Houston Texans are once again chasing the Indianapolis Colts

The defending AFC South champion Houston Texans host the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night and need to stop the bleeding quickly.

It’s kind of odd when the defending division champion and a club that has a better record than the other feels like the pursuer rather than the frontrunner. But when it comes to the Houston Texans and their rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts as of late, it’s been an odd year-plus.

On Sunday at Baltimore, the first-place Texans were humbled by the hottest team in the league, 41-7. Meanwhile, the Colts snapped a mini two-game skid and handed the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, 33-13.

The clubs now both own 6-4 record and will meet on Thursday night at Houston. It’s a huge game for Bill O’Brien’s club, considering that Frank Reich’s team prevailed in the teams’ first meeting of the season, 30-23, at Indianapolis.

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Let’s backtrack a bit. Last season, both eventual playoff-bound squads got off the miserable starts. The Texans dropped their first three contests before embarking on a nine-game winning streak. They would finish 11-5 and become just the sixth club in NFL history to overcome such a start and reached the postseason.

The Colts were actually four games under .500 at 1-5 before winning nine of their last 10 contests to finish 10-6 and grab a wild card berth. The clubs would meet in the Wild Card playoffs and Reich’s squad came away with a convincing 21-7 win — Indianapolis’ second victory of the season at Houston.

A year ago, the Texans’ winning streak began with a 37-34 overtime triumph at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 4. But it also ended when the Colts came to Houston a dealt them a 24-21 setback in Week 14. And while the Texans did win the AFC South, you get the sense they have been in pursuit of their division adversary ever since. With this year’s loss at Indianapolis, O’Brien’s team has suddenly dropped three straight in this series.

Besides the team’s matching 6-4 records, there are plenty of other similarities. In 2018, the Colts bolstered their offensive line by selecting offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Braden Smith in the first and second rounds, respectively. The former earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors as a rookie and Indianapolis’ line has been the key to their recent success.

In April, the Texans offensive linemen Tytus Howard and Max Scharping in the first and second rounds, respectively. Howard made his starting debut in Week 2 at left guard and has opened at right tackle in six other games. Scharping has been the starting left guard since Week 3.

Thanks in part to Marlon Mack (who suffered a broken hand vs. the Jaguars) and his 862 yards on the ground, only four teams in the league are averaging more rushing yards per game than the Colts (141.1). And with a 1-2 punch of Carlos Hyde (769) and Duke Johnson (327), the Houston Texans are fifth in the league in rushing offense, running for 140.7 per contest. It’s no coincidence that in some ways, O’Brien’s offense is starting to resemble Reich’s attack.

As has been often stated, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And if the Texans are going to hand the Colts their first loss of the season and climb back atop the AFC South, they need to do it by beating them at their own game.