Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans Week 1 preview: 5 things to watch

Cody Manning

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Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans Week 1 preview: 5 things to watch image

The Indianapolis Colts are kicking off the season by hosting their division rivals Houston Texans.

Neither team has swept the season series since Indianapolis did during the 2021 season. Getting the season to start with a win has been hard for the Colts. They haven’t won a season opener since they beat the then-Oakland Raiders in 2013. 

This is a statement game for the Colts. The Texans enter the season with Super Bowl hopes because of their 2023 success and all their additions to the roster this past offseason.

If Indianapolis can come out on the other side with a win on Sunday, the rest of the NFL won’t take this team lightly going forward. 

Here are five things to watch from the Colts on Sunday afternoon:

Colts vs. Texans Week 1 preview

Does Jonathan Taylor continue his success against the Texans?

Most Colts fans will cherish the memories of T.Y. Hilton lighting up the Texans, but has Taylor's success against Houston gone somewhat unnoticed? In six career games against the Texans, he has averaged 135.2 rushing yards, has gone over 140 rushing yards in his last four games against them, and has scored a touchdown in all six career games with a total of eight touchdowns. 

His best outing against Houston came in that Week 18 matchup last year. Taylor ran the ball 30 times for 188 rushing yards and a touchdown. He had eight 10+ yard runs in that contest to help the team climb back into the game. 

The intriguing part about this matchup on Sunday is the presence of Anthony Richardson in the backfield with Taylor. It should help open up rushing lanes for the pair and for Taylor to continue his success against the Texans. 

Can the defense keep C.J. Stroud off-rhythm?

The biggest key for the Colts to slow down this Texans offense is to keep Stroud off-rhythm. When he is locked in with his timing with his receivers, he can quickly dice up secondaries and put points up on the board for his team. In the first matchup last year, Stroud finished 30-of-47 for 384 yards and two touchdowns. 

Because Indianapolis held a two-plus score lead for most of that matchup, their offense was forced to lean into their passing attack, which led to Stroud having a big day in the box score. It was a different story in their last meeting in Week 18. 

The Texans were the team that got out to an early lead. It was a more balanced attack for the Houston offense but when Stroud got his opportunity, he was precise with his decision-making and ball placement to help maintain the lead they built early in the contest. 

He finished 20-of-26 for 264 yards and two touchdowns, which included a 75-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins on their offense’s first play of the game. The goal for the Indy defense has to be getting consistent early pressure on Stroud to throw off his timing with his receivers and to keep him below 250 passing yards. 

If the Colts can get that done they should have an opportunity to win this matchup in the fourth quarter. 

Can Anthony Richardson be the difference-maker?

As I alluded with Jonathan Taylor, just having AR in the backfield will help elevate Indy’s rushing attack in this matchup.

The good news is that we saw what Richardson can do with his legs without Taylor in the first matchup against Houston last year. It was two first-quarter rushing touchdowns by Richardson that helped the Colts get out to an early two-score lead.

Richardson did end up leaving that contest in the second quarter because of a concussion. He was 6-of-10 for 56 yards and three rushes for 35 yards and two touchdowns before his day ended. 

Richardson will have to do more than run for the Colts to win this game. He will have to make plays through the air, limit mental mistakes, and as it will be every week this season, finish the game healthy. 

His performance on Sunday can set the tone for Indy’s 2024 season. 

Will the young pieces in the secondary deliver?

Chris Ballard has made his bed by betting on second and third-year players in his secondary to not hold back his defense this season. They will have their hands full on Sunday not only because of Stroud but the playmakers he can spread the ball to. 

New addition Stefon Diggs will command attention from the secondary, which will create one-on-one opportunities for Nico Collins and Tank Dell. The task of covering Diggs and Collins will be mostly on JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones, but Julian Blackmon and Nick Cross will have to make sure communication is on point in the back end so either don’t slip past the secondary for an explosive play like Collins did in that Week 18 contest. 

Kenny Moore II will likely see Dell for most of the game but with Dell’s speed, he will also need some help covering him in the backend. Another player the defense will have to keep their eyes on is Dalton Schultz. The secondary will need Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed to help with him. 

Ideally, the defensive front is doing their job by getting that consistent pressure on Stroud but there will be moments where the secondary is going to have to lock their men down and help create turnovers in this contest. 

Explosive plays from Alec Pierce and Adonai Mitchell

With the success the Colts had on the ground against the Texans last year, you would think DeMeco Ryans will want to limit the impact of Richardson and Taylor running the ball. If Houston can prove successful at limiting Indy’s rushing attack then it will be on AR and the passing attack to win this contest. 

Michael Pittman Jr. is Mr. Reliable in the receiving corps but to help put points on the board, the offense will need explosive plays from Pierce and Mitchell. Houston’s secondary will have rookie Kamari Lassiter as the opposite starting boundary cornerback of Derek Stingley Jr. as well as rookie Calen Bullock starting at free safety. 

Week 1 can be rough for rookie secondary players so this can be a matchup that Shane Steichen can take advantage of. If he can get the rookies confused then it can lead to broken coverages which Pierce and Mitchell can create chunk plays from. 

As great as it will be to see Richardson and Taylor running the ball, if Richardson and his weapons can have a day through the air then it can lead to long-term success for the offense throughout the season.

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Cody Manning

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Cody Manning is a graduate of the University of Tampa’s Sport Management program. He spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Guest and Member Relations Game Day staff where he was a Team Leader and earned Difference Maker of the Year in 2017. During his time with the Bucs, he helped start Blitzalytics, a scouting and analytics media company. After that came to an end, he joined USA Today’s Colts Wire as a contributor in 2021. Outside of football, he is an avid WWE and Batman fan. You can find him on Twitter/X @CodyTalksNFL.