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Far from a perfect ending for the Texans

EDDIE LEE
NFLPosts.com Editor

For the Texans, Sunday’s 35-27 loss to the Colts is just the latest punch in the gut for a franchise unfortunate enough to grow up and play in the same division as Peyton Manning during his glory years.

More numbing perhaps has to be a growing sense that no matter how much talent the Texans accrue, no matter that they always seem to be this close to the Colts, somehow, someway, Manning or some other mystical force always ends up pulling their rug.

Earlier this season, Kris Brown missed the potential tying FG with time expiring. Last year, Sage Rosenfels single-handedly turned a 27-10 fourth-quarter lead into a 31-27 loss.

For a franchise that’s only played 8 seasons, the losses are quickly starting to blur into one another, yet always with some sort of tragic twist. With Sunday’s loss, Houston is now 1-15 against Indianapolis.

There’s danger in putting too much stock in a game, especially when the opponent is undefeated and on a historic roll: The Colts (11-0) have now won 20 regular season games in a row, one less than the record set by the New England Patriots from 2006-08.

But for the 5-6 Texans, the Colts have become their Moby-Dick, the great whale that is both the hunted and their epic destroyer.

This is how much Indy affects Houston. With a chance to draft Vince Young and Reggie Bush in 2006, Houston opted, correctly, for Mario Williams, a pass-rushing DE to combat Manning. Any team measures its season by playoff success. For the Texans, they know their post-season journey is largely affected by their games against the Colts.

On Sunday, they came out breathing fire and jumped out to a 17-0 lead. Even at the half, the Texans had the Colts where they wanted. They were up 20-7, had nearly double the Colts’ yardage and forced Manning into 2 INTs.

But great whales aren’t caught easy, are they?

And when the Colts turned their opening second-half possession into a TD, a gorgeous Reggie Wayne 4-yard fade, to close to 20-14, the Texans collar got tight. More specifically, the collar of one Matt Schaub.

Schaub had been almost perfect in the first half (14-17 for 152 yards and 1 TD), but when the Colts defense showed its colors — even without an injured Dwight Freeney, Schaub made like Rosenfels, throwing two picks and coughing up a fumble with the game on the line. One of the interceptions, returned for 27 yards for a TD by Clint Session, was the back breaker.

Schaub finished 31-of-42 for 284 yards and 2 TDs, respectable stats aided by a last-minute TD drive that served to provide an interesting onside kick attempt.

Manning (27-35, 244 yards) was not perfect either, throwing 2 picks for the third straight game, but there was never any sense that this game was out of reach. Not because the Texans always lose to the Colts, but because the MVP candidate just won’t let it happen.

He rallied his team with TD passes to Pierre Garçon, Wayne and Dallas Clark and the defense, like it has all season, did the rest. A no-name bunch that’s middle of the pack in terms of yardage but the league leader in points allowed going into Sunday.

They’ll bend but often make their own breaks, like the Session interception of the Schaub fumble caused by DE Robert Mathis that effectively shut the door on the Texans’ hope of relevance in the AFC South for another season.

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