Andrew Luck will face J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans on Thursday for the fifth time in his career. In their December 16, 2012 meeting, Watt sacked Luck three times in the Texans 29-17 win over Indianapolis.
"He's a freak," Luck said in a conference call on Tuesday. " He's big, he's fast, he makes plays. Obviously, he made one heck of an interception return for touchdown. He does a lot of things very, very well. At the same time, I think we have a bunch of good players up front that are up for the challenge and ready to against him but we do have the utmost respect for how he plays football. He does it the right way. It's always fun to go against him because it's a great challenge for guys."
This season, Watt leads the NFL with 16 quarterback hits and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. Through five games, Watt has registered an interception returned 80 yards for a touchdown, 2.0 sacks, three passes defensed, one fumble recovery and that doesn't even include his touchdown in Week 2 on offense.
"I think they're up there near the top in nearly every offensive category," Watt said Tuesday. "That is a testament to their team, their players and their coaching staff. That makes for a great challenge. Obviously, as a defensive player, you see that and you look forward to the challenge and you look forward to preparation. That is one of the best parts about the game, coming in, watching it on film, studying it and saying, 'OK, what do we have to do to try and stop this?'"
Currently, the Texans defense lead the NFL with 12 takeaways through five games. Nine of those twelve have come inside their own red zone. The Colts passing offense tops the league with 321.8 yards per game and ranks second-overall in total offense (439.6 yards per game).
The (3-2) Texans will host the (3-2) Indianapolis Colts for their Pink Ribbon Game on Thursday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:25 p.m. on CBS/ KHOU-11 and SportsRadio 610.
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