Anyone who's listened to me over the years knows how I feel about the Colts. I'm not exactly fond of them. I'm sure there are some nice people who work there. I know Chuck Pagano from my days calling games for the Miami Hurricanes. He's a wonderful man.
But this is business. And there's no team that's tortured the Texans from the get-go like Indy. Back in the early days at the RCA Dome, the Colts would stage a track meet and run the Texans right out of the building. The scores got closer in '08 and '09 but still no victory in Indianapolis. Peyton Manning was a Texans assassin. He played 18 games as a Colt against Houston and put up gargantuan numbers. Yes the Texans beat him twice at NRG Stadium; once in '06 and in the 2010 opener when Arian Foster ran wild. Manning still threw for over 400 yards in that game.
In 2011 when he sat out, I did feel slightly bad for him and the league. You never want to see a player get hurt. But you can bet I was happy when the Texans pounced in the opener, ruining Kerry Collins' Sunday.
Later that year, it looked like a layup that the Texans would get their first ever win in Indy. It didn't happen. Somehow, former Texans backup Dan Orlovksy led the Colts to an improbable win. And the Colts STILL ended up with the number one pick, taking Andrew Luck. That's how the series has gone.
Fast forward to 2015. Luck is out and veteran Matt Hasselbeck is in and ill. It's a Thursday night at NRG stadium. No problem, right? Wrong. Andre Johnson, in his return to Houston, catches two touchdown passes as the Texans fall. When Jacoby Brissette engineered the win over Houston earlier this year, it was another dagger delivered by the Texans' nemesis.
But that game snapped a three game winning streak against the Colts, including back to back victories at Lucas Oil Stadium. The win two years ago with Brandon Weeden coming off the bench stands as my second favorite road triumph outside of the first playoff clincher at Cinci in `11.
The Texans have still only prevailed seven times against the Colts. SEVEN! So, although this season has been among the top three most frustrating and disappointing for the franchise, a win at Indy would be like an island in the storm.
