was successful against Jacksonville because the Jaguars have a relatively non-existent pass rush. I was afraid that J.J. Watt was going to force Hasselbeck to retire early if he got to him on Thursday. However, Hasselbeck was not sacked, which shows that the Colts have to be figuring it out in some respect on the line. This is promising, since Andrew Luck will presumably be back next Sunday.

Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) scrambles against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

As for keeping Luck out for this game, I completely agree with the decision. The biggest game of the Colts season is always against the Patriots, and for as great as Hasselbeck has played the past two weeks, they need Luck to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots. Especially since the Patriots will be out for blood as this is their first match-up since the “Deflategate” game last year.

Lastly, Hasselbeck turned in a Jordan flu game-esque performance last night, passing for 213 yards and two touchdowns while dealing with a virus that put him in the emergency room Tuesday night. Apparently he was still feeling the effects of this virus as he said before the game that he “just wanted to make it through four quarters”. This ailment also rendered him unable to talk at Wednesday’s meetings, Andrew Luck had to speak for him.

If that isn’t Jordan-esque, I don’t know what is.

Takeaway number 2: Andre Johnson is alive!

It’s clear that Andre Johnson read my piece on Monday and saw that I had “given up” on him, after his goose-egg versus Jacksonville. However, against his former team, in his former stadium, he rose to the occasion. His 77 yards and two touchdowns paced the Colts’ passing attack throughout the night.

It was encouraging to see Johnson gain some rapport with Hasselbeck, as he has struggled to do that with both Luck and Hasselbeck. As Luck returns it will be interesting to see if that rapport stays with Johnson. Ultimately, I do think his great performance last night was a result of heightened emotions. He was playing his former team of 12 years, that essentially kicked him to curb in the offseason, and it makes sense that he wanted to play well against them.

I am not entirely sold on Johnson quite yet, he needs to string a few of those games in a row for me to believe he is still a consistent threat.

Takeaway number 3: This was a huge momentum building win 

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I think most people wrote the Colts off in this game, they didn’t think Hasselbeck could string together consistent outings, especially versus J.J. Watt. They thought that Arian Foster would run rampant over the Colts, which he normally does. In the end Foster only ran for 41 yards and Hasselbeck threw two touchdowns. The Colts played the underdog role well on Thursday and it really set the tone for them.

From watching locker room videos and reading players’ tweets after the game last night, it seemed as though this game has been the most important so far for the Colts. They were able to beat a divisional opponent, on the road, with a sick back-up QB. That has to fire up that locker room, and it comes at the perfect time, as they’ll need plenty of fire to beat the Patriots on October 18.

The Colts further cemented their place atop the AFC South, and as for now it looks as though they are back on track. Enjoy the win, but on Monday get jacked up, it’s rivalry week!