Houston Texans vs Indianapolis Colts Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/17/2021

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Sunday, October 17, 2021

Venue:  Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Texans +9.5, Colts -9.5; Over/Under:  42.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Texans +9.5, Colts -9.5; Over/Under:  42.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Texans +10, Colts -10; Over/Under:  43.5 points

 

Houston Texans:  1-4 (2nd place, AFC South)

Indianapolis Colts:  1-4 (3rd place, AFC South)

 

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Houston Texans:  lost at home on Oct. 10 against the New England Patriots 25-22.

Indianapolis Colts:  lost on the road on Oct. 11 against the Baltimore Ravens in overtime 31-25.

 

 

 

The Texans are coming into this game with a 1-4 record overall and they are 0-2 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd divisional matchup of the season and they are already 1-0 in their division this year. After winning their first game of the season, they have now lost their last 4 games straight coming into this one. They lost their last game to the Patriots 25-22 in a game that they were leading for 3 quarters until they blew that lead in the 4th quarter. Davis Mills played well in that game as he completed 21/29 passes for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns. Mark Ingram Jr. led the team in rushing with 41 yards on 16 carries but they did not really have much of a run game going for them in that one. The receiving corps had a nice day as Chris Moore led the receivers with 109 yards and 1 touchdown on 5 receptions. Chris Conley also had a nice day with 84 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions. Christian Kirksey led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 6 assisted ones while Terrance Mitchell was right behind him with 6 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Jonathan Greenard recorded the only sack for them and Lonnie Johnson Jr. came away with the only interception for his team in that game. They have scored 89 points in their first 5 games averaging 17.8 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 141 points against them allowing 28.2 PPG. Their offense is averaging 282.6 YPG while their defense is allowing 391.8 YPG.

 

 

The Colts are coming into this game with a 1-4 record overall and they are 0-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd divisional matchup on their schedule and they are already off to a bad start with a 0-1 record in their division this season. They lost their last game on Monday night football to the Ravens in a heartbreaking fashion 31-25. They led that game 25-9 going into the 4th quarter and they came out of that game as the losers in OT. Carson Wentz played very well in that game as he completed 25/35 passes for 402 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jonathan Taylor led the team in rushing with 53 yards and 1 touchdown on 15 carries while Marlon Mack had 47 rushing yards on 5 carries. Taylor also led the receivers in that game with 116 yards and 1 touchdown through the air on 3 receptions while Michael Pittman Jr. also had a good game with 89 yards receiving and 1 touchdown on 6 receptions. Darius Leonard led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 6 assisted ones while Bobby Okereke was right behind with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Tyquan Lewis led the defense in sacks with 1.5 while Al-Quadin Muhammad had the other 1/2 sack in that one. No one on the defense was able to come up with an interception in that game. They have scored 108 points in their first 5 games averaging 21.6 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 128 points against them allowing 25.6 PPG. Their offense is averaging 363.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 369.2 YPG.

 

 

The Colts are coming into this game as a 9.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. They have been playing much better in their recent games and they looked really good on both offense and defense on Monday night for most of that game. The Texans are in the same position though, they looked really good on Sunday against the Patriots holding down a lead for the entire game before blowing it in the 4th quarter. Both of these teams need this divisional win and just a win in general so both are going to play hard here. The Colts should not be favored by almost 10 points over any team in the league no matter how good they looked so the best bet to place in this game is on the Texans to cover the spread here.

 

Texans Colts Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Sunday, October 17, 2021 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Colts 24 Texans 17.

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Houston Texans: 51-59 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 148-160 ATS in all games. 90-99 ATS as an underdog. 56-66 ATS as a road underdog. 70-81 ATS in road games. 73-81 ATS in all games where the total is between 42.5 and 49 points.

Indianapolis Colts: 249-238 ATS in all games. 139-129 ATS as a favorite. 133-112 ATS in all games where the total is between 42.5 and 49 points. 121-115 ATS off 1 or more straight overs.

 

 

Houston Texans:  K. Pierre-Louis (LB) Ques Sun - Thigh injury. D. Amendola (WR) Ques Sun - Hamstring injury. S. Phillips (RB) Ques Sun - Illness.

Indianapolis Colts:  S. Ehlinger (QB) Ques Sun - Knee injury. B. Smith (T) Ques Sun - Foot injury. R. Ya-Sin (CB) Ques Sun - Ankle injury.

 

 

Houston Texans: Davis Mills is one player to watch in this matchup. He is the starting quarterback for them the rest of the way and he is getting better each week as they almost pulled off the win in their last game. Look for him to keep improving each week and finally get a win as a starting quarterback.

 

Indianapolis Colts: Jonathan Taylor is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in rushing yards this season. He is coming off of a game where he led the team in rushing and receiving with over 100 receiving yards and over 150 yards from scrimmage. He is a bis part of this offense so look for him to keep getting a lot of looks in this game.

 

 

"Davis protected the football. He was very good in the pocket and ran our offense very well. We knew going into the game, the most important thing to do was be able to protect the football and he did that." - David Culley on his quarterback protecting the football and preventing turnovers in their games.

 

 

"Tough loss. Proud of the way our guys fought. We have to learn from our mistakes and learn how to finish games. No one is going to feel sorry for us. We have to learn from it and get better." - French Reich on his team finishing games after their loss in OT to the Ravens in their last game on Monday night.

 

 

 

WR Cooks, Brandin 

WR Conley, Chris 

TE Brown, Pharaoh 

QB Mills, Davis  

RB INGRAM, MARK 

RB Lindsay, Phillip 

 

WR Strachan, Mike 

WR Pittman Jr., Michael 

WR Pascal, Zach 

TE DOYLE, JACK 

TE Alie-Cox, Mo 

QB Wentz, Carson 

RB Taylor, Jonathan 

 

Passing: D. Mills (669)

Rushing: M. Ingram II (212)

Receiving: B. Cooks (392)

Touchdowns: M. Ingram II (1)

Sacks: W. Mercilus (3)

Tackles: C. Kirksey (26)

 

Passing: C. Wentz (1322)

Rushing: J. Taylor (327)

Receiving: M. Pittman Jr. (368)

Touchdowns: Z. Pascal (3)

Sacks: K. Turay (2)

Tackles: K. Moore II (23)

 

Coaches:

Houston Texans: David Culley (1st season)

Indianapolis Colts: Frank Reich (4th season)

 

66 degrees F sunny, 56% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 14 mph wind speeds W.