The last time the Indianapolis Colts faced off against the Houston Texans, the Colts rolled under head coach Frank Reich, defeating the Davis Mills-led Texans by 28 points at Lucas Oil Stadium.
This time, the Texans will be led by veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor, giving Houston a dual threat in the backfield to take on a talented Colts' defense.
After playing 13 straight games, the Colts get a much-deserved bye week after the Week 13 battle with the Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston. Will the Colts overlook their AFC South foe Texans, who are down and out this season? Or will the Colts handle their business and get a chance to truly enjoy the late-season bye week?
Horseshoe Huddle's Zach Hicks, Andrew Moore, Jake Arthur and Josh Carney all took a shot at predicting the outcome of the Week 13 matchup between the Colts and Texans.
Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) (7-3): Despite a tough loss a week ago, the Colts be playing their best football of the season. The offense dropped 41 and 31 points, respectively, on two top 5 defenses and the Colts’ defense had relative success against two top QBs. With the Houston Texans on deck, the Colts have to come out and show the rest of the league that they belong in the playoffs. I think this one could get ugly.
Pick: Colts 38, Texans 17
Andrew Moore (@AndrewMooreSI) (9-1): The Colts only have one more game between them and their Bye week. While the Colts dominated the Texans in October, they’re a team that can't be overlooked as Indy’s margin for error is next to nothing. Expect the Colts offense to have success through the air and on the ground as Carson Wentz and Jonathan Taylor look to keep the offense rolling. While Tyrod Taylor will be at quarterback for the Texans instead of Davis Mills, the Colts pass rush should be able to get pressure against a bad Texan’s offensive line. With the Colts offense and pass rush better than the last time these two met, I expect a blowout once again.
Pick: Colts 38, Texans 10
Jake Arthur (@JakeArthurNFL): (7-2): The Colts have played well against the NFL's lower-level teams this season, which describes the Texans (2-9). Aside from the fact the Colts already beat Houston once this season -- 31-3 in Week 6 -- the Colts haven't lost consecutive games this season ever since notching their first victory in Week 4. They just took the reigning NFL champs and arguably the NFL's most-complete team to the brink last week, so the Texans shouldn't be an issue. With that said, the Colts won't win by 28 points this time around with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.
Pick: Colts 30, Texans 13
Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney) (8-2): What the Colts have done the last two weeks offensively against two of the top defenses in football leads me to believe that the Texans stand no shot at slowing down Indianapolis in Week 13. After many questions about the lack of run-pass balance from a play-calling perspective against the Buccaneers, Frank Reich comes out leaning on Jonathan Taylor early. From there, the rout is on for the Colts.
Pick: Colts 40, Texans 20
Have thoughts on the predictions from Horseshoe Huddle's experts regarding Colts-Texans? Drop a line in the comments section below letting us know how you feel!
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