Johnson double helps Colts conquer Texans
Hasselbeck impresses as Indianapolis renew AFC South dominance
>> HOUSTON: Wide receiver Andre Johnson scored twice against his former team, and the Indianapolis Colts recorded their 16th consecutive intradivision win with a 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night at NRG Stadium.
Johnson, who caught 64 touchdown passes over 12 seasons in Houston before being released during the off-season, had scoring grabs of four and two yards from Matt Hasselbeck while finishing with six receptions for 77 yards.
The Colts (3-2) won their third consecutive game and extended their streak within the AFC South, where they last lost in Dec 16, 2012, at Houston.
Hasselbeck, who battled illness during the short week, completed 18 of 29 passes for 213 yards with no interceptions. Colts running back Frank Gore added 98 yards on 22 carries, including a three-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, who entered midway through the second quarter, engineered four scoring drives and threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-31 passing. However, his interception with 1:45min to play, the second pick of the game for Colts safety Mike Adams, sealed the loss.
Houston (1-4) also were undone by 13 penalties for 125 yards.
Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins finished with 11 catches for 169 yards.
Keyed by an interception from Adams that stalled a promising Texans opening drive, the Colts discovered a quick rhythm and scored to close three consecutive possessions to take a 13-0 lead.
Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett led Houston into the red zone before Adams snagged a deflected pass intended for Adrian Foster and returned it 38 yards. Five plays later, Adam Vinatieri nailed the first of his two first-half field goals, a 48-yarder that gave the Colts a 3-0 lead.
On their second possession, the Colts covered 60 yards in six plays, with Johnson capping that march with a four-yard scoring grab, his first career touchdown against Houston. It wasn’t until Vinatieri drilled a 42-yard field goal on the ensuing Colts possession that the Texans mounted their comeback, with Hoyer entering midway through the second quarter to lead a 12-play, 62-yard drive culminating in a Nick Novak field goal.
Mallett departed with an injury midway through the second quarter.
Hoyer ensured that he would be the Texans’ quarterback in the second half with his 42-yard scoring pass to rookie Jaelen Strong on the final snap of the second quarter, a Hail Mary that capped a nine-play, 95-yard blitz over just 1:16 and cut the Colts lead to 13-10 at the intermission.
Texans running back Arian Foster left the game in the first half. He was taken to the locker room to be tested for a head injury. When trainers claimed Foster’s helmet, he was visibly upset, spiking a plastic Gatorade drink carrier near the Houston bench.
Foster returned to action in the third quarter, and he finished with 19 carries for 41 yards.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys will unleash controversial new signing Greg Hardy against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots today as they attempt to stop their injuryravaged season from sliding into negative territory.
The early optimism of the Cowboys’ 2-0 start has been punctured by a devastating array of injuries which have sidelined quarterback Tony Romo, star receiver Dez Bryant, key linebacker Sean Lee and running back Lance Dunbar.
The Cowboys have slipped to 2-2 since Romo’s absence, a record most pundits expect to become 2-3 after Patriots’ trip to Texas for week five’s glamour match-up.