DJ Bien Aime
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DJ Bien Aime
ESPN
- DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July 2022 after covering the New York Jets. He is a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show “Talkin' Texans.”
Stephen Holder
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Stephen Holder
ESPN
- Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and the NFL as a whole. Stephen placed first in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition and was previously a top 10 winner in explanatory journalism in the national Associated Press Sports Editors competition. He has been covering the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005 to 2013 and the Colts since 2013. He previously worked for the Miami Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, the Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.
January 6, 2024, 11:33 p.m. ET
INDIANAPOLIS – Two teams that combined for seven wins last season proved how far ahead of schedule their rebuilds are by playing for a playoff spot on Saturday night, and the Houston Texans didn't have to settle for a moral victory to be satisfied.
A fourth down with 1:03 remaining secured a 23-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts as Houston advances to the playoffs. The Texans will become AFC South champions if the Jacksonville Jaguars lose at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
It capped a great regular season for rookie quarterback CJ Stroud and first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans, but it also showed that the Colts are on the right track under first-year head coach Shane Steichen.
Houston Texans
In training camp, the Texans said they would shock the world, and qualifying for the playoffs in Ryans' first year as coach confirmed that prediction.
Stroud's demeanor belied his inexperience as he played his first prime-time NFL game in a win-or-go-home situation.
The rookie engineered a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter to give the Texans the lead for good. He was 7 of 7 for 82 yards on the drive
This means the Texans will reach the playoffs for the first time since 2019. This was Stroud and Ryans' first season together and they claimed ten wins in the regular season, following three last season.
QB collapse: Stroud showed why he is the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. The first play of Houston's first drive was Stroud's 59-yard pass to Nico Collins for a 75-yard touchdown, and Stroud continued the day's effective throw for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He surpassed 4,000 yards passing, becoming the fifth rookie in NFL history to reach the milestone.
Describe the Texans game in two words: Nico Collins. The Texans were without their Nos. 2, 3 and 4 receivers and needed Collins to lead the passing game. He finished the game with nine catches for 195 yards (Houston had 264 total) and a touchdown. Collins finished the game with the highest percentage of receiving yards (74%) in a game in Texans history (with at least 200 passing yards).
Key game: The Colts faced a fourth-and-1 from the Texans' 15 with 1:06 to play. Instead of running back Jonathan Taylor, who was out early in the game with heel and ankle problems, Gardner Minshew threw to running back Tyler Goodson, but Goodson dropped him, sealing the result. — DJ Bien Aime
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts came out of this game knowing they were ahead of schedule in their restart last season and were on track to take another step in 2024.
That they played a meaningful game in Week 18 says a lot about how far they are from a four-win season. However, on Saturday evening it became clear that there is still more work ahead of them. The lack of depth in the secondary has been exposed. The wide receivers and tight ends had minimal impact and the tackling was poor.
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But the Colts and Steichen should be a team to be reckoned with even after a disappointing loss.
Biggest gap in the game plan: Defensively, the Colts made some potential misjudgments. They arguably waited too long to mix things up, like the timely blitz defensive coordinator Gus Bradley called on safety/linebacker Ronnie Harrison Jr. in the fourth quarter, leading to a sack by Stroud. When Stroud is comfortable in the pocket, problems tend to arise for defenses.
Decisive game: Stroud hit Collins for a 75-yard touchdown on the Texans' first play from scrimmage, a play that exposed the Colts' major problems in the secondary. Injury-related personnel changes have eroded depth, and the lack of safety help (there were two safeties deep on the play) for rookie cornerback JuJu Brents on the deep ball suggested someone blew a coverage.
Stunning next-gen stats: The Colts managed 167 of their 227 rushing yards before contact, an average of 4.5 yards before contact on each rush. That performance came against a Houston defense that allowed an average of 1.6 yards before contact per rush this season, the best mark in the NFL. Taylor delivered the second-best performance of his career with 188 rushing yards. –Stephen Holder