‘A little bit of a grudge’: Houston Texans go into season opener against the Colts with a chip on their shoulder

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz (2) calls a play before guard Danny Pinter (63) snaps the ball during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman) (Tyler Kaufman, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

This is the Houston Texans newsletter emailed out each week by the KPRC 2 Sports team. To subscribe, visit click2houston.com/newsletters.


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Hello! I’m KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy checking in with this week’s Texans Newsletter. Hope you are as ready for the new NFL season as I am! We look forward to bringing you all of your Texans coverage on your TV, online at Click2Houston.com and digitally on our KPRC 2+ livestream. Make sure you check that out through the streaming device on your Smart TV or on our website. There’s a lot of great content to watch!

Opening Sunday versus the Colts

There’s no doubt the Texans will be ready to roll on Sunday. They go in expecting to win and will take the field with a chip on their shoulder because of what happened twice in 2021 against the Colts. To say Houston was dominated is an understatement. They were embarrassed in both meetings with Indy losing 31-3 on the road in October and then in December, the Texans followed up with a debacle at NRG when they were shutout 31-0 en route to a 4-13 season.

“You don’t forget. You don’t forget those types of games,” WR Brandin Cooks told reporters on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, it’s a divisional game. Your opener is against a team that really embarrassed you last year. You don’t forget, but you don’t let that cloud and gray affect what you have to get done. You still have to focus on the details and don’t get too carried away on necessarily revenge.”

Davis Mills also believes they will use those setbacks as motivation.

“You’ve got to look back to last year. We lost both games. I think it was 31-0, 31-3. We’ve got to come back, get back, make it feel right again and go get win a game this weekend,” Mills said on Wednesday. “Then you think, we’ve got a whole new team over here, they’ve got a new coach, new players, new pieces out there, so you’ve got to look back at last year to kind of get some energy. I wouldn’t say revenge game but hold a little bit of a grudge so you can go out there and play fast on Sunday. Treat it like it’s a new game because everything is different. It’s not going to be the same as it was last year, so it’s old and new at the same time.”

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) warms up for an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Keys to a victory

There are quite a few obviously, so I’ll start with the Texans defense and their sole job of getting pressure on aging QB Matt Ryan. Everything I see and read out of Indy say he’s more motivated than ever since leaving Atlanta and settling into this offense with the Colts. That said, he’s a guy who when pressured begins to force throws. That’s where this Houston secondary will need to be ready and make plays on Indy’s receivers. 

Rookie and top pick Derek Stingley Jr. will make his NFL debut after limited action in the preseason. He will be opposite Steven Nelson. Fellow rookie Jalen Pitre will also start at Free Safety alongside veteran Jonathan Owens who will be at Strong Safety.

The other huge key of course is slowing down one of, if not the best, running back in the NFL Jonathan Taylor. Last year, Taylor went for a whopping 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards a carry. The Texans front seven have to do their jobs against a good Indy O-Line. He’s a great one and great players usually rise to the occasion.

Offensively, for the Texans all eyes will be on quarterback Davis Mills. That’s not a shocker right? Mills enters season two very confident in his abilities with this offense and now has more weapons on his side. Brandin Cooks is back and so is Nico Collins who is ready to take a big step in his second season. For Houston though to be successful, we all know it will be about their running game. Last season, they were dead last and embarrassing to watch, not only the backs but also the inept offensive line.

Rookie Dameon Pierce is the starter after an impressive offseason, training camp and preseason. He is physical and is a strong “north-south” runner which OC Pep Hamilton loves to see. He caught the attention of Lovie Smith and Hamilton from the start and they knew right away he’d be their guy. 

Up front, the offensive line will be much better with the bookends in Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard in place to protect Mills. The interior OL looks to be improved as well. Everyone is excited to see first round pick Kenyon Green at Left Guard.

My pick today and my season projection

The Texans are an improved team talent-wise but still far from being a playoff contender. That said, I really believe we will see a more competitive team on the field this season than we did last year. I don’t see blowout losses but rather a team that’s in it into 4th quarters and winning a few a long the way. I look at the Texans as a squad that will compete hard, stay in games and at the end win 6 games. Keep in mind their strength of schedule (they also play the powerhouse AFC West this year) and I think going 6-11 is very possible. That’s a step in the right direction in their rebuild. I think 2023 is when they take a major step and yes I’m on record as saying that Davis Mills will be their quarterback. Mills will take a big step this year running this offense.

Sunday’s game prediction: Colts win 24-20

Reminder to watch “Texans Gameday with Lovie Smith” every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. on KPRC 2 during the season. 

(KPRC 2 / Click2Houston.com)

Also join me, along with Ari Alexander, Chancellor Johnson and special guests most weeks on our KPRC 2+ Sports podcast that drops each Friday around lunchtime and then lives on click2houston.com.

Have fun on opening Sunday!


SPECIAL CONTENT FROM PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK REPORTER AND KPRC 2 CONTRIBUTER AARON WILSON