The Texans don’t have much margin for error entering Week 3, and the matchup with the Colts gives them a clear set of pressure points. Both teams are 0-2, both are trying to avoid an 0-3 start, and Houston’s path Sunday will hinge on how well it handles a few specific battles on both sides of the ball.
One of the biggest is obvious: Jonathan Taylor. Houston knows exactly what happens when Indianapolis gets its run game rolling, and Taylor has opened the season with more than 250 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns.
The Texans’ run defense has been solid on paper, sitting sixth in the NFL in total rushing yards allowed, but there’s still room to clean things up after giving up nearly 4.0 yards per carry against both the Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. If Taylor is allowed to set the tone, the Colts can dictate pace and make the afternoon a lot harder for Houston.
The Texans also need another strong showing from Danielle Hunter after his rebound in Week 2. He looked much sharper against the Bengals, playing 31 pass rush snaps and generating pressure on five of them for a 19.1% pressure rate, while also picking up his first sack of the season against Burrow.
That kind of disruption matters even more against a Colts offensive line that has already shown cracks. Daniel Jones has been sacked only twice, but he’s also faced 27 pressures on 67 dropbacks, a 40.3% pressure rate.
If Hunter and the rest of the Texans’ rush can keep that heat coming, especially against Bernhard Raimann on the left side, Houston has a chance to pile up sacks.
Then there’s the battle inside, where the Texans’ offensive line has to answer after getting worked over by the Bengals. That loss exposed Houston in a big way: the run game never got going against Dexter Lawrence, and C.J.
Stroud was under enough pressure to help drag the offense to just six points. This week brings another difficult interior test in DeForest Buckner, who already has 1.5 sacks on the season.
That leaves veteran center Evan Brown with plenty on his plate again. If Houston can at least hold up in the middle and give its ground game some stability behind David Montgomery and Woody Marks, it changes the feel of the offense.
If not, and the backs are stuck in the same kind of slog they were in last week, the Texans could be staring at another long day.
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Noels growth comes with the familiar caveat that Houston wants more from its offense overall, and that broader push remains part of the conversation around the roster. For a team that keeps leaning on development from younger players, the next step for Noel will be turning that all-around improvement into something the Texans can rely on beyond special teams. [Read more 🡒]