The Texans being their 2024 campaign this weekend at Indianapolis. These two clubs duked it out in Week 18 for the right to play in the postseason, and Houston emerged victorious. But many faces have changed on each team, and here are five things to watch when the AFC South showdown kicks off at noon CT inside NRG Stadium.
1) New faces on offense – Naturally, the marquee attraction in this contest is the matchup between the pair of dynamic second-year quarterbacks, selected two picks apart atop the 2023 NFL Draft.
But also, when the Colts last saw the Texans, Tank Dell wasn't on the field. Neither was Stefon Diggs. The former was injured and done for the season, while the latter was a Buffalo Bill. Both those pass catchers are in the fold, along with 1,200-yard receiver Nico Collins.
Plus, Houston also added Joe Mixon at running back.
Indianapolis will have to defend against those new weapons which are at C.J. Stroud's disposal. Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is well aware of the Texans' capabilities on offense.
"They've got a lot of speed, a lot of good athletes, especially at the wideout spot," Bradley said. "I mean, their tight ends are very good. And now the backfield, they've got a couple guys there that can really run the ball."
Mixon's coming off a 1,000-yard season on the ground, and it's the fourth time in the last six seasons he's done that. Diggs, meanwhile, has cranked out a 1,000-yard receiving campaign in each of the last six years. With five more receiving yards, he'll eclipse the 10,000 yard mark for his career.
Stroud is excited to have both added into the offense, which didn't reveal too much when it was on the field in the preseason games.
"Now it's time to roll and those guys are two of the most competitive guys I've ever been around," Stroud said. "I think both of those guys have done a great job of buying in the system and growing in the system and they're going to do great things."
2) Inside job – The Colts have a ferocious tandem on the interior of their defensive line in DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. Each has made plays against Houston over the years, and the Texans' offensive line will get tested mightily on Sunday by that duo. Kenyon Green missed all of 2023, but was impressive in training camp and the preseason games. He's slated to start at left guard next to center Juice Scruggs. Veteran Shaq Mason started every game at right guard last year, and is back for his second season in Houston.
Would the Texans like to run the ball effectively? Sure. But Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said it's more important to pick up first downs and points any way they can.
"Those guys are a force inside," Ryans said. "But it's not about if we have to run it: whatever we have to do to move the football up and down the field. It really doesn't matter. It's running the ball, throwing the ball, whatever it takes for us to be successful, moving the football that is what we will do."
3) Feel the Sting – Cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. was a ballhawk during training camp and the preseason. In just about every practice he came away with an interception. Or two. He picked off a pass a few weeks ago in the win over the Giants.
That dovetailed with what we saw over the final eight games in 2023. Stingley picked off five passes in that span, helping the Texans finish strong with a 5-3 mark.
The Colts' receiving corps is led by Michael Pittman, Jr.. Last season, he caught 109 passes for 1,152 yards. Alec Pierce averaged 16.1 yards per catch and finished with over 500 yards receiving, and Indianapolis also drafted Adonai Mitchell from the University of Texas in the second round.
How much Stingley gets challenged by quarterback Anthony Richardson will be fascinating, and will affect the rest of the secondary.
4) Danielle and Will – We've not seen the defensive end tandem of Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson, Jr. in game action, as Anderson missed the preseason with an ankle injury. He practiced this week, though, and is ready for Sunday.
2023's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year is joined by Hunter, who rang up 16.5 sacks last season, and led the NFL with 23 tackles for loss.
Ryans is intrigued by the possibilities.
"What excites me is their potential to wreak havoc on – in any passing situations, their ability to disrupt the pocket, to disrupt the quarterback," Ryans said. "That's what excites me and if we want to play really good on defense, when they're passing the football, those two guys have to impact the game for us. And if they show up and impact the game, it'll be easier for our guys on the backend."
5)Turnover Train – Houston was excellent at winning the turnover battle last season. The offense and special teams units were very clean, and the defense was opportunistic. When the dust settled on the 2023 regular season, the Texans were tied for 5th in the NFL at plus-10 on the season. They took the ball away from opponents 10 more times than they turned it over.
In the season's final seven games, they were either even or positive in the turnover differential category, and went plus-7 in that final stretch.
They were excellent in that stat in the preseason as well, finishing with a plus-7 mark in four games.
