Thursday Night
Colts at Texans
I’ll start this one off with a confession: these two teams have me completely stumped.
I’ve seen both of these teams play this season. Not much, but I’ve seen them. So far, they’ve managed to defy most of the expectations that I had for them. I’ve looked at them from any and every angle I can think of, and I see very little that sets one apart from the other. Neither team has played well. Indy’s defence has played down to expectations, while its offence has failed to live up to them, particularly alarming when Andrew Luck is behind Center. Meanwhile, as Houston coach Bill O’Brien vacillates between QBs, and the running game plods along without a healthy Arian Foster, the closest thing to offensive continuity for the Texans involves Ryan Mallett spraying passes all over the field while completing barely half of them. But at least the Texans’ defence is solid, right? Nope. JJ Watt has been great as usual (4 sacks out of a team total of 6), and that’s it.
So, which do I choose? After looking at both teams and seeing that neither does anything particularly well, I’m making my pick based upon each team’s best player. Andrew Luck, who I love, but who has struggled, is hurt, and might not even play tonight. JJ Watt has been, and still is, JJ Watt. In a game that I don’t expect to be played at a particularly high level, somehow I see Watt chasing either a wounded Luck or Matt Hasselbeck as game-changing matchup. Winner: Texans