It wasn't just one thing that did the Texans in Sunday at Indianapolis.
Too many big plays. Too many points. Too many turnovers.
Those are just a few of the slip-ups that led to Houston's 49-14 loss, but they
sum up what basically went wrong in one of the worst defeats in franchise history.
The offense turned the ball over four times. An interception and a fumble were returned for touchdowns. The Colts picked off another pass in the end zone, taking more potential points off the board.
The defense allowed an 11 and a 10 play scoring drive in the first half and gave up touchdowns of 69 and 80 yards in the second.
David Carr was sacked five times, threw three interceptions and fumbled three times – all caused by Colts defensive end Robert Mathis. The pressure up front made the Texans one dimensional.
After that, the team didn't have much of a chance.
"It's certainly a disappointing loss against an efficient football team," head coach Dom Capers said Monday afternoon. "We knew the Colts were leading the NFL in scoring, averaging over 31 points per game. Anytime you play a team like the Colts they force you to be very efficient in your execution. Yesterday we really didn't give ourselves a chance because of the inefficiency in which we executed.
"You don't have a chance to win the game if you turn the ball over four times and two of them end up in touchdowns."
The Texans are 0-3 this season when turning the ball over more than the opponent.
Houston (4-5) struggled Sunday with a lack of execution. The offense ran 83 plays,
26 more than the Colts, but averaged only 3.6 yards per play. The unit came into
the game leading the league in big pass plays, but managed only one Sunday – a
25-yarder to Andre Johnson.
Mistakes snowballed quickly.
The Colts (6-3) aggressive pass rush disrupted the Texans from the beginning
and led to penalties. The Texans became one dimensional for the second-straight
week. At one point Indianapolis was up 35-0 and knew the Texans needed to pass
to get back into the game.
That's a defensive coordinator's dream.
"We knew going in that these guys were a fast, penetrating, and quick up field group up front," Capers said. "When you combine that with playing on the turf and the noise those are things you have to deal with. It's not something that came unexpected."
Running back Domanick Davis rushed for 98 yards, but the Texans were forced to abandon the play-action pass
while attempting a comeback.
Defense and special teams were left at a disadvantage and did not execute.
"I think this is probably the first time this year that we've had breakdowns in all three phases of our team," Capers said. "They all came the same day."
The team reviewed the tape Monday afternoon – the first step to putting the loss behind.
Luckily a chance for redemption is only a week away.
The Green Bay Packers visit Reliant Stadium for a nationally televised game Sunday
evening. The last time the Texans were on ESPN's Sunday Night Football was in
2002 and they came away with a 19-10 inaugural game victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
It's a perfect chance for the Texans to rediscover the identity that helped them win four out of five games to recover from a 0-2 start.
"We certainly don't want the way we played yesterday to be our identity," Capers said. "We weren't an efficient football team. We gave up big plays on defense, turned the ball over, gave up touchdowns on offense. (You do that) and you have no chance against any team, let alone a team that's leading the national football league in scoring."
