Barring a tie, either the Houston Texans or Indianapolis Colts will be saddled with a 0-3 record after Sunday’s matchup.
The AFC South rivals will be trying to avoid falling into that hole, and last place in the division, when they meet in Indianapolis on Sunday.
It’s a familiar feeling for the Texans, who started 0-3 last season and recovered to make the AFC playoffs.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been here before,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “… We’re in this thing together. It’s about the Texans. As I told them, we’re the only ones who can do something about where we are right now. We take that mindset to wherever we have to go, whatever we have to do.”
Houston gave the Buffalo Bills a good fight in Week 1 before succumbing 36-31 at home. Last week, the Texans again fell at home as the Cincinnati Bengals claimed a 20-6 victory.
Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. doesn’t understand why his team comes out of the gates slowly.
“To me, there’s really no excuse. It’s the NFL. You have to be ready,” Anderson said. “But obviously not playing a game since January as well and then just having training camp practice. That very first feel of you stepping onto the field, stepping with your shoulder pads and everything like that, you still get adjusted to those type of things. I thought we responded in a really great way the second game.”
Houston looks to get on track against an Indianapolis team it has beaten five straight times, four of the wins coming by four or fewer points. The Texans also have notched four straight road wins in the series.
“We’ve got to find a way to win these close games at the end,” said Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen. “If you want to win the division, you have to win the division games.”
The Colts were whipped 41-23 by the visiting Baltimore Ravens in Week 1. Last week, Indianapolis put up a strong effort before falling 33-30 in overtime to the host Kansas City Chiefs.
The Colts sustained a big blow in the Kansas City game when big-play receiver Alec Pierce injured his left heel. Pierce underwent offseason surgery on the left ankle in March and just returned to practice in late August.
Steichen said the Colts plan to place Pierce on injured reserve. He also declared the club didn’t rush Pierce back too soon.
“We went through that rehab process, he hit all his landmarks, hit all his benchmarks, and then obviously we eased him back into practice,” Steichen said. “… Injuries happen. You never want to see it happen, but we would have never put him on the field if we didn’t feel good about it and he didn’t feel good about it.”
Indianapolis signed free-agent receiver Darius Slayton to lessen the blow. Slayton caught 296 passes in seven seasons with the New York Giants and has a strong rapport with current Colts quarterback Daniel Jones. They were teammates for nearly six full seasons from 2019-24.
“He’s a guy outside who’s got speed, been able to get behind guys,” Jones said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in him and played a lot of football with him. He’s a tough football player.”
Jones has passed for 376 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions through two games. Star running back Jonathan Taylor ranks fifth in the NFL with 190 rushing yards and shares the league lead with four rushing touchdowns.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud stands third in the league with 627 passing yards and has thrown for two scores without being intercepted. Tight end Dalton Schultz has 16 receptions for 175 yards.
Houston standout receiver Nico Collins (hamstring) missed practice Wednesday after sitting out Sunday against Kansas City. Also out due to injury were linebacker Jake Hummel (groin), guard Ed Ingram (groin) and offensive tackle Trent Brown (knee/wrist).
For Indianapolis, receiver Ashton Dulin (ankle) and cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. (groin) joined Pierce on the sideline.