The Indianapolis Colts (6-5) fell short on Thursday night losing to the Houston Texans (7-4) at NRG Stadium by a score of 20-17.
It was an ugly battle throughout, and there wasn’t much to be excited about from the Colts’ point of view, especially when it comes to the offensive side of the ball.
While the defense only gave up 20 points, they did allow some uncharacteristically long plays to the Texans. Some Colts were solid while others had a poor performance.
Here are the studs and duds from the divisional loss in Week 12:
STUD: CB Kenny Moore
Yes, Moore was beaten by Texans wide receiver Will Fuller on a 51-yard bomb in the fourth quarter. But outside of that, the third-year cornerback continued his strong play.
Moore added another interception to his totals on the season—his second—and made an impact at the line of scrimmage. He continued to be used as a nickel blitzer as well. The Colts secondary struggled mightily in this game and while Moore did have a big play allowed, he also made an impact elsewhere.
DUD: QB Jacoby Brissett
The Colts passing offense has been atrocious over the last month. There really isn’t any other way to put it. Some of it has been Brissett’s inability to throw open receivers downfield. Sometimes it works out. Lately, it hasn’t and that was the case Thursday night.
Brissett completed 16 of 25 passes for a measly 129 yards despite facing a Texans pass defense that ranked among the worst units in the league. This is the fourth time this season Brissett has failed to throw a touchdown pass and while he did get in the end zone on a run, he was far too complacent with checking the ball down.
Brissett has shown to be a fine option for the Colts under center but much more was expected against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.
STUD: LB Darius Leonard
The Maniac almost came through with another big play that could have changed the game. No one knows for sure what would have happened if the league reviewed the forced fumble in the fourth quarter, but the second-year backer made a big impact in this game.
Though he only had six tackles, Leonard was constantly flying toward the line of scrimmage making a play. His closing speed was on another level Thursday night, and it showed when he pressured Deshaun Watson on a blitz through the A-gap in the first half.
Leonard didn’t stuff the stat sheet in this game, but he did have an impact and almost came through with another clutch turnover.
DUD: Colts WRs
This goes for everyone that was active in the room. From T.Y. Hilton’s two massive drops to Zach Pascal and Marcus Johnson not recording a reception. Granted, they were only targeted a combined two times but much of that was due to their inability to create separation.
We know Jacoby Brissett isn’t a quarterback that will force a ball into a tight window. It’s just not how he works. So to see the Colts wide receivers fail to get separation—or drop big passes when they do get some space—it was tough to watch.
The Colts passing offense has been utterly awful over the last month, and it is just as much on the wide receivers as it is on Brissett.
DUD: DT Denico Autry
Surprisingly, it has been a while since Autry has had a major impact on the pass rush. While the success of veteran edge rusher Justin Houston has covered that, Autry hasn’t recorded a sack since Week 2 and has just two quarterback hits in the last three games.
For a defensive tackle that lines up primarily as the three-technique, Autry’s job is to get upfield and generate pressure from the top of the pocket. He hasn’t done any of that with consistency the majority of the year.
That happened again Thursday. He had a few positive plays, but he was mostly non-existent in getting to the quarterback.
