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Week 16 Game Recap: Houston Texans 15, Indianapolis Colts 38
What you need to know
| Houston Texans |
Andre Johnson again proved why he's one of the most valuable receivers in fantasy football. Despite having just five receptions for 60 yards through the first 59 minutes of the game, Johnson still managed to finish with 74 yards and a touchdown because of his garbage time snag in the final minute.
Sage Rosenfels did not play very well, though his fantasy line looks respectable enough because he threw 36 passes. He compiled yardage throughout the game and capped it with a lot of garbage time points, but even that only brought him from terrible to a respectable point total.
Darius Walker received all of the team's carries and did very well with them until the Texans fell behind by too many points and had to abandon the running game.
| Indianapolis Colts |
Joseph Addai left the game early with an injury, but returned soon after to score a touchdown. That was his last action of the game, however, as Kenton Keith and Clifton Dawson saw the remainder of the rushing duties.
Peyton Manning played three quarters, and put up great stats while he was in there. He played about as well as he can play, and his performance assured that the Texans were never going to compete in this game.
Reggie Wayne played the entire game, because fellow starting wideout Anthony Gonzalez left the game early on with an injury. Wayne put up big numbers in what will likely be his last significant action of the season since the coaching staff plans on resting many of the starters in next week's finale.
What you ought to know
| QB Sage Rosenfels, Pass: 22 - 36 - 233 - 2 TD / 3 INT |
Rosenfels opened the game well enough, going 4-5 for 51 yards and a touchdown on the game's opening possession. And his final stat line, while not pretty, certainly isn't the worst of his career. But contrary to what the fantasy point total may tell you, Rosenfels was not very good in this game. For the first 58 minutes, Rosenfels had thrown for 210 yards, 1 touchdown, and three interceptions. Then he engineered a garbage time drive of 23 yards that culminated in a six yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, a play on which there was virtually no defense being played. So his stat line was made much healthier by that late game score. Rosenfels also could have been intercepted a fourth time, but S Bob Sanders dropped one that was thrown almost right to him. It was the second time in the game that Rosenfels attempted a pass to WR Andre Johnson and the pass was on a better route for Sanders than Johnson, suggesting that there may have been a communication issue going on between quarterback and receiver. Only one of the interceptions wasn't entirely Rosenfels' fault, as WR Andre Davis had a ball go off his hands and right into the waiting arms of Matt Giordano for the pick.
| RB Darius Walker, Rush: 19 - 66 - 0, Rec: 6 - 44 - 0 (7 targets) |
Walker managed to put up 110 total yards on a day when his team got crushed and no one else around him seemed very interested in playing a full sixty minutes. His first two carries totaled 30 yards, but unfortunately for him, 52 of his yards came on the team's first two possessions. He didn't have very much room to maneuver after that as the game got out of control. The Colts stormed out to a big lead, resulting in the Texans pretty much abandoning the running game in the second half. Walker did keep himself active with three second half receptions, and he was the only running back on the roster to get a touch (after rumors of a Walker/Ron Dayne time-sharing system for much of the week). But the fact that the Texans never came really close to scoring after that first drive and the late garbage drive really put a damper on what could have been a productive game for Walker.
| WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 7 - 74 - 1 (11 targets) |
Johnson put up solid fantasy stats, but his performance could have been much better if Sage Rosenfels wasn't throwing the ball to everyone but his own players. On several occasions, Johnson was wide open down the field only to have Rosenfels misfire by a good five yards. Johnson salvaged what would have been a very forgettable game by scoring a six yard touchdown with about a minute left in the game -- the very definition of garbage points.
| WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 4 - 69 - 1 (5 targets) |
Walter was nothing if not efficient, turning his five targets into four catches for 69 yards and an early score. He was the recipient of a 17 yard score on the game's opening drive, which is also known as the last time in the game that the Texans looked like they belonged on the same field as the Colts. Walter didn't catch another pass in the first half, and since the entire second half can be characterized as garbage time, that's where most of his damage came.
| TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (8 targets) |
Daniels was busy, though it isn't necessarily reflected in the numbers. He dropped two very catchable passes, a surprise for the normally sure-handed tight end. He did manage a very nice grab on a low diving pass over the middle in the first half, a play that was challenged but ultimately upheld. As he fell to the ground, he somehow kept his hands under the football despite the ball being pinned against his upper arm for a very tough catch. Daniels was later targeted in the end zone by Rosenfels, but the ball was thrown into far too much coverage and was easily intercepted by Melvin Bullitt.
| PK Kris Brown 0 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Brown attempted one field goal, but pushed a 49 yard attempt that missed well wide to the right. There was a high snap on the attempt, which could have contributed to the kick being missed.
| HOU Rush Defense |
The Texans allowed the previously struggling Indianapolis running game to get itself back on track with 120 yards and two scores on the ground. And that's despite the Colts losing their top runner, Joseph Addai, to a foot injury after just six carries. The Texans allowed the likes of backups Kenton Keith and Clifton Dawson to roll for a combined 81 yards on 20 carries and a score, which goes to show that they weren't likely going to stop pretty much anyone that was put back there for Indianapolis. On the Dawson touchdown run, the Texans defensive line was simply blasted back off the line into the end zone, and on Addai's touchdown he broke several tackles inside the five yard line on his way to the score. This aspect of the game isn't nearly the main reason the Texans lost the game; but it's certainly one of many.
| HOU Pass Defense |
Put simply, the Texans had no answers at all for Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis offense. At times, they allowed long passes downfield that set up rushing touchdowns. At other times, they allowed the Colts to grind out drives and then cap it off with scores through the air. Either way, the Texans couldn't do a thing. Early on, they were actually getting pressure on Manning but weren't able to sack him much. For the most part, he was able to move his feet and avoid the rush and find his man downfield. Considering the Texans sacked Manning just once (courtesy of DE Mario Williams), didn't intercept him at all, allowed him to complete 80% of his passes, and allowed three touchdowns through the air, there's not much we can tell you that isn't obvious from looking at the stats. Just about all of Manning's incomplete passes could have been completed if not for a few drops here and there
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 28 - 35 - 311 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Manning greatly rewarded owners who believed head coach Tony Dungy when he said he was going to play his starters like he usually would. Manning put up huge stats through just three quarters of work, and he would've been replaced in the fourth quarter regardless of what week it was since the Colts were up 38-7. He was so efficient with all of his passes that his seven incompletions looked better than the majority of Sage Rosenfels' 22 completions. Nearly all of Manning's 35 passes could have been caught, and a great many of them were. He was under some pressure in the first half, but he did a good job of moving his feet and getting himself into a good throwing position, as usual. And the Houston defensive backs never really had much of a chance. Despite having to deal with the early losses of Joseph Addai and Anthony Gonzalez, Manning simply moved on to the next best available targets and made the most of those players' abilities. He made a fantastic throw to Dallas Clark on Clark's second score. With Clark cutting from left to right and the defender crossing from right to left, Manning put the ball a hair behind Clark in a spot that only he could get to. It was a perfectly thrown pass and was typical of how well Manning saw the entire field and basically couldn't be stopped.
| QB Jim Sorgi, Pass: 3 - 5 - 29 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -1 - 0 |
Sorgi entered the game late in relief of Peyton Manning to start the fourth quarter with the score 38-7 Indianapolis. He only threw five passes, but he at least didn't look lost out there. Sorgi rarely gets the opportunity to throw the ball, and he asserted himself well aside from one terribly underthrown pass to Reggie Wayne. Sorgi should play a lot next week as head coach Tony Dungy plans on resting the majority of his starters, and he certainly won't expose Peyton Manning very long to possibly get injured in what is essentially a meaningless game.
| RB Kenton Keith, Rush: 10 - 60 - 0, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
For the second time this season, Keith replaced a banged-up Joseph Addai during the game. And for the second time, he responded with a terrific effort. Keith averaged six yards per carry, and that average wasn't inflated due to one long carry. He was consistently between four and ten yards per rush, and was very good in short yardage situations. He nearly scored off a middle screen that he took to the two yard line, but Addai temporarily returned to the game to pick up the score. If Addai doesn't play or is limited in Week 17, it would seem likely that Keith would receive the majority of the rushing duties in the game.
| RB Clifton Dawson, Rush: 10 - 21 - 1 (2 targets) |
Dawson saw more action than he ever has before, thanks to the Joseph Addai injury. It would seem that if Addai misses next week's game that Kenton Keith would fill Addai's shoes while Dawson would slot in for Keith. While it may not be enough to warrant fantasy consideration, those in extremely deep leagues could benefit from some extra work from a player who has never been anything more than a fantasy afterthought. For what it's worth, Dawson had a powerful run up the middle for 12 yards and later added a strong touchdown (though it should be noted that that score was more a product of a great push from the offensive line than anything).
| RB Joseph Addai, Rush: 6 - 26 - 1, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Thirty yards and a touchdown are probably not the kind of stats Addai owners had in mind for championship week in most fantasy leagues, but they should consider themselves extremely lucky to have even gotten that much. Addai was shaken up following a short run in the first quarter. He seemed fine jogging off the field, but was replaced by Kenton Keith for the next nine plays on the drive. Surprisingly, Addai returned to the game just as the Colts reached the two yard line. He took the second down carry up the middle and scored after breaking two tackles. However, that was Addai's last game action for the day. He remained on the sideline for the rest of the afternoon, so it shouldn't be anything serious at all. More than likely, he'll receive plenty of rest or possibly sit out entirely in Week 17 as the Colts prepare for the playoffs.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 10 - 143 - 1 (14 targets) |
Wayne was by far the most active player on either side of the field in the passing game. Even with his huge stats, there's the knowledge that it actually could've been even better had it not been for a huge hit by C.C. Brown that disrupted what would have been about a 40 yard reception for Wayne. He also fumbled a reception away as the Colts were driving late in the first half that was recovered by the Texans. Still, no one will complain about 143 yards and a score, and the best part about it for Wayne owners is that he was still out there catching passes late in the fourth quarter and piling on points. More than likely, he was only still in the game because the Colts were short at receiver after Anthony Gonzalez suffered a foot injury early on.
| WR Devin Aromashodu, Rec: 3 - 42 - 0 (4 targets) |
Aromashodu filled in for Anthony Gonzalez after Gonzalez left with a foot injury early on. TE Dallas Clark actually was the team's number two option, but Aromashodu showed an ability to get open if nothing else. Of course, that could have had something to do with the fact that there were about five players on the Colts that teams fear more than him, so he wasn't exactly a focus of the defense. More than his play in the game is what his role meant. With Marvin Harrison out and now Gonzalez hobbled, we got a better sense of the wide receiver pecking order on the Colts should anyone be unavailable during the postseason. And Aromashodu looks to be the next man in line.
| WR Anthony Gonzalez, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets) |
Gonzalez caught two early passes but left the game soon after with an apparent foot injury. Unlike Joseph Addai (who was injured but remained on the sidelines), Gonzalez wasn't visible in any of the shots of the Indianapolis sideline. With HC Tony Dungy already planning on resting most of his starters in Week 17, it's highly unlikely that Gonzalez would see any action at all coming off an injury (even if it turns out to be minor).
| TE Dallas Clark, Rush: 1 - 15 - 0, Rec: 6 - 60 - 2 (7 targets) |
Clark turned in one of his best games of the year in a season that has become a career year for him. He snagged two touchdown passes from Peyton Manning, and in so doing he set Indianapolis records for most receptions and touchdowns by a tight end in one season. He also added a 15 yard run on an end-around and became the number two option in the passing game once rookie Anthony Gonzalez left the game with an apparent foot injury. Clark was very much a focal point of the offense, as evidenced by his first touchdown reception being a designed play specifically for him to be the first option.
| TE Bryan Fletcher, Rec: 5 - 25 - 0 (5 targets) |
Fletcher didn't make very many plays downfield, but he was very effective in picking up short gains in the flat and over the middle to help keep the chains moving. If Tony Dungy follows through with his plan of resting most of his starters next week, Fletcher could see a lot more work than usual.
| PK Adam Vinatieri 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points |
Vinatieri connected on his only kick attempt of the game, a chip shot from 29 yards out.
| IND Rush Defense |
Early on, Darius Walker broke a couple of nice long runs that suggested the Texans would be able to sustain enough drives to keep the game competitive. But after picking up 41 yards on his first four carries, Walker mustered only 25 yards on his remaining 15 carries. And, with the Colts eventually blowing the game open, the opportunities to run were very few and far between for the Texans.
| IND Pass Defense |
The Indianapolis defense opened the game's first drive playing like it was a meaningless game. They allowed the Texans to simply march down the field with ease, culminating with a Kevin Walter touchdown in the corner. Something clicked between the first and second drive, however, because the Colts didn't allow another score until garbage time late in the fourth quarter. They intercepted Sage Rosenfels three times, all of which were basically gift-wrapped for them. The first was made by S Bob Sanders over the middle on an awful pass thrown well behind WR Andre Johnson. The next interception was made by Matt Giordano off a deflection, and the final one was made by Melvin Bullitt in the end zone on yet another terrible decision by Rosenfels, who tried forcing it into traffic. All-in-all, it's going to look like the Colts pass defense didn't play all that great since they allowed 233 yards and two scores through the air and didn't record a sack. But the reality is that this game got out of hand in a hurry and there wasn't much reason to take very many chances. There was never a point in the game when one got the feeling that the Colts were ever in any danger of allowing the Texans to get back into it.
CB Tim Jennings was shaken up late in the game, but was able to walk off the field under his own power.
