Indianapolis Colts beat Houston Texans (Part 2)
Colts had edged into lead in the mid of first quarter with Indianapolis quarterback Manning throwing a touchdown pass to Jacob Tamme. The usually exuberant Houston offense had been struggling and things wouldn’t turn around for them any time soon.
After Indianapolis’ touchdown, Texan's quarterback Schaub tried to lead Houston forward but was met with bad luck and a seemingly impenetrable defence. Arian Foster, Houston’s leading running back with over 100 yards by the end of the game, supported the
drive on his shoulders but when Schaub took over, the drive ended. Foster ran 8, 4 and 2 yards in three successive plays. Schaub wasn’t able to complete a 6 yard pass to wide receiver Derrick Ward and failed to complete the next two passes resulting in a turnover
on Indianapolis’ 47 yard line.
Donald Brown and Manning resorted to the run against Houston following the turnover. Indianapolis’ running game is nothing to talk about but the Texans were still unable to stop the two. Colts moved up to the 41 yard line with 26 seconds remaining when Manning
was sacked for 9 yards by Houston’s defensive end, Mark Anderson. When the second quarter began, Indianapolis took the punt from the centre of the field for a touchback.
What seemed like poor offense already would get worse when Schaub would get back on the field. Houston started on the 20 yard line. Schaub was aiming for wide receiver Kevin Walter moving to the right but the pass would go horribly wrong. Schaub was being
rushed by the defensive line. Clint Session and Robert Mathis were almost on top of him and forced the pass. Walter was looking back to receive the pass but Indianapolis’ cornerback Kelvin Hayden ran in front of Walter and caught the ball. Houston weren’t
prepared for the interception and Hayden ran 26 yards without facing resistance to score the second touchdown for the Colts.
Returning a 66 yard kick for 30 yards, Indianapolis started their offense from the 34 yard line after the Colts' touchdown. Foster opened the drive with 33 yards. The Houston offense struggled except for Foster. He was just magnificent. In 15 receptions,
Foster covered 102 yards and had a touchdown to his credit. His 33 yard effort this time wouldn’t be wasted. Following the run, Schaub threw 5 yards but lost 7 when he was sacked by Clint Session on the 28 yard line. Houston were too close to the red zone
to give up the opportunity to score and if they had pushed for touchdown playing like they were playing, they wouldn’t have been successful.
So in desperation, from the 35 yard line Houston prepared for the field goal. Kicker Neil Rackers had to kick 53 yards for goal and he did just that. With the field goal, Texans put the first points on the board but still trailed far behind Indianapolis’
14 points with just three of their own. At least it was a start.
The remainder of the second quarter hit a dry patch until 5 minutes remained. Colts started on the 34 yard line and were barely able to keep it going. They made the first down with 7 yard pass to Pierre Garcon and a three yards rush by Mike Hart. They lost
a yard in the next play but managed the down with a 10 yard pass and three yards rush. In 10 plays, Colts moved up from their 34 yard line to Houston’s 30 yard line. Manning threw a 9 yard pass but a 10 yard holding penalty pushed them back again. Houston
and Indianapolis both gave away yards in penalties but ultimately, Colts couldn’t push past the 30 yard line and decided to try the field goal.
The field goal was good. By the end of the second quarter, Colts led with 17 points while Texans were still at just 3 points.
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