The Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts met in their AFC South divisional clash on Sunday Night Football at Reliant Stadium.
The Texans were coming into the game off a five-game losing streak while Chuck Pagano's side were flying high following their win over the Denver Broncos last time out.
During the interval, matters took a turn for the serious when the home side's head coach Gary Kubiak collapsed and was taken to hospital with his team leading 21-6 at the break.
The Colts showed resurgence after half time to get out of the 18-point hole to secure a 27-24 win as Randy Bullock missed a kick late for the Texans to tie the game.
Read our commentary below to see how all the action unfolded.
Good morning and welcome to the live commentary of the NFL clash between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans are in dire need of win in this game to further avoid slipping out of the playoff race in the AFC South following a five-game losing streak.
A loss would see them drop to 2-6 and would allow the Colts to move to 6-2 with a four-game lead over Gary Kubiak's side and have the advantage of the head-to-head record.
Following a poor start to the year and injury quarterback Matt Schaub has been replaced as the Texans' starter for this game by Case Keenum. He had a good game against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and could find success against the Colts secondary.
The Texans will also have to lean on their running game with Arian Foster overcoming an injury to be fit for this clash. He along with Ben Tate will need to have big games for their side to prevail.
The Colts were rocked by an injury to veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne, which has left him out for the season with a torn ACL. The euphoria of their win over the Denver Broncos was slightly dampened by that news and they will now have to continue without him.
Quarterback Andrew Luck still has a lot of weapons around him, such as TY Hilton and Darius Heyward-Bey along with tight end Coby Fleener. They have to rely on their ground game to eek out more yards than they have done, especially from Trent Richardson, who has been extremely disappointing following his trade move from the Cleveland Browns. He has really struggled to get going at all and has lost reps to Donald Brown in recent weeks.
The Colts defense has also been impressive this season and shut down the Broncos for the majority of their clash which seemed almost unthinkable after their start to the season. Defensive end Robert Mathis leads the NFL in sacks with 11.5 and has inspired his teammates to produce their best as they've held some good offenses in check. A more disciplined performance maybe called for in this game though to keep the Texans ground game at bay.
The inactives have been released and we'll start with the home side.
TEXANS INACTIVES: Yates, Graham, Karim, Gardner, White, Tarpinian, Jamison.
COLTS INACTIVES: Howell, Chapman, Gordy, Toler, Johnson, Holmes, Saunders.
No big injury news for the Texans but the Colts are without a few players in their secondary as Greg Toler and Delano Howell miss out. Other than that both teams are at full strength as far as their current 53-man rosters go.
Martin returns the ball to the 27 where Keenum will begin for the Texans.
Keenum runs a bootleg and can't find an open receiver, so he moves around in the pocket to buy time before he finds Posey on the right-hand sideline for 11 yards and a first down.
TOUCHDOWN TEXANS!
The Texans take the lead on a huge pass play as Keenum fakes the handoff to Tate and runs a play-action pass. He throws deep down the right-hand sideline for Johnson, who beats his man on a double move and catches the ball and runs in for the simple score. That play was worth 62 yards.
Reed returns the ball to the 26 where Luck will begin.
Luck gets his side moving immediately with a huge completion down the left-hand sideline to his tight end Fleener, who is wide open on a crossing route and shakes off a tackle for 44 yards moving the Colts to the Houston 30.
The Colts' drive comes to an end just before the redzone as they can't find more yards as a run from Richardson goes nowhere and Luck can only find a completion for six yards on third, which was a penalty anyway, which the Texans decline leaving Vinatieri with a 42 yarder.
FIELD GOAL BLOCKED!!
Vinatieri sees his kicked blocked as JJ Watt comes over the top of the line and gets his hands to the ball. Swearinger picks up the loose ball and runs to the Colts' 41 before he's brought down.
Keenum moves the chains immediately on a quick slant for Johnson over the middle of the field for 16 yards before he gets brought down by a plethora of tacklers.
The Texans' drive stalls as Tate carries for nine yards on three attempts and he gets stood up on third down to force Kubiak into a tough decision, but he decides to go for it on fourth down.
STOPPED! Tate can't find the yardage again and is stopped at the line by the Colts who will take over at their own 16 on downs. Perhaps they should have kicked the field goal.
Richardson shows some good skills on the ground as he moves the chains with two good runs, one over the left-hand side of the line for seven and then right through the middle for a tough four to get his side the first down.
The Colts can't get the yardage they need on third and seven as a wide open Hilton drops a pass from Luck right on his numbers, which forces McAfee into a punt.
BLOCKED! Not a good start for the Colts' special teams as McAfee first drops the punt and is forcec into a jink move to avoid going down to get the ball away, but that play is called back for a penalty. He kicks again and the Texans get a piece of the punt and the ball is downed near midfield.
Tate gets his side moving this time as he finds nine yards on his first carry of the drive over the right-hand side of the line on a stretch play and then comes back with a power run through the middle for the first down.
TOUCHDOWN TEXANS!
Keenum does it again and dances around in the pocket and just throws the ball deep, somehow Johnson reads the pass and catches it in the endzone over Bethea for the score for a 41-yard touchdown. Very unconventional play at the moment.
Bullock kicks the ball out of the endzone where Luck will begin again.
Brown gets the carry for the Colts on second down after a four-yard gain on first and he cuts the ball back on a stretch play over to the right and moves the chains a whole lot more for 24 yards before he's pushed out of bounds.
The Colts stall yet again on their drive as Luck's pass to Heyward-Bey on third down falls incomplete following a seven-yard pick up on second from Brown. McAfee's punt is downed at the one-yard line by Brown, where Keenum will start again.
Keenum gets his side out of hole following two incompletions on third down as he fires to Johnson on a quick slant and the receiver beats his man and takes the ball to their 23 on an 18-yard reception.
The Texans face a third and eight at the start of the second quarter as Tate can only find two yards on second down after an incompletion on first.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: Indianapolis Colts 0-14 Houston Texans
The Texans can't get the first down as Keenum's pass falls incomplete looking for his tight end Graham. Lechler punts to the 29 where his kick is caught for the fair catch.
SACKS! Luck is brought down on back-to-back play as Mays then Watt gets to him in the pocket for a combined loss of 13 yards killing their drive. McAfee's punt is collected by Martin who takes it to the 45.
Tate gets his side moving on the ground with a crucial first down pick up on third and down and one as he finds space over the middle of the line to get that tough yard needed. Good solid running.
Rookie back Dennis Johnson gets the handoff this tie and he moves the chains well with a good burst of pace to find gains of eight yards then 11 to move his side to the 23 of the Colts.
SACK! Keenum tries to avoid the rush again but this time he's brought down on the left-hand side of the pocket by Walden on third down, which forces Bullock into a 49-yard field goal attempt.
FIELD GOAL NO GOOD!
Bullock blasts a low kick at goal but it doesn't have enough swerve to get through the posts.
The Colts go three and out yet again as Luck is pressured on third down and is forced to throw the ball into the ground to avoid the sack. McAfee's punt is caught at the Houston 10 by Martin.
Keenum avoids the rush again on play-action as he is forced to throw on the run and he manages to find Johnson over the middle of the field on a crossing route for 18 yards to move his side to the 28.
The Texans' drive stalls as Tate can't find any yardage on second down and on third Keenum's throw over the middle falls incomplete looking for Hopkins. Lechler's punt is caught by Hilton and takes the ball all the way back to the Colts 47.
The Colts get a break on first down as Luck fires down field looking for Heyward-Bey off play-action deep, but he can't come up with the catch. However, the officials throw a flag for pass interference to move them to the five-yard line.
SACK! The Texans bring the heat on second down to bring down Luck on second down and Smith brings him down for an eight-yard loss after Watt got the initial pressure. On third he's under pressure again but this time he throws it away. Vinatieri is forced into a 30 yarder.
FIELD GOAL GOOD!
Vinatieri fires his kick through the posts to make it an 11-point game.
FUMBLE!
Martin has the ball ripped from his grasp on the kick return by Studebaker and the linebacker manages to dive on the floor to gather the ball after Sergio Brown kicked the ball back to him before it went out of bounds.
REVERSED!
The officials on review deemed that the ball hit Brazill on the foot when he was out of bounds he tried to knock it backwards. A terrible call on review, as replays suggest the ball never touched the foot. A shocking decision.
Keenum will have the ball at the Houston 28.
Keenum gets the chains moving for his side with another monster throw down the left-hand sideline for Johnson who beats Butler in coverage for a 30-yard pickup. That was a lovely touch throw on third down as well.
Keenum runs the for the first down himself after he finds the Colts in man coverage and runs down the to five-yard line to move his side into a scoring area.
TOUCHDOWN TEXANS!
Getting straight up from his run Keenum lines his side up and throws a fade to the back of the endzone for Johnson who goes above Davis to make the catch for the five-yard score. The Texans take advantage of the call that went their way.
Luck begin at the 20.
Luck takes a knee following an incompletion to end the half.
HALF TIME: Indianapolis Colts 3-21 Houston Texans
Well well well, what a show Case Keenum is putting on here. He has thrown three touchdown passes in the first half to put his side up by 18 points, an incredible display if a bit unconventional but it could be just what the Texans need to break their five-game losing streak.
As good as Keenum has been Johnson has had equally as good a 30 minutes as he has been on the receiving end of all these passes and has hauled seven of them in for an incredible 190 yards and three touchdowns. He's on pace to break the NFL receiving record for yards in one game.
It just hasn't been the Colts' day. They were robbed of the ball just before the half by the officials at the Houston 28 on a shambolic call and the Texans went on to score. They've had a field goal blocked and had another questionable call on a punt so you could argue their luck is out.
BREAKING NEWS: Texans head coach Gary Kubiak has collapsed on the field.
Terrible news coming out of Houston that head coach Kubiak has collapsed on the sideline and has been carried off the field on a flatboard stretcher for reasons unknown.
We assume that Kubiak is being taken to hospital and we'll get news on his condition as some as know anything.
NBC reporter Michelle Tayfoya confirms that Kubiak collapsed while walking off and appeared to be in "extraordinary pain". He was reportedly talking but could not open his eyes while he was being treated.
Houston defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has just revealed that he will be taking over coaching duties and that Kubiak has been taken to hospital as a precaution and that his vital signs were good.
Reed returns the ball to the 42 from Bullock's kickoff where Luck will begin.
Luck gets the chains moving for his side with two short passes to Hilton over the middle of the field to move his over midfield.
Luck fires to Hilton again on an out route over the right-hand side of the field and he beats his man for an 11-yard gain to move the chains.
Update: Coach Kubiak has been taken to a local hospital, he is conscious and his family is with him. #TexansGameday — Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 4, 2013
The Colts move the chains as Luck fires over the middle of the field for Hilton but the pass falls incomplete but after the play a flag comes in and Ed Reed is penalised for unnecessary roughness, which gets the Colts a first down at the Houston 17.
The Colts can't take advantage of the penalty as Luck throws three incompletions inside the redzone as he can't find an open man in the endzone, that will force Vinatieri into a 35 yarder.
FIELD GOAL GOOD!
Vinatieri kicks his effort through the posts and the Colts cut the lead to 15 points.
Martin returns the ball to the Houston 13 where Keenum will begin.
Keenum does it again as he moves around in the pocket to buy time and he finds Posey on a comeback route to get the first down for his side with a 12-yard reception.
The Texans are moving now as Keenum fires down the seam for Graham who beats a tackle to get 20 yards to move his side to their 47.
Tate's turn on the ground to get the yardage for the first down and a whole lot more as he runs for nine yards on first and gets another nine on second to get to the 35 before he's finally brought down.
Keenum moves the chains again as he finds Graham again! This time he sits back in the pocket and doesn't have to move to find his tight end over the middle on a crossing route for 12 yards.
A penalty moves the Texans back to first and 15 and they can't get the yardage back on first and second, on third Keenum fires to Tate but he can only get as far as the 25 and he takes a loss on the play. That forces Bullock into a 43-yard attempt.
FIELD GOAL GOOD!
Bullock nails his kick through the posts from 43 yards to restore his side's 18-point lead.
Reed returns the ball to the Indianapolis 22 where Luck will begin.
NBC report that Kubiak did not suffer a heart attack when he collapsed.
The Colts move the chains as Luck fires to Brazill for nine yards and he then finds Havili on third down to move the chains as he gets a yard on a catch that was almost behind him.
Luck gets his side moving immediately again as he fires over the middle of the field for Hilton who makes an excellent low catch as he slides for the ball to move his side to their own 48.
Two more passes for Luck as he fires to Whalen who goes up to get the ball and brings it in for a nine-yard gain and on the next play Luck goes down the middle of the field for his tight end Fleener for 18 yards to move them to the Houston 25.
The Colts get a huge break on third down and five as Luck throws an incompletion as he runs out of bounds but he's hit by Sharpton as crosses the whitewash and the officials penalise th linebacker for the hit for roughing the passer. That's 15 yards and a new set of downs, brutal.
TOUCHDOWN COLTS!
Luck gets his side back into the game with a touchdown strike to Hilton on a zig route to the back of the corner of endzone for a 10-yard score. The Colts go for two but Luck's pass falls incomplete.
Keenum will start at the 20 after McAfee's kick goes out of the endzone.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Indianapolis Colts 12-24 Houston Texans
The Colts bring the heat on third down to test Keenum but he delivers for the Texans as he throws the ball up for grabs for Hopkins down the left-hand sideline and the receiver goes up to get the ball over Vaughn for a 31-yard reception.
Tate gets the chains moving again, as he first he runs for nine yards over the right-hand side of the line and then comes back on second to get a couple of yards to earn another set of downs with a neat cutback on an inside play.
Keenum goes deep looking for Hopkins deep into the endzone but he just overthrows the receiver after Tate was stopped for a loss on second down following a big run from the quarterback on first as he got seven. Bullock is left with a 43-yard field goal attempt.
FIELD GOAL NO GOOD!
Bullock keeps the Colts in the game as he skews his kick to the right of the posts. His second miss of the game.
TOUCHDOWN COLTS!
Luck and the Colts take full advantage of the mistake by Bullock as the quarterback throws a bomb down the field for Hilton and he beats the coverage and catches the ball in stride for a 58-yard score.
Keenum will begin at the 20 as McAfee's kick goes out of the endzone.
The Texans move the chains as Keenum fires to Hopkins for seven yards after Dennis Johnson found three yards on the ground on first. They need to kill the clock and get a scoring drive here to put the game to bed.
Keenum moves the chains again as he fires to Johnson on a out route for seven yards on a crucial third down play but the play is under review as the Colts believe he didn't have possession of the ball as he went out of bounds.
REVERSED!
The officials state that Johnson didn't have control of the ball and it will be fourth down and seven for the Texans as Lechler lines up to punt the ball away.
Lechler's punt takes a very friendly bounce for the Colts as he rolls back from the 25 all the way to their 47, which is a net gain of just 19 for the Texans.
Luck picks up a huge third down conversion as he fires to Whalen over the middle on a crossing route for 17 yards to move his side into Houston territory.
The Colts move the Houston 12 as Luck draws the rush onto him and then fires over the defenders to Richardson on a screen pass and he evades several tackles before he's finally brought down for a 24-yard gain.
TOUCHDOWN COLTS!
The Colts take the lead in the game as Luck fires to Hilton on a slide route as he ran to the sideline and caught a short pass and then jinked pass Joseph and into the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown. The Colts go for two again and this time they get it as Luck fires to Fleener in the endzone.
Dennis Johnson returns the ball to the 18 where Keenum will begin the drive.
Keenum gets his side moving immediately as he fires to Johnson over the middle of the field for a 26-yard gain to get his side to the 44. A nice quick throw by the quarterback.
The Texans' drive stalls as Keenum is hit on third down and his pass is tipped in the air but falls just short of the grasp of Mathis. Lechler punts to the Colts' 16 where the visitors will have the chance to win the game.
The Colts go three and out and will have to punt the ball away which will give the Texans a chance to get back into the game with a field goal or a touchdown wins it.
The Texans commit a holding penalty on the play and Keenum will get the ball at his own 33, with no timeouts remaining.
Keenum fires two completions to Hopkins and then Johnson over the middle and is forced to spike the ball to kill the clock at the Colts' 37. Bullock will have a 55 yarder to tie the game.
FIELD GOAL NO GOOD!
COLTS WIN!!
Bullock blasts his effort well wide of the posts to miss his third kick of the night allowing the Colts to secure the comeback win to move to 6-2 in their season.
FULL TIME: Indianapolis Colts 27-24 Houston Texans
That's a huge win for the Colts to get out of the 18-point hole they found themselves in at the break. Luck found his form after the break and hit Hilton for three scores to move them clear at the top of the AFC South.
The Texans will be more concerned about head coach Kubiak right now rather than their loss but this will be a bitter pill to swallow after taking an 18-point lead in the game. Their playoff hopes are all but over but have seemingly found a quarterback of the future in Keenum.
Thanks fort joining our commentary for this game. We'll be back tomorrow with all the action from the Green Bay Packers against the Chicago Bears. Until then, goodbye.
Written by
Simon Sinclair
Simon Sinclair
