Colts-Texans NFL Week 6 Thursday Game Preview

The top two teams in the AFC South will kick off Week 6 on Thursday night when star quarterback Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts (3-2) face defensive standout J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans (3-2) at NRG Stadium in Houston.  The Colts have won three in a row – including last week’s 20-13 win over Baltimore – and the Texans are 2-0 this season at home.

The red-hot Luck leads the NFL with 1,617 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. This season, he has already registered four 300-yard passing performances and two games with at least four touchdown passes.

“He always puts it on himself,” said Colts tight end Dwayne Allen about Luck.  “That’s the type of leader we have here.  That’s why we follow him.”

One of Luck's top targets last week was receiver Reggie Wayne, who had seven catches for 77 yards and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the ninth-most receiving yards all-time (13,950 yards).  Wayne needs 55 yards against the Texans to surpass Hall of Famer James Lofton for eighth place.

Wayne also will try to extend his streak of impressive performances against AFC South opponents. Since divisional realignment in 2002, Wayne leads all active players in receptions (376) and receiving yards (5,077) against his own division.

Meanwhile, the Texans enter Week 6 hungry for a win following a tough 20-17 overtime road loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

“No loss feels good, but, like I said, we have a quick turnaround here,” says Texans head coach Bill O’Brien. “We’ve got to get better, and we’ve got to get better fast because we haven’t played a division game yet and we have a very big division game coming up on Thursday night in front of our home fans.”

One man who can make things extremely difficult for Luck on Thursday is Houston's ultra-talented defensive end J.J. Watt.  Through the first five weeks, Watt has made an impact on defense, special teams, and offense, amassing two sacks, an 80-yard pick-six, a touchdown reception, a fumble recovery, and a blocked extra point.

In last week's loss, wide receiver Andre Johnson had five receptions for 58 yards, bringing his career total to 954 receptions.  With that effort, Johnson moved past Hall of Famer Andre Reed (951) for the 11th-most receptions in NFL history.  Johnson needs just 19 receiving yards to become the 15th player in NFL history to reach 13,000.

Running back Arian Foster ran with physicality against the Dallas D last week, rushing for a game-high 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a one-yard touchdown run in the final minute of regulation to force overtime.  Since 2010, Foster leads the AFC with 5,210 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns, including 752 yards (125.3 per game) and six touchdowns in six career matchups against Indianapolis.

Foster could be the key for Houston because if he can duplicate his production against the Cowboys, the Texans will be able to keep the talented Luck off the field.


WEEK 6 INJURY REPORT – INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at HOUSTON TEXANS


INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
 
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Monday
CB Darius Butler (ankle), DT Arthur Jones (ankle), G Jack Mewhort (ankle), LB Bjoern Werner (ankle)

Tuesday
CB Darius Butler (ankle), DT Arthur Jones (ankle), G Jack Mewhort (ankle), G Hugh Thornton (back), WR Reggie Wayne (not injury related)

 
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Monday
G Hugh Thornton (back)

Tuesday
LB Jerrell Freeman (hamstring)

 
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Tuesday
LB Bjoern Werner (ankle)


HOUSTON TEXANS
   
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Monday
RB Alfred Blue (knee), CB A.J. Bouye (groin), LB Jadeveon Clowney (knee), LB Brian Cushing (knee), RB Arian Foster (hamstring), WR Andre Johnson (ankle), CB Johnathan Joseph (knee), P Shane Lechler (left hip), CB Darryl Morris (ankle), LB Ricky Sapp (hamstring), DE J.J. Watt (thigh)

Tuesday
LB Jadeveon Clowney (knee), LB Brian Cushing (knee), WR Andre Johnson (ankle), CB Darryl Morris (ankle)

 
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Monday
G Brandon Brooks (ankle), DE Tim Jamison (groin), T Derek Newton (ankle), DT Ryan Pickett (knee), S Eddie Pleasant (ankle)

Tuesday
RB Alfred Blue (knee), CB A.J. Bouye (groin), G Brandon Brooks (ankle), RB Arian Foster (hamstring), DE Tim Jamison (groin), CB Johnathan Joseph (knee), P Shane Lechler (left hip), T Derek Newton (ankle), DT Ryan Pickett (knee), S Eddie Pleasant (ankle), DE J.J. Watt (thigh)

 
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Monday
LB Akeem Dent (shoulder), QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (calf), WR Damaris Johnson (foot), G Ben Jones (knee), S D.J. Swearinger (elbow), LB Jeff Tarpinian (thigh)

Tuesday
LB Akeem Dent (shoulder), QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (calf), WR Damaris Johnson (foot), G Ben Jones (knee), S D.J. Swearinger (elbow), LB Jeff Tarpinian (thigh)


By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services