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The Indianapolis Colts entered Week 13 with a perfect home record. They carried legitimate AFC playoff aspirations and an opportunity to create separation in a crowded postseason race. Instead, they walked out of Lucas Oil Stadium stunned. They absorbed a frustrating, controversial, but ultimately self-inflicted 20-16 loss to the division rival Houston Texans.
What made it worse wasn’t just the dropped passes, the missed opportunities, or the officiating controversies. It was the unmistakable sense that the Colts had control early, only to let the game slip away. They had unforced errors that championship-caliber teams just cannot afford in December.
With CJ Stroud returning to the field for Houston and Daniel Jones battling through a leg injury, the game swung on a handful of pivotal moments. These included a missed extra point, a questionable pass interference call, a turnover on downs late, and a failed fourth-and-one earlier in the red zone. Indy also saw drops from the team’s top receivers. Add it all up, and the Colts’ first home loss of the season felt like a summation of critical flaws that finally caught up.
The Texans weathered an early deficit. They capitalized on Indy’s mistakes and delivered the dagger with a late defensive stand. The Colts made a final push with a touchdown strike from Jones to Tyler Warren. However, when the final drive fell apart on drops and a fourth-down miss, their fate was sealed. Now 8-4, Indianapolis must face the reality that they let a winnable game slip through their fingers.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss the Colts most to blame for their Week 13 loss to Texans.
It’s rare that a first-half extra point becomes one of the defining moments of a game. In Week 13, though, Michael Badgley’s missed PAT after Alec Pierce’s touchdown may have been the single most consequential play of the afternoon.
At the time, it felt like a minor annoyance. It’s something that could be erased with a field goal or another touchdown later. However, as the Colts’ offense sputtered in key situations, that missed point loomed larger and larger.
By the fourth quarter, the stakes were clear: instead of trailing by three and setting up for a potential game-tying field goal, the Colts were down by four. That margin forced Indianapolis to abandon its kicking option on the final drive.
When the Colts reached the Texans’ 31-yard line, analytics and common sense aligned. A successful PAT earlier in the game would have allowed them to attempt a chip-shot field goal. Instead, Jones and the offense were forced to go for it on fourth down. The attempt failed, the ball turned over, and the game was effectively lost.
Badgley has been reliable for much of the season. Sunday’s miss, though, couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Jonathan Taylor fought for every yard he could muster. He finished with a respectable 85 yards on 21 carries. However, Houston’s defense...
