The Indianapolis Colts are fighting for their playoff lives, currently holding the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoff standings after losing the AFC South lead to the Tennessee Titans last week. Indianapolis is still a game up on the Las Vegas Raiders, even through there's plenty of football left with five games remaining. The Houston Texans have been revitalized under interim head coach Romeo Crennel, winning three of their last four games and looking to play playoff spoiler in the division.
Houston and Indianapolis will be getting familiar with one another, as the teams will square off twice over the next three weeks. Can Deshaun Watson lead the Texans to another upset? Will Philip Rivers and the Colts bounce back from their biggest loss of the year? We'll find out soon, but here's everything you need to know for this AFC South showdown.
How to watch
Date: Sunday Dec. 6 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas)
TV: CBS | Stream: CBS All Access
Follow: CBS Sports App
Prediction
The Texans deserve credit for not punting on their season after an 0-4 start that led to Bill O'Brien's ouster. Since Romeo Crennel took over as interim head coach, Houston is 4-3 and has rallied behind the elite play of Deshaun Watson. The Texans franchise quarterback has been one of the game's best since Week 6, ranking second in the NFL in pass yards per game (301.6), third in yards per attempt (8.8) and tied for fourth in passing touchdowns (15). Watson is on pace to set career-highs in touchdowns (37), yards per attempt (8.8), and completion percentage (68.9%) despite Houston ranking second-to-last in rushing offense.
The Colts were blown out by the Titans last week, a game they sorely missed DeForest Buckner on the defensive line (reserve/COVID-19 list). While Buckner's status is uncertain for Sunday's matchup, the Colts run defense should be in for a bounce-back performance. Indianapolis allowed 229 yards and four rushing touchdowns to the Titans (5.1 yards per carry) last week, way above the Colts' season average of 89.2 rushing yards allowed and 3.5 yards per carry. The Colts also need to help out Philip Rivers on the ground, as their 3.7 yards per carry average is the second worst in the NFL. Indianapolis has only converted 36.4% of third downs running the ball, the lowest in the league. Getting Jonathan Taylor back should help in that department.
Indianapolis doesn't beat itself often, only recording 12 giveaways on the year -- tied for eighth-fewest in the league. Houston's defense has just eight takeaways on the year, the fewest in the NFL -- but the Texans have scored a touchdown on seven of the ensuing eight drives (the highest touchdown percentage in the league). Getting takeaways is the Texans' ticket to pulling off the upset, especially with an abysmal run game and a passing attack without Will Fuller (suspension). This is a game that Houston will be in throughout, but if Indianapolis doesn't turn the football over and gets the run game going against the second-worst run defense in football -- the Colts will survive.
Pick: Colts 27, Texans 24
Check out CBSSports.com for even more expert predictions on this game and the rest of Week 13.
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