The Colts continued to exercise their dominance over the rest of the AFC South on Sunday, taking down the Tennessee Titans 38-14 for their seventh win of the season. The Colts remain atop the NFL standings and only keep reinforcing their offensive prowess, scoring at least 30 points for the sixth time this season.
The Titans fell to 1-7 and the Jacksonville Jaguars were on a much-needed bye after their loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, leaving the Houston Texans as the remaining AFC South team trying to notch another win on Sunday.
They did just that, finally showing signs of life with their 26-15 win over the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium. The victory was the Texans' third of the season, and the first time this season quarterback C.J. Stroud looked like the quarterback he's expected to be. With the win, the Texans moved to 3-4 and stay in third place in the AFC South behind the 4-3 Jaguars.
Stroud was 30-of-39 for 318 yards (averaging 8.2 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns – and perhaps most importantly, he was not sacked a single time. Through the Texans' first six games of the season, Stroud took a total of 15 sacks, with at least two per game. In fact, Sunday's game was only the seventh game in his career (41 total games played, including postseason) Stroud has not been sacked.
"Our guys just went out and everybody was, I would say, locked in," head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "Everybody had laser focus on their job, what we needed to do. Guys made the plays they were supposed to make. I thought C.J. made great decisions with the football. When it wasn't there, checking the ball down to the [running] backs...it starts up front always. When our offensive line can do that, control the line of scrimmage, things will go well for us."
The Texans finished the game with 475 total net yards to the 49ers' 223, as a confident Stroud controlled the game and stayed strong under the pressure that he did face.
"When C.J. is locked in, when the quarterback is playing well and C.J. plays well and he's upbeat and everybody can see he's going to the right spot with the football, he's making great decisions, stepping up, escaping the pocket, converting some runs there, converting some third downs, you just see the entire energy, the vibe of our entire sideline just changes," Ryans said.
It is worth noting that the 49ers were without some notable heavy hitters on their defense: linebacker Fred Warner (ankle) and defensive lineman Nick Bosa (torn ACL) are both out for the season, and defensive linemen Jordan Elliott and Sam Okuayinonu and linebacker Dee Winters all left the game with injuries.
However, the Texans dominated defensively just as much as they did offensively, putting together a truly complementary game of football. 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was limited to just eight carries for 25 yards (he did have three receptions for 43 yards) and backup quarterback Mac Jones – starting for an injured Brock Purdy (toe) for the sixth time this season – was just 19-of-32 for 193 yards. Jones threw two touchdowns but was also intercepted in the final few minutes of the game in a play that locked in the Texans' win.
"I think we give ourselves a chance each week we keep winning," Stroud said. "This is a long season. It's a marathon; it's not a sprint. If we keep stacking, who knows. We can do whatever we put on the field. I think today was a step in the right direction."
The Colts will meet the Texans in Weeks 13 and 18, and face off with the 49ers in Week 16.
The Texans next play the 6-2 Denver Broncos.
