John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.

On a Sunday afternoon when they honored one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history, the Texans won a game that had historical implications.

During a halftime ceremony at NRG Stadium, Andre Johnson received his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring as a member of the Class of 2024. Then his former team defeated the Colts 23-20, sweeping their AFC South rival for only the second time in the division's 23-year history.

The Texans (6-2), who have won four of their last five games, have a two-game lead on Indianapolis (4-4). The sweep gives the Texans the head-to-head tiebreaker, which amounts to a three-game advantage over the Colts, going into their nationally televised Thursday night game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium.

The Texans are 3-0 in the AFC South and have a six-game winning streak dating back to last season.

The Texans beat the Colts at NRG Stadium for the first time since 2019 because C.J. Stroud threw for 285 yards, Joe Mixon ran for 102, and a ferocious defense forced two turnovers and made life miserable for quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was sacked five times – twice by Danielle Hunter – and knocked down nine more times.

As has become the custom when he's been healthy, Mixon ignited the offense by getting his 102 yards on 25 carries. He became the NFL's first non-rookie to rush for at least 100 yards and one touchdown in four of his first five games with a new team.

Despite missing 2 ½ games because of an ankle injury, Mixon's four 100-yard games ties Baltimore's Derrick Henry for the most in the NFL this season.

Stroud completed 25-of-37 passes (67.2 percent), and his 285 yards included a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell. Stroud didn't throw an interception and closed with a 99.5 rating.

"It's very impressive to watch C.J. as a young quarterback," Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said. "I talk about his calmness (and) his confidence. He's not staring down one person. He's going through his progressions, making the proper reads, and taking the guys that are open.

"When we have protection and him being able to make accurate throws all across the field, (I) can't say enough great things about how he's continuing to grow as a quarterback."

Stroud was under relentless pressure for most of the first half. At one point, left guard Kenyon Green was replaced by Jarrett Patterson. In his only series before suffering a concussion, Patterson contributed to a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a physical, 14-yard touchdown run by Mixon that tied the score 10-10 early in the second quarter.

Green returned, and the blocking improved somewhat in the second half. Stroud ended up getting sacked twice and knocked down nine times, but he never lost his composure. The Colts recorded an impressive 11 tackles for loss.

Stroud's favorite target was Stefon Diggs, who had five catches for 81 yards before a knee injury sent him to the locker room late in the third quarter. John Metchie III stepped up with three catches for 29 yards. Tight ends Dalton Schultz and Cade Stover combined for six receptions and 71 yards.

The Texans took a 17-10 halftime lead they never surrendered when Dell made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone. Stroud and Dell bounced back from poor performances statistically in the three-point loss at Green Bay, where Stroud threw for only 86 yards and Dell was shut out, including dropping a touchdown catch in the end zone.

On the other side of the ball, the Texans almost pressured Richardson into oblivion. Hunter, in particular, tormented Richardson. Besides two sacks, including on the game's last play when Richardson was trying to throw a Hail Mary, Hunter had 12 pressures and a league-high pressure rate of 36.4 percent of his drop-backs (minimum 20 pass attempts), according to NextGenStats.

The defense pressured Richardson on 24 of his 40 drop-backs. Will Anderson Jr. recorded a sack and eight pressures and recovered the fumble Hunter forced on the last play. Tackle Tim Settle Jr. and linebacker Jake Hanson also sacked Richardson.

"Our game plan is always about us, and that's the main thing," Ryans said. "If we play our defense the proper way, if we're where we're supposed to be, we make it difficult on the opposing quarterback no matter who it is.

"(I'm) proud of our guys for the way they covered, but more so it goes to the D-line, a credit for them and how they rushed together. I know Richardson wasn't sacked a lot before coming into this game (and) we were able to get him down five times. Credit goes to our D-line the way they got after it. Everybody was in on the action of applying pressure on the quarterback."

Richardson finished with 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) for 175 yards and a 48.3 rating. His touchdown pass was a 69-yarder to Josh Downs, who took advantage of a coverage breakdown and was wide open. Downs had four receptions. No other player had more than one.

In the first half, Richardson completed 13.3 percent, lowest in a half in the NFL since 1991 for a quarterback with at least 15 attempts.

Running back Jonathan Taylor was the Colts' most productive weapon. After the Texans limited him to 48 yards in the first game victory, he generated 105 on 20 carries, including a touchdown.

The Indianapolis defense kept the Colts in the game. After rushing for 213 yards in the first game at Lucas Oil Stadium, including 159 by Mixon, the Texans were limited to 96 and 3.3 a carry. Recording 11 tackles for losses and dominating up front tend to make that kind of impact.

Head Coach Shane Steichen didn't help the Colts late in the first half.

The Colts got the ball at their 5 with one minute left in the half. Steichen had Richardson throwing. Kamari Lassiter dropped an interception on second down. That should have been enough to convince Steichen to run out the clock with 34 seconds left.

Instead, Richardson kept throwing. Jalen Pitre stepped in front of Downs and intercepted the pass. He returned it 10 yards to the 7. On the next play, Stroud and Dell collaborated for the touchdown and the 17-10 halftime advantage.

"We were looking for a certain look, and they didn't really give us that look, so I killed the play," Richardson said. "I checked it, and they just played good zone, so he (Downs) was pretty much my only target. I thought I was able to fit it in there, but the nickel (Pitre) did a great job of jumping under it, so (I've) got to give some props to him."

Steichen sought to explain his strategy to throw at the end of the first half.

"I think we're trying to go score at the end of the half – (it) is what it is," he said. "We're trying to score just like we did the week before when we threw a chunk play and got it. That was the decision that was made, and I know it's a results-driven league, and it didn't work out."

The Colts hung in, though. With the Texans leading 20-10 late in the third quarter, Richardson guided them to the Houston 13, where he threw what would have been a 13-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce. The touchdown was nullified because receiver Michael Pittman was called for offensive pass interference.

Facing third down at the Texans' 23, Richardson took himself out of the game. Joe Flacco entered and handed off to Taylor for a 5-yard gain before Matt Gay's 37-yard field goal pulled the Colts within 20-13.

"Tired – I ain't going to lie," Richardson said about needing a breather. "That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn't think I was going to be able to do that next play."

After Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked his third field goal, Taylor scored on a 1-yard run, and the Colts were within 23-20. Then came the most bizarre play of the game.

Mixon's 21-yard run set up the Texans at the Colts' 7. A touchdown at best, and a field goal at worst. But Stroud tried to pitch the ball to Mixon going right, and his toss was off target, resulting in a fumble recovered by Colts end Dayo Odeyingbo, who played an outstanding game.

Odeyingbo returned the fumble 82 yards for what the officials ruled was a touchdown that would have given the Colts a 27-23 lead with 3:05 left in the game. But replay ruled he was down by contact, giving them the ball at their 18.

"We've got to be better as an offense," Stroud said. "That can't happen. We can't turn the ball over down there. I'm fully aware that's a big mistake, and it could have cost us the game. We've got to help the defense just like when they help us."

Stroud's turnover didn't cost them the game because the defense came through big time, with Hunter's third down sack forcing a punt. The Texans got the ball one last time at their 38, and three runs by Mixon netted 3 yards. Tommy Townsend's 41-yard punt and a holding penalty moved back the Colts to their 9 with 54 seconds remaining.

With no timeouts, Richardson ran for 26 yards but didn't go out of bounds, which cost them about 20 seconds. After three incompletions, there was one second remaining, time for a Hail Mary from the Indianapolis 49, but Hunter made sure Richardson never got off his pass, sacking him again and forcing the fumble Anderson recovered. And the celebration began.