The Indianapolis Colts (4-2) staved off the division-rival Houston Texans (4-2) with a 30-23 win at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday to claim first place in the AFC South.
The Colts got out to an early lead against the Texans defense and thanks to a few career-high performances, they were able to keep the lead for the entirety of the game.
Here are the studs and duds from the Week 7 win:
STUD: QB Jacoby Brissett
This was a very encouraging game from Brissett. While he hasn’t been the reason for losses yet this season, many wondered if he can be the type of quarterback to will the team to a win.
He showed that potential on Sunday with a career performance. Brissett completed 26 of 39 passes for 326 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 126.7 passer rating. His four touchdowns were a career-high, and they all came in the red zone.
The Colts have a winnable schedule coming up, and Brissett showed he can take over if needed.
DUD: RB Marlon Mack
Sometimes Mack is the reason the Colts win. Sometimes he doesn’t have a positive impact on the offense. Sunday’s win against the Texans was an example of the latter. It wasn’t all his fault for the lack of rushing production, but he didn’t help either.
Mack took 18 carries for 44 yards. It was easily his worst game this season in terms of efficiency as he averaged just 2.4 yards per carry. Sometimes there was no where to go. Other times it seemed he didn’t hit the hole hard enough.
Mack will bounce back, but his performance in Week 7 left much to be desired.
STUD: WR Zach Pascal
Just as Brissett had a career day, Pascal was the biggest beneficiary. Emerging as the WR 2 in the offense, Pascal recorded six receptions on seven targets for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
The Colts have been searching for their WR2. They hoped it could be Devin Funchess, but he suffred a broken collarbone in Week 1. Parris Campbell has been injured and is still developing. For now, Pascal has been stepping up into a huge role.
DUD: TE Jack Doyle
It has become glaringly obvious that the Colts aren’t using Doyle in the same pass-catching role he held in 2017 and 2018. His prowess as a run blocker is far more important to the offense than it is to split him out wide, but he didn’t have his best game on Sunday.
Outside of a big third-down catch, Doyle didn’t do much. He caught just three of five targets for 21 yards. But he also was penalized twice on offensive holdings, which was very uncharacteristic.
Expect Doyle to bounce back in Week 8 against the Denver Broncos.
STUD: WR T.Y. Hilton
It can’t be a studs and duds without Hilton being in the former against the Texans. Ghost simply has something against Houston in that he has to simply dominate them every time they line up across from each other.
He continued that in a major way on Sunday catching six of 11 targets for 74 yards and a touchdown. He would have had an even bigger game had he not dropped a deep pass in the first half.
Hilton’s touchdown also came in the red zone—his fifth this year—which shows just how great he’s been inside the 20-yard line this season.
STUD: DE Justin Houston
It seems the upset win against the Chiefs in Week 5 has awoken a beast. Houston was a maniac again terrorizing the Texans backfield and collapsing the pocket with consistency from the edge.
Houston officially recorded two sacks and two tackles for loss, even if his first sack was a questionable call from the officials. Regardless, the veteran has been a key cog in the Colts defense being as efficient has they have been in the last two games, and he was a force yet again off the edge.
