The Indianapolis Colts entered Week 13 with a perfect home record. They carried legitimate AFC playoff aspirations and an opportunity to create separation in a crowded postseason race. Instead, they walked out of Lucas Oil Stadium stunned. They absorbed a frustrating, controversial, but ultimately self-inflicted 20-16 loss to the division rival Houston Texans.
What made it worse wasn’t just the dropped passes, the missed opportunities, or the officiating controversies. It was the unmistakable sense that the Colts had control early, only to let the game slip away. They had unforced errors that championship-caliber teams just cannot afford in December.
Costly collapse
With CJ Stroud returning to the field for Houston and Daniel Jones battling through a leg injury, the game swung on a handful of pivotal moments. These included a missed extra point, a questionable pass interference call, a turnover on downs late, and a failed fourth-and-one earlier in the red zone. Indy also saw drops from the team’s top receivers. Add it all up, and the Colts’ first home loss of the season felt like a summation of critical flaws that finally caught up.
The Texans weathered an early deficit. They capitalized on Indy’s mistakes and delivered the dagger with a late defensive stand. The Colts made a final push with a touchdown strike from Jones to Tyler Warren. However, when the final drive fell apart on drops and a fourth-down miss, their fate was sealed. Now 8-4, Indianapolis must face the reality that they let a winnable game slip through their fingers.
Here we'll try to look at and discuss the Colts most to blame for their Week 13 loss to Texans.
K Michael Badgley
It’s rare that a first-half extra point becomes one of the defining moments of a game. In Week 13, though, Michael Badgley’s missed PAT after Alec Pierce’s touchdown may have been the single most consequential play of the afternoon.
At the time, it felt like a minor annoyance. It's something that could be erased with a field goal or another touchdown later. However, as the Colts’ offense sputtered in key situations, that missed point loomed larger and larger.
By the fourth quarter, the stakes were clear: instead of trailing by three and setting up for a potential game-tying field goal, the Colts were down by four. That margin forced Indianapolis to abandon its kicking option on the final drive.
When the Colts reached the Texans’ 31-yard line, analytics and common sense aligned. A successful PAT earlier in the game would have allowed them to attempt a chip-shot field goal. Instead, Jones and the offense were forced to go for it on fourth down. The attempt failed, the ball turned over, and the game was effectively lost.
Badgley has been reliable for much of the season. Sunday’s miss, though, couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Ineffective run game
Jonathan Taylor fought for every yard he could muster. He finished with a respectable 85 yards on 21 carries. However, Houston’s defense made life difficult on nearly every attempt. The Texans stacked the box repeatedly. They dared the Colts to win through the air—something Indianapolis simply couldn’t do consistently.
Taylor averaged a modest 4.0 yards per carry. Yes, that’s far from disastrous. That said, it wasn’t enough to break the Texans out of their game plan. The Colts found themselves in too many long down-and-distance situations. It neutralized the strengths of their offense and put added pressure on a passing game that was already struggling. The run game wasn’t the reason Indianapolis lost, but it wasn’t the force they needed it to be.
WRs Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr
Sure, Jones’ toughness deserves praise. After all, heplayed through a leg injury and still delivered a late touchdown. However, his receivers failed him in the game’s biggest moments.
The Colts opened the game with three straight punts. That was already a sign of the passing game’s early disconnect. Still, the most painful mistakes came in the final period. That's when Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr dropped catchable balls that stopped the offense cold.
Instead of marching deeper into Houston territory with a chance to steal the win, the Colts stalled out. Downs and Pittman are typically dependable and productive. In Week 13, though, the drops were devastating.
Coupled with a failed fourth-and-one conversion earlier in the red zone, the Colts’ passing game simply didn’t offer the needed composure and execution. Coach Shane Steichen said it best afterward, “It’s three or four plays when you lose the tight ones.” The Colts seemingly lost all of them.
Defensive injuries
Yes, the officiating was controversial. That's especially true of the late pass-interference call on Kenny Moore II that extended a Houston drive and set up a touchdown. However, before blaming the stripes, it’s important to acknowledge the unforced blow that hurt Indianapolis most: the early injury to star cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Losing an All-Pro-caliber player changes everything. The Texans immediately shifted their passing attack. They targeted the replacement corners, stretched the field, and attacked matchups that would not have existed had Gardner remained available.
Stroud took advantage. He orchestrated the go-ahead scoring drive that would ultimately stand as the difference. The Colts battled hard defensively, but the absence of their top cornerback created vulnerabilities Houston was quick to exploit.
Self-inflicted wounds overshadowed everything else
Controversial call or not, the Colts had ample chances to win this game. They didn’t capitalize. They had a missed PAT, a stagnant run game, and drops from star receivers. Their final drive that simply wasn’t good enough, too. Indianapolis remains a strong playoff contender. That said, Week 13 served as a harsh reminder that the smallest mistakes can become the biggest reasons for defeat.
