Indianapolis Takes On Houston In The AFC Wild Card Round
On Saturday Indianapolis who is a member of the AFC South will take on Houston who like Indianapolis is a member of the AFC South in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.
Indianapolis comes into the game with a record of 10-6 while Houston comes into the game with a record of 11-5.
As for how Indianapolis got to the postseason they had to defeat Tennessee in order to get in.
The Colts on Sunday night delivered when it mattered the most, going on the road to defeat their AFC South Division rival Tennessee Titans, 33-17, in their win-or-go-home Week 17 battle at Nissan Stadium. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
It’s the Colts’ first postseason berth since the 2014 season. Indianapolis, the sixth seed, will stay within the AFC South for its first-round playoff matchup, as the Colts on Saturday will travel to take on the Houston Texans, the third seed, in a Wild Card matchup at NRG Stadium. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
The Colts (10-6) got everything, and then some, from the Titans (9-7), who just wouldn’t go away Sunday night, despite the fact their starting quarterback, Marcus Mariota, was inactive with a nagging stinger injury. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
Indianapolis had two separate 14-point leads in Sunday’s game, opening things up with two straight touchdown drives to go up 14-0, but then seeing Tennessee eventually get back with seven, 14-7, and then seven once again, 17-10, going into halftime. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
The Colts came out of halftime with a solid seven-play, 68-yard drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Luck to tight end Ryan Hewitt to put Indy up 14 once again, 24-10. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
But Tennessee wouldn’t go away, reaching the end zone on a 22-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert to tight end Luke Stocker at the 1:55 mark of the third quarter, cutting the Colts’ lead to 24-17. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
The Titans looked poised to go on a potential game-tying drive midway through the fourth quarter as they approached midfield. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
But that’s when Kenny Moore II made the play of the game — and perhaps the season. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
Moore II stepped in front of Gabbert’s pass attempt on 3rd and 6 from the Tennessee 46-yard line, a play made with 9:17 left in the fourth quarter — the third interception of the season for the second-year cornerback. “according to https://www.colts.com/news/colts-clinch-first-playoff-berth-since-2014-with-win-over-titans
Like Indianapolis, Houston also won their previous game as they defeated Jacksonville to closeout the regular season and won the AFC South Title.
The Texans clinched their third AFC South division title in four years with a 20-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Houston became the first team to start the season 0-3 and finish as division champions since the 1992 San Diego Chargers. “according to https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-clinch-afc-south-with-win-over-jags
"It means a lot," head coach Bill O'Brien said after the game. "These guys have worked hard, especially the way we started out. It's a testament to the players in that locker room. They've always hung tough, and to go from 0-3, then go 11-2 in this league, pretty tough to do. Give credit to the players." “according to https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-clinch-afc-south-with-win-over-jags
In the regular season finale, Houston offense put up 342 net yards of offense (208 passing, 134 rushing). Deshaun Watson completed 25-of-35 for 234 yards and added 13 carries for a team-high 66 yards and a touchdown. DeAndre Hopkins led the Texans with 12 receptions for 147 yards in his seventh 100-yard performance in 2018. Lamar Miller rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown after missing Week 16 with an ankle injury. “according to https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-clinch-afc-south-with-win-over-jags
"It felt good," Miller said. "I'm happy to be back out there with my teammates. Right now, it's a one-game mentality. It's win or go home. Every week we have to put our best foot forward and we just have to finish. That's it." “according to https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-clinch-afc-south-with-win-over-jags
The Texans defense held the Jaguars to just 119 net yards of offense (89 passing, 30 rushing) and just six first downs. Blake Bortles was 15-of-28 for 107 yards, one interception and a 47.8 passer rating. Andre Hal picked off Bortles while J.J. Watt finished with four tackles (three solo), 1.5 sacks, one quarterback hit and one forced fumble. “according to https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-clinch-afc-south-with-win-over-jags
"I though today we tuned out a lot of noise, played our kind of football and I thought it worked to our advantage," Tyrann Mathieu said. "I think if we could just continue to do that, you know take care of the football, take the football away, and defensively, keep offenses in check and give the ball back to our quarterback – we’ve got a special quarterback – if we can give the ball to him, we’ll be alright." “according to https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-clinch-afc-south-with-win-over-jags
Kick-off is set for 4:35pm from NRG Stadium in Houston. The game will be televised on ESPN.