When: 1 p.m., Sunday Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis TV: CBS
The Houston Texans have do-everything player J.J. Watt sacking quarterbacks, batting down passes and even catching touchdown passes on offense.
The Indianapolis Colts, though, have the psychological advantage over their AFC South counterparts.
Why else would Texans coach Bill O'Brien remind his team moments after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend that they've never won in Indianapolis?
The Texans will try to win in Indianapolis for the first time (0-12) on Sunday when the two teams meet. A Colts' victory gives them their second straight AFC South title.
ESPN.com Texans reporter Tania Ganguli and Colts reporter Mike Wells break down the matchup:
Wells: How does Houston's offense change if Andre Johnson doesn't complete the concussion protocol and isn't cleared to play Sunday?
Ganguli: It lightens the load for an opposing defense, that's for sure. Johnson draws a lot of attention, which is helpful elsewhere on the field. The thing is second-year receiver DeAndre Hopkins has really taken a huge leap since his rookie season and is turning into a star. Hopkins was a big part of Ryan Fitzpatrick's record-setting day two weeks ago. Fitzpatrick threw nine targets to Hopkins, and Hopkins caught them all. Five of those were on deep balls, which is really an area in which Hopkins excels. Expect a lot of Hopkins, and I'd expect to see Keshawn Martin as the other outside receiver with Damaris Johnson in the slot as usual.
T.Y. Hilton crushed the Texans with a monster first quarter last time these teams met. How have things gone for him since? Do you anticipate a similar performance?
Wells: If you asked me earlier this season, I would have said Hilton has success against the Texans only when the game is played in Houston -- 19 catches for 422 yards and five touchdowns in three games there -- but Hilton has become one of the best young receivers in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns did a good job of not letting Hilton beat them deep in the first half last weekend. The Colts made the proper adjustments in the second half, and Hilton finished with 10 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Hilton likes it when teams think they can shut him down. Obviously, he'll be enemy No. 1 for the Texans this weekend, so you can expect offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton to move Hilton around the field so that it's difficult for the Texans to use one particular defense to attempt to slow him down.
Did the Texans see enough of Ryan Mallett to think he's capable of being their quarterback of the future?
Ganguli: He looked great in his first start. It was one of the best first starts for a player in the past 10 years. Watching that, my main thought was if that's who he is, he is definitely an NFL starter. Mallett's second game was much worse, but was not representative of who he is as a quarterback because he played through it with a torn pectoral muscle, which in itself is incredible. I think the jury is still out. You can't make a sweeping judgment based on one start, but he did offer future hope. It would be wise for the Texans to keep him on the roster next season if they can so they can really find out.
"Struggling" is always a relative term, but Andrew Luck seems to have been doing so this week. Why is that?
Wells: As good as Luck has been this season -- and he's been very good -- he continues to make what he calls "bonehead" mistakes. By that I mean he's very sloppy with the ball at times. Part of that is his mental mind frame that he can always make a play happen instead of just throwing the ball away or taking a sack. Luck has turned the ball over 19 times, which is second in the league. Most of his mistakes tend to happen in the first quarter. As I pointed out in the "QB Snapshot" earlier this week, Luck has five turnovers and has been sacked six times in the first quarter of the past three games. The Colts actually haven't had a strong first quarter since scoring 24 points in the first 15 minutes of the game against the Texans back in early October.
Can't get through this without asking about Watt. I'm sure you've discussed this topic a number of times, but do you think he's done enough to prove he deserves to be the MVP?
Ganguli: The question here gets into what the meaning of MVP is to the voters. Is the player most valuable to his team? Is it the player most valuable to the league? Is it the best player in the league? The argument here is that Watt affects every play on defense even though he doesn't touch the ball on every play like a quarterback does. According to Pro Football Focus, Watt's numbers are ahead of anyone at his position than any other player in the league is in relation to their position. I think Watt has done enough, but if the Texans can't make the playoffs, I can't see him winning the award.
And on that note, how do you see the Colts handling Watt? He's had a lot of success in the division.
Wells: As you and I both recall, Watt had a significant impact in the first meeting when the Texans almost pulled off the comeback. He had 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 quarterback hits, 3 passes defended and a touchdown. Blocking Watt single-handedly is nearly impossible, so expect the Colts to use an extra blocker -- a tight end or running back -- to help out on him. The problem with using a tight end to help block is that it impacts the Colts' passing game. Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are both important pieces to their passing game. But the Colts are willing to make that sacrifice to give Luck an extra second or two to pass the ball.