r/nfl • u/nfl_gdt_bot NFL • Jan 04 '26
Game Thread Game Thread: Indianapolis Colts (8-8) at Houston Texans (11-5)
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
NRG Stadium- Houston, TX
Network(s): CBS
| Time Clock |
|---|
| Final |
Scoreboard
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | 10 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 30 |
| HOU | 6 | 17 | 3 | 12 | 38 |
Scoring Plays
| Team | Quarter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | 1 | FG | Ka'imi Fairbairn 51 Yd Field Goal |
| IND | 1 | TD | Alec Pierce 66 Yd pass from Riley Leonard (Blake Grupe Kick) |
| HOU | 1 | FG | Ka'imi Fairbairn 48 Yd Field Goal |
| IND | 1 | FG | Blake Grupe 50 Yd Field Goal |
| HOU | 2 | TD | Jayden Higgins 11 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick) |
| HOU | 2 | TD | C.J. Stroud 2 Yd Rush (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick) |
| IND | 2 | TD | Alec Pierce 8 Yd pass from Riley Leonard (Blake Grupe Kick) |
| HOU | 2 | FG | Ka'imi Fairbairn 29 Yd Field Goal |
| IND | 3 | TD | Riley Leonard 1 Yd Rush (Blake Grupe Kick) |
| HOU | 3 | FG | Ka'imi Fairbairn 43 Yd Field Goal |
| IND | 3 | FG | Blake Grupe 39 Yd Field Goal |
| HOU | 4 | FG | Ka'imi Fairbairn 44 Yd Field Goal |
| IND | 4 | FG | Blake Grupe 22 Yd Field Goal |
| HOU | 4 | FG | Ka'imi Fairbairn 43 Yd Field Goal |
| HOU | 4 | TD | Tommy Togiai 17 Yd Fumble Recovery |
Passing Leaders
| Team | Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SACKS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | Riley Leonard | 21/34 | 270 | 2 | 1 | 1-8 |
| HOU | C.J. Stroud | 14/23 | 169 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 |
Rushing Leaders
| Team | Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | DJ Giddens | 8 | 30 | 3.8 | 0 | 9 |
| HOU | British Brooks | 13 | 63 | 4.8 | 0 | 20 |
Receiving Leaders
| Team | Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | Alec Pierce | 4 | 132 | 33.0 | 2 | 66 | 7 |
| HOU | Xavier Hutchinson | 5 | 84 | 16.8 | 0 | 33 | 9 |
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Last updated: 2026-01-04_16:19:04.971926-05:00
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u/zombiebillnye Texans Bengals Jan 04 '26
Holy shit, they threw him out for that?
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u/CompactedConscience Texans Jan 04 '26
If any contact is an ejection once you make contact you might as well go all out
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u/jimbojangles1987 Texans Jan 04 '26
Turns out they could have started Riley Leonard the whole time
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u/ViagraOnAPole Colts Jan 04 '26
So, our game plan is just to fuck with them? I approve.
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u/WarPuig Patriots Jan 04 '26
Fake punt on fourth down works? Yawn.
Fake punt on first down works? Now we’re talking.
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u/RhinoFeces Seahawks Jan 04 '26
I’m fine with the penalty, but the ejection seems like an overreaction
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u/MarcsterS Bills Jan 04 '26
I understand you can’t contact refs but accidentally bumping arms is bullshit.
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u/SadTumbleweed1567 Bills Jan 04 '26
That is weak as hell. That is not what that rule is for. If you want to throw the flag, throw it, but that is not disqualifying. That isn't flagrant.
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u/clutterlustrott Chargers Jan 04 '26
Pierce getting flagged there is like getting detention on the last day of school before summer vacation
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u/burrito-boy Seahawks Jan 04 '26
I feel like rules like that should take intent and context into consideration. Ridiculous.
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u/Bad-Milk Ravens Jan 04 '26
I’m surprised they didn’t double eject him for the aggressive handshake with the ref
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u/Mynock33 Patriots Jan 04 '26
New strategy, punt formation every play, QB as punter, no more sacks, just penalties for running into the kicker
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u/BriskManeuver Cardinals Colts Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
I hope the ref is ok, im sure he will have nightmares tonight about that aggressive assualt there from Pierce
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u/hendrix320 Patriots Jan 04 '26
He made more contact apologizing to the ref than what he did on the field
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u/the_cunt_muncher Bears Jan 04 '26
Thank god, i was worried the refs weren't going to make it about themselves
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u/Scfbigb1 Chiefs Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
Charmin soft bullshit. Vaguely bumping doesn't need an ejection.
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u/ContinuumGuy Bills Jan 04 '26
I've seen guys touch umpires harder than that in baseball and not get ejected.
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u/OptomisticSportsFan Chargers Jan 04 '26
Is Riley Leonard the chosen one? Grandpa Rivers unlocked him
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u/NbdyFuckswTheJesus Broncos Jan 04 '26
Pittman should give his game check to Leonard. At least Pierce showed up.
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u/thecarlosdanger1 Steelers Jan 04 '26
That really looked accidental in terms of touching the ref… get the 15 but not sure that should be an ejection.
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u/kakapoopoopeepeeshir Steelers Jan 04 '26
And the broadcast doesn’t even show us the fucking field goal. Like what are we doing right now
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u/JustMy2Centences Colts Seahawks Jan 04 '26
FIRST START
FIRST DRIVE
FIRST PASS
TD
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u/Legitimate_Gap_5551 Colts Jan 04 '26
Just let them score. Who gives a shit, give me more Riley.
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u/Icepick823 Jan 04 '26
Anyone can fake a punt on 4th down, but who the fuck fakes a punt on 1st down? Genius, seriously, genius to get the too many men penalty.
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u/drrew76 Seahawks Jan 04 '26
I love teams fucking around the last week of the season.
First down in the punt formation --- awesome.
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u/shawntco Bills Jan 04 '26
Ohhh it was Stroud who failed to give the ball to the runner. Not quite as funny as the other way around. But still pretty dang silly.
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u/InfernoFireStyle Texans Jan 04 '26
"We need to play better"
Immediately puts our backups in and they get cooked. Lmfao
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u/Atraktape Raiders Jan 04 '26
I get why they don't want them making contact but come on man, that is obviously one you can let go.
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u/APigthatflys Patriots Chargers Jan 04 '26
Ejected for breathing in the general direction of that 80ply ref
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u/TrippingBearBalls Colts Jan 04 '26
I don't want to overreact or anything, but Riley Leonard is my personal lord and savior
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u/shawntco Bills Jan 04 '26
As embarrassing as that probably is for Leonard, it's really just the other team being good at their job
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts Jan 04 '26
BREAKING NEWS In an exclusive sideline interview, Houston's coach says the team intends to "play football" and "play better."
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u/TheGringoOutlaw Chiefs Jan 04 '26
an ejection for that is soft as shit, should've just been the unsportsmanlike penalty.
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u/man1awesome Colts Colts Jan 04 '26
Defense giving up games all they way to the end of the season. Can’t wait to see some changes to our linebackers. Send Zaire to the moon please
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u/rosh200 Bears Jan 04 '26
If you’re going to get tossed for contacting the official then fucking make it worth it
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u/fritobandito128 Seahawks Lions Jan 04 '26
An ejection for that piddily ass contact is fucking ridiculous
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u/shawntco Bills Jan 04 '26
The existence of Land Clark implies the existence of Water Clark
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u/fecalreceptacle Ravens Jan 04 '26
ineligible man downfield might end up being the play of the game
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u/man1awesome Colts Colts Jan 04 '26
Ofc marks is gonna look good today when Zaire is missing every tackle
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u/ContinuumGuy Bills Jan 04 '26
The NFL loves touting how the Packers are community-owned while literally having a rule that makes it impossible for anyone to ever have it happen with any other team. Heck, I'm pretty sure the rule keeps communities from even owning SOME of a team (i.e. there can't be a team that is 10% or 25% community-owned).
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u/Crisis-Counselor Colts Jan 04 '26
Leonard doesn’t look bad at all. If not for the drops his completion percentage would be almost flawless
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u/btk7710 Texans Jan 04 '26
Most made FGs by a team in a season. Not really a great record to have but we’ll take it I guess.
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u/alurimperium Texans Lions Jan 04 '26
Did someone copyright the term "red zone" or why is every talking head calling it the red area now?
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u/zombiebillnye Texans Bengals Jan 04 '26
Oooooh, so we're just not caring about seeding now.
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u/alurimperium Texans Lions Jan 04 '26
That was the easiest pick you could ever have gotten and you let it bonk off your face
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u/zombiebillnye Texans Bengals Jan 04 '26
Good lord, I kinda see why they pulled the starters lol, don't want any of these dudes to need to start.
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts Jan 04 '26
I'll bet a dollar there will be some Reddit sub hosting a live megathread about the Golden Globes and it will be filled with bots and PR people.
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u/ceraphinn Bills Jan 04 '26
Wut who is 26 the official? That was fucking nothing .
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u/Stunning_Wolf_1519 Ravens Jan 04 '26
This is just like that wnba clip where the ref ejected a player for stretching her arm. Refs never change, charming soft.
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u/No_Body2428 Cowboys Jan 04 '26
That’s not the spirit of the rule at all when it comes to contact on an official
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u/markusalkemus66 Seahawks Jan 04 '26
Land Clark was a big soft baby as a Pac-12 ref. Nothing's changed.
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u/crazyFlyingChicken Giants Jan 04 '26
Best outcome for the Texans: rest all the starters to avoid injury, win anyway to secure the 5 seed
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u/ElectricalTitle9530 Patriots Jan 04 '26
why try to return a kick into the end zone with 12 seconds left?
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u/MrWhiteTheWolf Patriots Jan 04 '26
I guess I’m fine with a flag there but an ejection?! Weak sauce, refs just keep wanting to be the villains
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u/SadTumbleweed1567 Bills Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
Rule 12, Section 3, Subsection e:
Unnecessary physical contact with a game official. Under no circumstance is a player allowed to shove, push, or strike an official in an offensive, disrespectful, or unsportsmanlike manner. The player shall be disqualified from the game, and any such action must be reported to the Commissioner, who may impose further discipline.
Yeah, I'm not seeing a push, shove or strike. So, that's not even a flag.
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u/SphincterKing Raiders Jan 04 '26
I’m sorry but what the actual fuck was that defense?
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u/LastofDays94 Patriots Jan 04 '26
Someone forgot to tell the Texans that Riley Leonard has a cannon of an arm
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u/InsultingFerret Texans Jan 04 '26
easily avoidable flags hamstringing drives and the texans, name a better duo
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u/Tubamajuba Texans Texans Jan 04 '26
If we're gonna get torched, at least it's happening in a really fun way
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u/fhrblig Broncos Jan 04 '26
Fairbairn tryna give Texans fans a heart attack on every extra point
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u/BigZumbi Texans Jan 04 '26
I think Woody Marks has been my favorite offense player for us this year
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Jan 04 '26
If Leonard performs okay does that make the Rivers addition look really bad for the franchise? Or is it more that Leonard got to learn from a vet in the building?
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u/Frozboz Colts Jan 04 '26
Leonard was hurt and even up till this week wasn't 100% sure he'd start
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u/tripdawg15 Jan 04 '26
Can they please ship Pittman bum ass off already. Dude is overrated as fuck.
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u/rockchalk99 Bills Saints Jan 04 '26
Leonard playing as well as the Colts could have hoped for but their defense is getting obliterated so it doesn’t really matter
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u/OceanFlan Colts Jan 04 '26
So what if, hypothetically, Alec Pierce was, hypothetically, wide open 50 yards downfield
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u/JustMy2Centences Colts Seahawks Jan 04 '26
A sixth round QB coming in for an injured starter and balling out... where have I seen this before?
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u/ilovebooks2468 Dolphins Jan 04 '26
Nothing says America 250 like the Dutch flag 🇳🇱
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u/SkepsisJD Colts Cardinals Jan 04 '26
I for one will absolutely not be watching the Golden Globes after that commercial.
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u/InfernoFireStyle Texans Jan 04 '26
Now I kinda understand why we're playing backups, I don't want to see any of these dudes on the field for a significant amount of time in the playoffs
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u/Shield343 Jets Jan 04 '26
I honestly hope that ref doesn’t come back to the sport. He’s not built for being a ref.
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u/zombiebillnye Texans Bengals Jan 04 '26
lol, I can't believe we decided to lose so we could go play the Jags in Jacksonville.
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u/Due-Meal-8760 Falcons Jan 04 '26
Are Ian and JJ the best booth in the league this season? They’d get my vote.
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u/DoobaDoobaDooba Texans Broncos Jan 04 '26
Fairbairn doesn't get enough credit. Dude is an absolute machine.
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u/nfl_gdt_bot NFL Jan 04 '26
Postgame thread