(SportsRadio 610) - After escaping Indianapolis with a 23-19, primetime victory that secured a playoff appearance for the first time since 2019, the Texans had to immediately become Tennessee Titans' fans.
Finishing with a 10-7 record in DeMeco Ryans' first season was enough to earn a wild card berth, but the Texans need help from the Titans to win the seventh AFC South title in franchise history.
If the Jaguars lose at Tennessee on Sunday, the Texans will win the AFC South and get a rematch with the Browns in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. If the Jags defeat the Titans, the Texans will travel to Buffalo if the Bills win at Miami. If the Dolphins win, the Texans will play at Kansas City.
"We're going to take a breather and enjoy this moment," Ryans said after the game. "Once we find out who we're playing, we'll worry about it. I think right now is a time to reflect and be grateful for this opportunity, to be proud of the season we've had (and) to fight through a must-win game and find a way to win."
The Texans found a way to win, but they had to gut it out and do it the hard way, which is really the only way they've known how to do it this season when 10 games were decided by seven or fewer points, including nine decided by five or fewer.
After C.J. Stroud ignited a third touchdown drive that ended with Devin Singletary's 3-yard run, the Texans led 23-17 because Ka'imi Fairbairn missed his first extra point of the season. The victory wasn't ensured until the Texans stopped the Colts on a fourth-and-1 play at their 15-yard line with 1:03 remaining.
Rather than give the ball to Jonathan Taylor, who had tormented the Texans for 188 yards, coach Shane Steichen called for quarterback Gardner Minshew to throw a pass to seldom-used running back Tyler Goodson, who had six receptions this season. The pass was off target, and Goodson couldn't handle it. Steichen's decision will be hotly debated in Indianapolis throughout the offseason.
"We made a play when we had to and found a way to win," Ryans said. "That's what's special about it. We didn't come this far just to get this far. Our guys wanted this opportunity, and they had the determination to make it happen. It wasn't easy. Indy is a good team (that's) well-coached. They played an unbelievable game. To go up against a tough opponent and come out with a win, it's special, and it says a lot about our group."
If the Jaguars lose to the Titans, it'll enable the Texans to become division champions -- a worst-to-first accomplishment. And seldom has it been easy.
Before the ESPN/ABC television audience – the Texans' first nationally televised game of the year – Stroud and receiver Nico Collins produced an extraordinary performance to help overcome Taylor's masterpiece against a run defense that entered the game tied for third and allowing 88.5 yards a game.
Stroud was exceptional at Lucas Oil Stadium, where he completed 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) for 264 yards, two touchdowns and a 134.1 rating, his second-highest rating of the season. He didn't have an interception, and he averaged 10.2 yards per attempt. Despite missing two games with a concussion, Stroud finished with 4,108 yards -- third for a rookie in NFL history behind Andrew Luck's 4,374 and Justin Herbert's 4,336.
On the Texans' first play, Stroud went deep to Collins for a 75-yard touchdown pass. Playing without the injured Robert Woods and Noah Brown, Collins caught nine passes for 195 yards.
"Nico is our go-to guy, our big-time playmaker," Ryans said. "He's a tough out for a lot of teams. For them to step up and make plays when we needed it most, that's a special connection. Awesome throw, awesome catch. When (offensive coordinator) Bobby (Slowik) called it, I was like, 'Oh, here it is.'
"Credit to C.J. for great ball placement and putting that ball exactly where it needed to be and Nico going up and making that catch. I've been telling Nico he's been catching a lot of deep ones, but he's been stumbling and falling, not getting in the end zone. This time he stayed up and got in the end zone. Biggest play of the year for him."
Stroud, who's favored to be voted NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, excelled against the Colts, who sacked him twice and knocked him down four more times. His touchdown pass to Collins gave the Texans a 7-3 lead they stretched to 14-3 at halftime when Stroud connected with fullback Andrew Beck for an 8-yard touchdown pass.
"C.J. doesn't surprise me," Ryans said. "We've talked about it earlier in the week with C.J. just being special in these big-time moments. When we need him most to step up and make plays, he's done it time after time. That's who he is. He is one of the best passers in this league, and he shows it consistently."
Stroud, who had a triple-digit rating for the eighth time and has thrown one interception in his last five games, guided the offense on scoring drives of
75, 57 and 73 yards. On the other side of the ball, the defense was exceptional on third down, allowing the Colts to convert only one in 11 chances.
"Guys did an outstanding job on third down," Ryans said. "To hold the team to one conversion on third down, that's winning football. And our secondary did a great job at keeping the ball in front of them. It wasn't our best performance in the running game."
The run defense was wretched for the first three quarters before settling down in the fourth, but the Colts still scored only one touchdown on Taylor's 49-yard run. Matt Gay kicked three field goals, and the Colts were credited with a safety when Ryans had punter Cameron Johnston run out of the back of the end zone to kill all but one second on the clock at the end of the game. The Texans made adjustments in the fourth quarter when the Colts were limited to 25 yards, including 2.3 a carry.
"We had to play better technique," Ryans said. "(We) switched up some things schematically. The biggest thing in the run game was tackling. We were in position, but tackling, we have to be much better there."
The secondary was terrific, shutting down the passing game by limiting Minshew to 141 yards and a 71.1 rating. Leading receiver Michael Pittman caught three passes for 21 yards on the first series and only two for 23 the rest of the game.
Ryans went into the game confident the Texans would win. They were favored on the road against a division rival.
"I felt our energy in pregame, and I felt it last night in our team meeting," he said. "I felt like our guys had the mindset that we will not be denied. We knew it would be tough, but they had that quiet confidence about them. I felt it the entire game. Nobody ever wavered. Nobody ever blinked. They knew we would come away with the win. It feels awesome. I think it means a lot to our guys to get the spotlight and come with a gritty win. It wasn't our best performance, but it was a special performance."
And the Texans will have at least one more opportunity to come up with another special performance, but they won't find out if it's against the Browns, Bills or Chiefs until Sunday's games are completed.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.
