HOUSTON (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts got off to a great start.
The Houston Texans are in the midst of an even better finish that has them heading to the playoffs and the Colts going home after they conclude the regular season on Sunday.
The Texans (11-5) secured their third straight postseason berth with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 27 that eliminated the Colts (8-8) from playoff contention.
Houston has won eight straight games to become the fifth team since 1990 to make the playoffs after opening a season 0-3 and first to do it twice. The 2018 Texans also made such a turnaround.
A win by the Texans Sunday and a loss by first-place Jacksonville to last-place Tennessee would give Houston its third straight AFC South title.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand the work that it takes to be able to overcome such a rough start to the season,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It takes a ton of belief. It takes a ton of commitment to the things that you’re doing. You have to trust your process completely. You can’t waver. That’s what I’m most proud of this year, nobody wavering. ... For how we had to do it this year, it is one to be proud of for our guys and the work that they put in.”
The Colts have dropped six in a row and seven of eight as injuries have piled up. They’re the sixth team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to start 8-2 and miss the playoffs and the first since the 1995 Oakland Raiders.
Despite the results, coach Shane Steichen has been impressed with the attitude of his team during this difficult stretch.
“Even through all the adversity, I think that locker room that the outside world can’t see is they’ve stuck together,” he said. “They show up every week, and they work their tails off in practice and they go fight like crazy on Sundays.”
The Colts will have a new quarterback Sunday with rookie Riley Leonard set to make his first NFL start, ending the short but remarkable comeback of Philip Rivers. The 44-year-old came off the couch after retiring following the 2020 season and started the previous three games as Indianapolis tried to make a push for the playoffs.
“When you have a new quarterback stepping in, there will be a lot of unknowns,” Ryans said. “There’s nothing that we can just hang our hat on. ... You have to be prepared for anything. One thing, knowing that he is an athletic quarterback, you have to be prepared for him to pull the football and run it. We have to make sure we’re aware for that.”
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor led the NFL in rushing most of this season and looked like he would run away with his second career rushing title in early November. But during Indy’s second-half collapse, Taylor’s productivity dwindled.
Heading into the final weekend of the season, Taylor finds himself trailing James Cook of Buffalo. Cook heads into Sunday’s late-afternoon game against the New York Jets with 1,606 yards. Taylor has 1,559 yards and plays in the early afternoon.
Would Indy, with a rookie quarterback, give Taylor enough of a workload to retake the lead? Perhaps.
“Those are individual awards, but, obviously, those are cool awards too,” Steichen said. “I mean, we go out there as a team, we play together, you fight for the guy next to you. You represent the organization, but you represent the name on the back of your jersey as well every time you step out there. And so if those guys got those deals, that’d be pretty cool.”
The Texans lead the NFL in points (16.6) and yards (272.4) allowed per game. They’re allowing 177.6 yards passing and 94.8 yards rushing per game as they seek to become the second team in the last five seasons to allow fewer than 200 passing yards and fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.
Houston is on track to set a franchise record for fewest points allowed per game in a season. The team's previous best performance came in 2011, when it allowed 17.4.
The Texans sacked Justin Herbert five times Saturday and had one interception. They rank fourth in the league with 18 interceptions and fifth with 46 sacks.
Steichen has been fending off questions about his job status since the Texans eliminated Indy from the playoffs.
Steichen’s results might be measured against those of Ryans. Both became first-time head coaches three years ago and had rookie quarterbacks selected among the top four overall draft picks.
Ryans has a 31-19 record and Steichen is 25-25.
With C.J. Stroud running the offense, Houston has three straight seasons with double-digit wins and three straight playoff appearances.
Steichen, meanwhile, has not made the playoffs and has not won more than nine games. Quarterback Anthony Richardson went 8-7 as a starter in an injury-plagued first two seasons and has only appeared in two games this year as he appears to be on the way out of Indy.
AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
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Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen walks on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
