HOUSTON â Riley Leonard threw for 270 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in his first career start, but it wasn't enough to stop the Colts' lengthy losing streak to close out the 2025 season.
The Colts' 38-30 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday at NRG Stadium was the team's seventh consecutive defeat, dropping their final record to 8-9 on the 2025 season.
The Colts landed a couple of early punches while Houston's starters were still in the game. Leonard, on a third-and-seven, pump faked and hit a wide open Alec Pierce on an out-and-up up route for a 66-yard touchdown on the Colts' opening possession. It was Leonard's first career touchdown pass and the longest reception of Pierce's career; it was also the longest touchdown the Texans allowed this season.
The Colts held Houston to field goals on their first two defensive possessions to begin the game, though on the Colts' second possession, a completion short of the sticks to tight end Tyler Warren seemingly led to a three-and-out. But punter Rigoberto Sanchez, from the Colts' 29-yard line, took the snap and lofted a pass to tight end Mo Alie-Cox, who slipped upfield on the fake and caught Sanchez's pass for a 16-yard gain.
It was Sanchez's first completion of his career and the Colts' second successful fake punt of the 2025 season; safety Rodney Thomas II rushed for three yards on a fourth-and-one fake punt from the Colts' 25-yard line in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Colts then kept their punt team on the field on the ensuing first-and-10 after Sanchez's completion to Alie-Cox and snapped the ball to Thomas, catching the Texans with 12 players on the field amid the chaos for a five-yard penalty.
Ultimately, the Colts settled for a 50-yard field goal by kicker Blake Grupe.
The Texans, though, found their footing and stormed ahead in the second quarter. Quarterback C.J. Stroud found wide receiver Jayden Higgins for an 11-yard touchdown on a rollout to his right to cap an 11-play, 82-yard drive; Leonard lost a fumble on the following possession that the Texans recovered on the Colts' two-yard line. Stroud ran in the score, quickly ballooning Houston's lead to 10 points.
Leonard engineered an eight-play, 92-yard drive late in the first half, though. The drive was sparked by a 30-yard strike to wide receiver Josh Downs on a deep over route, and Pierce drew a 30-yard pass interference flag. Facing a third-and-goal on the eight-yard line, Leonard ripped a strike to Pierce for the wideout's sixth touchdown of the season, which cut Houston's lead to three.
Houston added a late field goal to hold a 23-17 lead at halftime. The Texans pulled several starters â including quarterback C.J. Stroud â after the break, with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the process of blowing out the Tennessee Titans (which would clinch the AFC South for the Jaguars).
But Leonard again went bombs away for Pierce, who hauled in a 53-yard shot to open the third quarter â with that catch giving Pierce his first career 1,000-yard receiving season. Leonard dashed in a three-yard touchdown on the next play to put the Colts ahead by a point early in the third quarter.
A Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal put Houston back up by two midway through the third quarter. Grupe followed that with a 39-yarder to put the Colts back ahead late in the third quarter, though the scoring drive was marred by Pierce being ejected for making contact with an official (the contact appeared to be minimal) after an incompletion.
Leonard threw an interception on the Colts' ensuing possession, which turned into a go-ahead Fairbairn field goal with a little over 11 minutes left in the game.
A D.J. Giddens-heavy drive pushed the Colts into the Texans' red zone, where they had to settle for a 22-yard Grupe field goal to re-take the lead by a point with 2:39 left.
But Houston again was able to scythe downfield on a seven-play, 40-yard drive, leading to Fairbairn connecting on a 43-yard field goal to re-take the lead with 12 seconds remaining. Houston scored on eight of its 11 possessions.
