Despite a dismal performance four days earlier, Ryan Mallett was named the starter for the Texans. On the other side, Andrew Luck was inactive for the second week in a row, nursing a shoulder injury. Despite suffering from a viral infection, Matt Hasselbeck was named the starting quarterback for the Colts. Off to a promising start, Houston turned over the ball inside the red zone after a Mallett pass to Arian Foster was tipped and caught by Mike Adams. Indianapolis capitalized on the turnover with a 48-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri to take a 3-0 lead with 6:32 left in the 1st. The Colts further extended their lead with a 4-yard pass from Hasselbeck to former Texan Andre Johnson to lead 10-0 with 1:27 left in the first. Ending the 1st quarter, Houston trailed 0-10 with the ball on their own 34. On their second play of the 2nd quarter, the Texans punted the ball away on 4th and 1. Houston caught a break following a chop-block penalty against Frank Gore that made it 1st and 25 for Indianapolis near midfield. On 3rd and 22 a roughing the passer call against J. J. Watt gave the Colts a 1st down that put them in the red zone. On 3rd down Hasselbeck threw to T. Y. Hilton, who dropped the ball for an incomplete pass. After the play, Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano drew a 15-yard penalty after rushing the field. After a series of penalties, the Colts settled for a 42-yard Vinatieri field goal to lead 13-0 with 7:41 remaining in the half. A roughing the passer call against the Colts gave the Texans an automatic 1st down on what would have been 3rd down. After Mallett was slow to get up, Brian Hoyer came in at the quarterback position. On 3rd and 10 Hoyer picked up the 1st down passing 24 yards to DeAndre Hopkins. Hoyer connected with Hopkins once again to pick up a long 1st down conversion to put the Texans in the red zone. A chop block penalty pushed Houston back to the 31 for a 2nd and 21. Houston finally got on the board with a 36-yard field goal from Nick Novak to trail 3-13 with 2:08 left in the first half. With no timeouts left, Hoyer completed a 95-yard drive with a 42-yard Hail Mary pass to Jaelen Strong to trail 9-13. With Novak's kick good, Houston trailed Indianapolis 10-13 going into halftime. Receiving the ball to start off the first half, the Colts quickly marched down field to score a touchdown on the opening play. With 13:02 left in the 3rd, Indianapolis extended their lead to 20-10. The Texans were not as lucky as an offensive pass-interference call against Hopkins put Houston into a three-and-out. On the Colts' next possession Houston's defense forced them into their first 3-and-out of the night. On the Texans' next possession Hoyer connected with Strong once again for a touchdown. With Novak making the extra point, Houston trailed 17-20 with 4:03 left in the 3rd. Making their first 3rd conversion of the night, the Colts continued to march down the field to hold their 20-17 lead at the end of the 3rd. With a face-mask penalty called against Jadeveon Clowney, the Colts came closer to the Houston red zone. However, on the next play an offside penalty was called against Indianapolis. An interception was over-called following a holding penalty against Houston. On the next play the Texans were penalized again with a pass interference call against Kareem Jackson, making it 1st and goal from the Houston 1 for the Colts. Hasselbeck connected with Johnson to make it 26-17. With Vinatieri making the extra point, Indianapolis extended their lead to 27-17 with 10:28 left to play. Receiving the ball, Foster gained 32 yards to put Houston into Indianapolis territory, keeping hopes of a comeback alive. The Texans ended the drive with a 49-yard field goal from Novak to trail 20-27 with 6:07 left to play. Houston kicked the ball back to Indianapolis, who took the touchback. The Colts punted the ball back with 3:39 left to play, with the Texans returning it to their own 36. By the 2-minute warning Houston had reached Indianapolis territory at the Colts' 38. On the play following the 2 minute warning, Hoyer threw an interception that was picked off by Adams. Indianapolis held onto the ball and ran the clock out to win, 27-20.

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