"I let my team down today, 100 per cent. I've got to get better," says T.Y. Hilton, as Colts beaten 20-17 at NRG Stadium
Friday 22 November 2019 09:19, UK
Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes to DeAndre Hopkins and finished with 298 yards as the Houston Texans beat the Indianapolis Colts 20-17 to take the AFC South lead.
Meanwhile, Jacoby Brissett and the Colts couldn't get their passing game as Brissett managed just 129 yards through the air.
The Texans (7-4) moved into sole first place in the division, while the Colts (6-5) are now just outside of the AFC wild card race looking in.
"We just weren't clicking, we just weren't clicking in the passing game as well," coach Frank Reich said. "We made a few plays, but not enough."
The Texans trailed by four early in the fourth quarter when Hopkins got in front of Pierre Desir and stretched out to haul in a 30-yard reception to take a 20-17 lead. Hopkins finished the day with 94 yards and his two TDs, while Will Fuller - returning after a hamstring injury - managed 140 yards on seven catches.
Houston's defense stepped up after that, forcing a punt on the next drive before stopping the Colts on fourth-and-seven with three minutes left. Brissett came up a yard shy of a first down on Indy's fourth-down attempt late in the fourth quarter.
"I felt like everybody was covered at the time I made my decision to take off and run," he said. "They're playing a coverage where they're trying to force me to run. I thought I had a chance of getting it and the guy made a good play."
While the Colts were certainly disappointed in the loss, Reich tried to stress to his team to stay positive with five games left and the division race so close.
"There's still plenty of football left, and we're far from out of this thing," he said.
"This was a play-off atmosphere. Obviously, it was a good opportunity for us to take sole possession and have a sweep of Houston, but it didn't work out that way."
Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton had topped 100 yards receiving in four of his last six games against the Texans and entered averaging 133.3 yards receiving in seven career games at NRG Stadium.
He wasn't a factor, finishing with just 18 yards receiving in his return after missing three games with a calf injury.
"He was on a pitch count," Reich said. "They had told me 20-30 snaps would be the recommended snap count.
"He was feeling a little bit tight, from what they told me. But give him credit because he wanted to get in there. Some of it was as a decoy so that was part of the plan."
But Hilton refused to use his health or lack of practice time as an excuse for his poor game and lamented failing to make a couple of catches that would have extended drives.
"That's what I get paid for," he said. "I let my team down today, 100 per cent. I've got to get better."
There were about six minutes left in the third quarter when Jonathan Williams, who helped fill in for injured starter Marlon Mack, wriggled away from three defenders and dashed 13 yards for a touchdown to put the Colts up 17-10.
Fuller had a 51-yard reception on the first play of Houston's next drive, but the Texans couldn't move the ball after that and settled for a 36-yard field goal to cut the lead to four before Hopkins' game-winner.
In the second quarter, Kenny Moore tipped a pass from Watson and intercepted it - the first time Watson had thrown an interception at home since October 14, 2018 - ending a streak of 303 attempts which was the longest active run in the NFL.
The Colts cashed in on the mistake when Brissett scrambled 5 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-3.
There were two minutes left in the first half when Watson avoided the rush and found Hopkins wide open in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown pass to put Houston back on top 10-7.
Indianapolis added a field goal at the end of the first half to leave it tied at 10-10 at the half-time interval.
"It was a good team win," said coach Bill O'Brien following his side's victory.
"Guys came in here on Monday to turn the page and were very focused... this week and it showed up on the field."
