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    • Colts reflect on a 23-20 loss to the Texans
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    Colts reflect on a 23-20 loss to the Texans

    Kathleen William Posted on

    HOUSTON – Seven quick thoughts on the Colts' 23-20 loss to the Texans at NRG Stadium:

    1. Another crazy game that felt like a lot of this: The Colts have some great players doing some great things – think Jonathan Taylor, DeForest Buckner, Kenny Moore II and Josh Downs – but in the end they're tied Two behind score points due to their weaknesses and despite some explosive attempts they can't quite come back.

    It's the kind of game that feels like a major setback in the AFC South, with the Texans now up two games but also holding the head-to-head tiebreaker and the Colts facing the toughest stretch of their schedule.

    There were some absolutely wild moments like the interception at the end of the first half, the explosive plays on downs, crucial penalties, Dayo Odeyingbo's fumble recovery and more.

    And there's plenty to tell us, from Anthony Richardson's erratic play to Taylor's big return to Buckner's dominance to Shane Steichen's troubling tendencies and more.

    Colts result: Anthony Richardson, Colts suffer heartbreaking loss to Texans

    What's wrong with Anthony Richardson?

    2. This was another crazy Richardson game in many ways.

    He got off to a good start despite the box score and showed improved footwork and ball placement on five straight passes on the first drive.

    He had the explosive throw on downs that was really about downs and play design, but he settled for a 69-yard touchdown.

    He had some heroic sack escapes for the second week in a row.

    He had one miss after another midway through the game, finishing 10 of 31 for 175 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

    He had the mysterious one-play exit with the Colts in the red zone.

    And then in the end he didn't get the Hail Mary throw.

    As the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL, he has to go through this now to see where it can lead. And there are plenty of ways the Colts can utilize him better in the meantime or minimize his weaknesses more. But he also needs to build positive momentum as a passer for a change. Week 1 against the Texans seems like such a long time ago.

    3. It had to be a run-heavy game for the Colts, and not just because Taylor was back and playing in the stadium where he always kills the Texans. Houston loves living in the two-high safety shell, and after the Colts had three 50-yard completions in the opener, they were more likely to look to the deep pass. In addition, the Texans' two best linebackers, Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To'oToo, did not play.

    But that’s not what Shane Steichen decided to do.

    The Colts were successful on all five plays of their first drive. By halftime they had only run the ball a few times compared to 13 passes. And they had only completed two of them with an interception.

    The Colts' best actual performance, putting aside Downs' 69-yard scoring catch after a broken coverage, came midway through the third quarter with a mix of Taylor runs to the rim and from Richardson designed runs leaned into the ground game.

    What Shane Steichen needs to do

    4. It feels like Steichen is trying to prove something right now with either his “throw to score, run to win” philosophy or his ability to turn Richardson into a more accurate passer on short notice.

    A week after he blamed himself for the Colts' inability to score points amid a barrage of Dolphins blitz attacks and said he didn't bring Richardson much success, he largely did the same thing this week.

    Just lightning attacks weren't the problem. The problem was the execution of the passing game against the Texans' two-high safety defense, where Richardson and the pieces are at this level of their collective growth.

    5. Think about it: You have the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL, completing 53.5% of his passes in nine career starts. Their No. 1 wide receiver, Michael Pittman Jr., is playing at about 50% due to a painful lower back issue. They don't have any tight ends or running backs to reinforce the passing game in between. And Adonai Mitchell is going through a series of rookie problems.

    So if the attention is heavily focused on Josh Downs or Alec Pierce, you end up with Will Mallory, Mitchell, Tyler Goodson or Kylen Granson on critical downs. That's too much of Richardson and the way this team is built. A team that, by the way, has the third-highest paid running back and one of the highest-paid offensive lines in the league.

    Colts missed DeForest Buckner and Jonathan Taylor

    6. Buckner and Taylor are the Colts' two best players and both performed like crazy in their return from high ankle sprains.

    Taylor was the engine the Colts should have used from the start. He showed fresh impulses, the ability to overcome tackling attempts with force, and the trademark stop-and-start ability to create blocks and consistently rip off block wins. He finished the game with 20 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown, marking his third 100-yard performance in five games this season.

    Buckner had limited snaps after five weeks off, but he was a threat on downs, running back interior linemen and throwing his hands in Stroud's face to force rushed incompletions. He started the game so poorly that Houston benched its starting left guard, Kenyon Green, but later reinstated him after his replacement suffered a brain injury. At this point, Buckner was living in Green's head and the Texans were trying to move the pocket to help Stroud survive.

    7. The problem for the Colts defense was that with Buckner not on the field on rundowns, they weren't effective enough at winning those moments to let their best player really ruin the game. Of course, this was a much better effort compared to Week 1, but Mixon broke some tackles and managed a 14-yard touchdown run that Zaire Franklin misplayed for an easy score.

    The Colts defense held up overall in this game, due in part to the absence of Nico Collins, in part to their pass rush having their best game since Week 1, and an overall improved tackling performance. But they simply couldn't force a Stroud error under that pressure as the middle of the field was too open and Stroud was too adept at finding players under pressure.

    They gave the offense a chance to win, but there weren't enough figures on that side of the ball outside of Taylor and downs, especially on the critical downs.

    I'll have three more thoughts when we come back from the locker room today. Stay tuned, because some pretty crazy moments in this game require some explanation.

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    Kathleen William
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