The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are currently tied atop the AFC South at 6-4 on the season. With both the Tennessee Titans, who are now an even 5-5, and Jacksonville Jaguars, who are a nearly even 4-6, not too far behind in the divisional standings, the upcoming Week 12 matchup between the Texans and Colts will be quite the high stakes battle in Houston.
With the Colts traveling south to Houston to battle it out on the Texans as a result of the latest installment Thursday Night Football, the winner of this AFC clash will pull into sole possession of first place in the division. Despite the fact that the Texans are coming off of an embarrassing blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens with the Colts just recently the aforementioned Jaguars, it will ultimately be Houston that comes out on top in Week 12.
Why the Texans, you ask?
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson will bounce back in a big way
Last week, the Houston Texans were absolutely trounced by the Baltimore Ravens will surging quarterback Lamar Jackson leading his team to victory. With quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Texans being outscored by Jackson and company 41-7, there is just simply no way that something of this nature happens again this time around.
With Watson and company managing just a single score against the Ravens, which came by way of the ground game at that, expect a big game from the future superstar under center against the rival Indianapolis Colts. Expect Watson to throw for well over 300 yards in addition to at least multiple touchdowns. Lets not forget that he has the ability to use his legs as well, which may add another score to the tally in Week 12.
Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is due for a huge game after a frustrating week
Although many pass catchers in the league would love to sport his numbers, Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is not producing at his normal super human level this season. As it stands today, Hopkins has appeared in 10 regular season games in 2019-20 en route to registering 75 receptions for 745 yards, four touchdowns and 9.9 yards per catch. For comparison, he posted 115 receptions, 1,572 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13.7 yards per catch across 16 regular season games for the playoff-bound Texans.
As a result, Hopkins is more than due for a monster game, which could very well come in Week 12 against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts will be without starting running back Marlon Mack
The Indianapolis Colts are not a healthy football team — there is no doubt about that. However, despite encountering a slew of injuries throughout the season in addition to the sudden retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck this past offseason, the Colts always remain tough and put up a respectable fight no matter the opponent.
Even so, Colts starting running back Marlon Mack has been ruled out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on his injured hand. For once, this might just be too much for the Colts to overcome as Mack serves as a serious threat in the team's ground attack. This season alone, Mack has tallied 862 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 192 carries. The 23-year-old running back had appeared in all 10 regular season games for the Colts this season as well.
With the team already ailing, there is a good chance that the loss of Mack will simply be too much to overcome in Week 12 against the Houston Texans.
There is simply no way the Texans will be embarrassed two weeks in a row
This one is pretty straight forward — there is just absolutely no chance that the Houston Texans, led by quarterback Deshaun Watson, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and several other superstar-caliber players will allow this team to falter two weeks in a row. This will surely be a close game as the Indianapolis Colts always come to play under the direction of head coach Frank Reich, the Texans are in must-win mode after getting clobbered by the aforementioned Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. For that reason, there is a nearly zero percent chance that the Colts will be able to dominate the upcoming Week 12 matchup, which will more than likely result in a Texans win.
If the Texans win, Houston will improve to 7-4 with sole possession of first place. The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars will also meet in Week 12, which could shake up the standings in the AFC South as well, depending on the outcome in Nashville on Sunday afternoon.
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