Battle Red Blog
The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of Week 18’s regular season finale:
A tale of two halves: With a slim chance for a home playoff game, Houston played most of its starters in a near-equal first half. However, if it seemed that Houston might be a bit distracted, it was because they kept one eye on the activities in Jacksonville. The Titans offered a brief glimmer of hope, going up 7-0. However, the Glitter Kitties were up 31-7 by halftime. With that knowledge, Houston turned this game into a glorified preseason affair, pulling key starters in the 2nd half. The ideal would have been a dominant Texans’ first half and bringing in the backups in a stress-free situation, but this worked out. Houston avoided any major injuries and secured the #5 seed.
A little humble pie for the defense: DB Jalen Pitre made headlines last week when he rated Houston’s defense second, (maybe), only to God. Religious beliefs notwithstanding, the defense came into this matchup against the Colts ranked 1st in yards and points allowed. They surrendered a season-high 30 points. Yes, the second half of the game saw Houston play backups against Colts’ starters. However, Texans starters surrendered 17 points in the 1st half. To slip in the points allowed ranking (now 2nd in the league) and to see the-going-nowhere Colts put up this kind of performance…it might burst some defensive egos. Ryans and Burke have some surefire ammo to puncture any defensive overconfidence.
Special Teams mostly good, save a 1st Quarter sequence: The Texans’ defense gets most of the headlines and praise. However, the Texans’ special teams are also formidable. Fairbairn was Fairbairn (more later). Townsend only punted three times, placing two of his punts well inside the 20. Kick coverage and returns were solid as well, and Noel trucked Colts PK Blake Grupe on a 3rd Quarter kick return. About the only negative was in the 1st Quarter, when the Colts managed to successfully executed a fake punt pass for a 16 yard gain. No sooner had the Colts done that, when the punt team went hurry-up, executing a QB/P sneak, catching the Texans in a mass substitution frenzy, yielding a 5-yard penalty. That drive resulted in a FG for the Colts. However, the Frank Ross unit had way more good than bad in this game.
The Decisive Play
1:52, 3rd Quarter: IND Ball, 3rd and Goal at the HOU 6. Leonard pass to Pierce Incomplete. 15-yard personal foul penalty on Pierce, Pierce Ejected
At the later part of the 3rd Quarter, Leonard continued his torrid passing pace, dicing up the Texans secondary and moving the Colts inside the HOU 6. At worst, the Colts figured to take the lead over the Texans, who led 26-24. Leonard took the snap in shotgun, looking to his top...
