Sad News: Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, gives troubling injury update on Texans WR Stefon Diggs as Noted doctor confirms….See Details

For the second time in as many weeks, the Houston Texans’ offense had the ball deep in opposing territory with a chance to put a victory away. And for the second time, it faltered.

Up three points on the Colts’ 8-yard line, quarterback C.J. Stroud attempted a pitch to running back Joe Mixon. Stroud couldn’t find his strike zone as the ball flew away from Mixon’s momentum, off of his hands and right into the one’s belonging to Dayo Odeyingbo.

The Colts defensive end made a miraculous 82-yard return to the house, momentarily giving his team a 26-23 lead and quieting a stunned NRG Stadium crowd. Odeyingbo was ruled down by contact after a review, but Houston had turned the ball over in the red zone and given its opponents a chance at a game-winning drive.

“That can’t happen,” Stroud said. “We can’t turn the ball over down there. We got to find a way to just get on the ball or just not do that. I’m fully aware that’s a big mistake. It could have cost us the game.”

It was an effort that exemplified a mantra coach DeMeco Ryans has been preaching since he arrived in Houston last season.

“It’s complimentary football,” Texans defensive tackle Tim Settle said. “Sometimes the offense has their days and sometimes defense has their days. But it’s all about who wins the game at the end of the day. When we’re able to hold our part and we’re able to win, that’s all it matters.”

The Texans’ defensive line certainly had a day. Richardson was pressured on 60% of his drop-backs Sunday, tied for the highest-pressure rate by a defense in a game this season according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. That included pressures on five of the quarterback’s final eight dropbacks, two of which produced two sacks from defensive end Danielle Hunter.

“As a D-line, we always want to put the team on our back,” Hunter said of picking up for his offense’s mistake. “When we go out there, we feel like we want to make every play. So that’s how we feel about it.”

Hunter then went to work on Bernhard Raimann. He bull-rushed through the left tackle and hit Richardson in his throwing motion, forcing a second-down incompletion. Hunter dipped inside on the next snap and got home on third down, dragging Richardson and Raimann back to the goal line for a sack and a forced punt.

“We went out there and just kept going as a defense,” Hunter said. “We made some mistakes, but we finished the game.”

After three stuffed Mixon runs and a Tommy Townsend punt, the Colts got the ball back on their 18-yard line with 54 seconds to work and no timeouts. Though nothing worked through the air.

Pressure from the defensive line forced Richardson out of the pocket on first down and he scrambled for 26 yards. He slid in bounds, keeping the clock running. That wasn’t an issue on the next three plays, as a combination of tight coverage and front pressure forced three incompletions. A 14-yard checkdown and a last-second spike gave Richardson one tick left on the clock for a chance at the end zone.

But there was never really a chance. The Texans called a timeout before to talk over their strategy. It was a makeshift one according to Hunter and Anderson, as Houston didn’t know what look it would give until it sent its defense back onto the field.

When it eventually lined up, the appearance was odd. Anderson and Denico Autry were in three-point stances with Hunter behind them all to Richardson’s right side. Everyone else besides quarterback spy Neville Hewitt was down by the goal line. Hunter wasn’t sure it would be successful, but said the plan was an informed one.

“We kind of knew where he wanted to throw the ball,” Hunter said. “We came up with it at the last second, and it ended up working out for us.”

Work out it did, as Richardson had to roll away from his throwing side and his receivers. Anderson and Hunter converged on the confused quarterback and sacked him before he got a throw off.

“We just wanted to leave no doubt today,” Anderson said. “Let everyone know who the Texans D-line is. When they think about the Texans, they think about the d-line. That’s the message that we wanted to get out there.”

Message received, as the Texans defensive line let everyone know they can win games for Houston. That message left its imprint on Richardson, as one can imagine he’ll be left thinking about the unit for a while.