Texans vs. Colts snap counts

There is much to learn from last night's 33-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, as the Texans now find themselves at 3-3 heading into a 'mini-bye' off weekend. The team doesn't hit the field again until October 20th, when they'll travel to Pittsburgh to play on Monday Night football.

Bill O'Brien and company have stressed the importance of team, using the phrase 'complementary football' to describe the squad's philosophy. The snap count charts are always a good place to see that theme in action, as you get an idea of what players the coaching staff is relying on to get the job done on the field.

The defense had to bear the brunt of the playing time last night, with that unit being on the field for 87 plays. In comparison, the Texans offense only got 54 snaps.

Looking back over the past few weeks, a few players have grown as the season has progressed. The prime example of that is Justin Tuggle.

Tuggle, who played quarterback in college, has seen his playing time rise at linebacker over the past three weeks. After getting only 23% of the reps against Buffalo, he has moved up to 33% against Dallas and a whopping 59% last night. Tuggle forced a Colts turnover as well, picking off Andrew Luck. 

Also of note is Brian Cushing, who played in 97% of the team's defensive plays, compared to just 64% a week ago. Newly acquired linebacker John Simon played 30% of the snaps, picking up his first sack as a Houston Texan.

Safety D.J. Swearinger was the only Texans defender to get 100% participation.

The Texans offensive line remains durable, with the starters getting every rep from last night's game. That includes rookie second round pick Xavier Su'a-Filo, who made the first start of his career.

Arian Foster, who put up his second straight 100-yard game, was in the backfield for 87% of the snaps. Damaris Johnson was on the field more this week, getting in on 56% of the team's offensive plays (up from 31% last week).

To see snap counts for all players, view the image below. You can click on it to see it in full size.

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