For the first time in five seasons, the Texans were without their most dangerous offensive weapon. DeAndre Hopkins, who had played all 79 games of his NFL career, missed the Texans 2017 regular season finale at Indianapolis.
"It was difficult in certain situations, where you are going to go to him in third downs and any type of pressure situations, stuff in the red zone, he was definitely missed out there, but other guys stepped up," T.J. Yates said. "That's just the way this league is."
In the Texans 22-13 loss to the Colts, Houston took an early lead after a fast start. Will Fuller V caught two passes for 17 yards and two first-down conversions but exited the game early with a knee injury. Chris Thompson caught a career-high three passes for 54 yards but only in the first half. The Texans offense scored on their first three possessions of the game, taking a 13-7 lead at halftime but struggled in the second half.
"Just couldn't run it, couldn't throw it, couldn't convert third downs," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "We had several third downs where we were third-and-5, third-and-6, third-and-3 and couldn't convert it so it just wasn't good enough."
The Texans offense recorded 209 net yards of offense without Hopkins. Yates completed 14-of-24 passes (58.3%) for 137 yards and one interception. Alfred Blue scored the lone touchdown and had team-high four catches for 36 yards receiving.
Hopkins, named a 2017 Pro Bowl starter, scored a career-high 13 touchdowns this season. He also caught a touchdown in an NFL-high and franchise-record 10 different games in 2017.
With the loss, the Texans finish their 2017 campaign with a 4-12 record.
The Texans and Colts squared off in Week 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
