INDIANAPOLIS (AP)
Houston was hoping a coaching change would make a difference on
the field.
Turns out, Sunday was just more of the same.
Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes in the first half, Robert
Mathis forced a safety on a record-breaking sack in the second half
and AFC South champion Indianapolis rolled past the reeling Texans
25-3.
The Texans (2-12) lost a franchise-record 12 straight games.
''We looked like a team that lost 11 in a row playing a good
football team,'' interim coach Wade Phillips said after his first
game since replacing the fired Gary Kubiak. ''I thought we could
compete with them, but we didn't do a good job of that.''
Case Keenum was picked off twice by the Colts and fumbled in the
end zone, which led to the safety.
The Texans' defense gave up 20 first-half points to a team that
had only scored 24 combined in the first halves of its previous six
games.
The punt coverage broke down, allowing recently activated Griff
Whalen to set up a field goal with a 51-yard return and, a week
after committing 14 penalties in a loss to Jacksonville, the Texans
committed 14 more against the Colts.
Phillips and the beleaguered Texans, who are 0-12 in Indy,
struggled to find answers even though Phillips said Keenum would
start the final two games.
''We didn't play well enough to win. That's all I can say,''
linebacker Daryl Sharpton said. ''Penalties are going to kill you.
Most penalties are discipline penalties. You can't win with
those.''
It was the perfect time for the Colts (9-5) to break out of
their six-week funk.
After losing 42-28 at Cincinnati last week, the Colts learned on
the bus trip home they had clinched the AFC South title when Denver
beat Tennessee.
At the time, it looked as if the Colts would be locked into the
No. 4 seed and would have little to play for.
But with Denver (11-3) losing Thursday night, New England (10-4)
losing Sunday at Miami, Indy winning and Cincinnati playing Sunday
night at Pittsburgh, the door has cracked just a bit - if the Colts
win their final two games.
The problem, from November through Sunday, was that Indy had not
played anywhere near well enough to string back-to-back wins
together.
Over those previous six games, Indy lost three times by at least
two touchdowns and was outscored 114-24 in the first halves.
Things suddenly changed dramatically.
Luck went up-tempo right from the start and used a heavy dose of
bubble screens to open things up down the field. It worked
well.
He finished 19 of 32 for 180 yards with the two first-half TD
passes that gave the Colts a 20-3 halftime lead.
Indy played without two starting offensive linemen, lost
replacement starter Joe Reitz with a concussion on the opening
series and lost running back Donald Brown with a stinger later in
the first half.
''We needed it,'' coach Chuck Pagano said. ''We talked all week
about coming back and even though we had clinched the division, we
wanted to start building or gaining some momentum.''
Most of Houston's problems were self-inflicted, again.
Andre Johnson, who needed five catches for another
100-reception, caught four balls for 18 yards. Ben Tate rushed 16
times for 72 yards and was fortunate not to lose a fumble.
Luck opened the game by throwing a 14-yard TD pass to Whalen for
Indy's first opening-drive touchdown since Week 3. After Houston's
Randy Bullock made a 49-yard field goal, Darius Butler picked off
Keenum to set up Adam Vinatieri's 37-yard kick.
Luck made it 17-3 when he faked another receiver screen, then
flipped the ball on a shovel pass to Trent Richardson for a 9-yard
score. And after Butler's second interception, Vinatieri made a
43-yard field goal and Indy led 20-3.
''We played good football today, kept the mistakes to a minimum
and were just able to get after it,'' Mathis said. ''A little bit
of stuff here and there we can improve on, but for the most part,
good football.''
Notes: Mathis, the NFL sacks leader, has 16 1/2 this season and
108 in his career. Longtime teammate and close friend Dwight
Freeney held the Colts' previous marks, getting 16 in 2004 and 107
1/2 in his career. ... Houston's 12-game losing streak is the
city's professional football record. ... The Colts have gone 29
consecutive games without back-to-back losses. ... Hall of Fame
running backs Eric Dickerson and Marshall Faulk joined Indy's Ring
of Honor at halftime.
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