Takeaways from Colts failing to win opener for 11th year in row; fall to Texans 29-27

INDIANAPOLIS — The streak continues.

Inconsistent on offense and overmatched on defense, the Colts failed to get a win in the season opener for the 11th year in a row, losing 29-27 despite a comeback drive by Anthony Richardson in the fourth quarter.

Houston (1-0) beat up the Colts on the ground on both sides of the ball, dominating the line of scrimmage on the way to a win.

Colts score: Colts' Week 1 winless streak continues in loss to Texans

Indianapolis defense unable to make pass rush count

The Colts defense entered this season confident in the front four’s ability to control the line of scrimmage.

For the most part, the pass rush was there. Indianapolis sacked C.J. Stroud four times, hit him 10 times overall and repeatedly got pressure against a shaky Houston offensive line.

But the pass rush was the only part of the Indianapolis defense that performed on Sunday.

The Colts secondary failed to make the pass rush count, allowing Stroud to complete 24 of 32 passes for 234 yards, including a ridiculous 17-yard completion to Nico Collins across his body on third down and long and a critical grab by Collins on third down on the final drive.

Indianapolis also struggled mightily against the run, a development that came as a surprise given how much emphasis the Colts put on the defensive line. Indianapolis kept 10 defensive linemen, but the Colts gave up a whopping 212 yards on the ground, the most the Colts have allowed since giving up 217 yards to the Giants at the end of a disastrous 2022 campaign.

When the Colts needed a stop at the end of the game, they couldn’t get it.

Anthony Richardson rides the roller coaster

The potential was obvious.

Even if the moments were fleeting.

Richardson slipping on his back foot in the pocket, finding his balance and launching a gorgeous 60-yard bomb to Alec Pierce for the touchdown. Four carries for 43 yards on the ground, his speed and power clearly on display when he was on the move, especially on a powerful, grinding 3-yard touchdown run near the end of the fourth quarter. A laser to Ashton Dulin over the middle, surprising Houston’s defense enough that Dulin could fly away with a 54-yard touchdown catch.

But there were also a handful of moments when Richardson’s inconsistency was on display.

An overthrow of rookie Adonai Mitchell on fourth down to open the game. A near-pick on a crossing route to Michael Pittman Jr. An underthrow to Mitchell streaking down the sideline late in the fourth quarter. Worst of all, a bad overthrow to a wide-open Mitchell, lofting it high and wide and out of bounds on a busted coverage.

Richardson completed 9 of 19 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, a missed throw to Kylen Granson in the red zone that might have happened because Granson stumbled on the crossing route. The Colts starting quarterback also rushed six times for 56 yards and the touchdown.

Alec Pierce comes up big

The former third-round pick has drawn a lot of criticism in his first two seasons in Indianapolis.

The Colts steadfastly defended Pierce, repeatedly saying that his best skill — his ability to get deep — had not matched up well with a string of Indianapolis quarterbacks who were poorly suited to throw the deep ball.

Pierce responded by bulking up his upper body, coming back and turning in the best training camp of his three-year career, a camp that general manager Chris Ballard said was arguably the best camp of anybody on the Indianapolis roster.

Then he made the biggest plays of Sunday’s season opener against the Texans, two years after dropping a touchdown pass in the opener against Houston in his NFL debut.

Pierce got the Colts on the board first, running away from two Houston defensive backs for a 60-yard touchdown grab, then added a nice grab for eight yards in the middle. Quiet for a bit in the middle of the game, Pierce came up big when Indianapolis appeared to be on life support, outleaping two Houston defensive backs for a 57-yard gain to set up Richardson’s touchdown run.

Special teams

Without Brian Mason’s special teams, the Colts likely could not have gotten back into the game.

Frustrated after a slow period following the Pierce touchdown, Indianapolis got Houston backed up in its own end zone, and Segun Olubi came crashing off the left side, blocking the punt at the 5-yard line to set up a Jonathan Taylor touchdown that got Indianapolis back into the game.

Mason’s calling card at the collegiate level was his knack for creating punts, a knack that didn’t show up often in his first season.

But Olubi got Indianapolis back into the game on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Takeaways from Colts failing to win opener for 11th year in row; fall to Texans 29-27