Spokesman-Review
National Football League
Indianapolis 30, Houston 23
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 20, 2019
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Tony Corrente
Attendance: 59977

Jacoby Brissett completed 26 of 39 passes for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns to lead the host Indianapolis Colts to a 30-23 win over the Houston Texans in a battle for first in the AFC South.

The Texans (4-3) closed within 28-23 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to DeAndre Hopkins with 6:38 left.

With under three minutes left and forced to punt from its own end zone, Houston elected to take a safety, conceding two points when punter Bryan Anger ran out of the back of the end zone to make it 30-23 with 2:41 remaining.

Houston got the ball back at its own 36-yard line with 1:41 left, but Watson was intercepted by Darius Leonard with under a minute left.

Zach Pascal caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns for the Colts (4-2).

Watson completed 23 of 34 passes for 308 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.

The Colts opened the scoring with 5:01 remaining in the first quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to Pascal, which capped off a 12-play, 94-yard drive.

After a field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn helped Houston cut the Indianapolis lead to 7-3 with 8:59 left in the second quarter, the Texans had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Whitney Mercilus recovered a Colts fumble at the Indianapolis 6-yard line and returned it to the 4 to set up a first-and-goal.

But Houston went backward on its possession and had to settle for a 31-yard Fairbairn field goal to make it 7-6 Colts with 6:25 to go in the second quarter.

Indianapolis then took a 14-6 lead with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to T.Y. Hilton.

Indianapolis took a 21-9 lead with 10:34 left in the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to Eric Ebron.

Houston then recorded its first touchdown of the game, going 75 yards in five plays and cutting the Indianapolis lead to 21-16 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Keke Coutee with 8:43 left in the third.

But the Colts went back up by two scores when Brissett hit Pascal for a 3-yard touchdown pass that gave Indianapolis a 28-16 lead with 1:14 remaining in the third.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Houston   Indianapolis
Carlos Hyde Player Marlon Mack
12 Attempts 18
35 Yards 44
2.9 Avg Yards 2.4
0 Touchdowns 0
10 Long 7
Receiving
Houston   Indianapolis
DeAndre Hopkins Player Zach Pascal
9 Receptions 6
106 Yards 106
11.8 Avg Yards 17.7
1 Touchdowns 2
21 Long 34
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Houston 391 100 291 2 3 0 1.0 0
Indianapolis 383 62 321 4 0 2 3.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Indianapolis will play their next game at home against Denver. The Colts have a W/L % of .500 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Oakland. The Texans have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .667 after a loss.