Colts Knock Out Texans

via NFL

The Indianapolis Colts took out the AFC South champion Houston Texans on Saturday, 21-7, in what was a rubber match between the two division rivals. The AFC’s sixth seed will play at the No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round next Saturday at 4:35 p.m. ET.

The Colts entered the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the league, going 9-1 to close out the season after starting the year 1-5. The momentum clearly carried over to the opening round of the playoffs, as the Colts dominated the first quarter against their divisional foe, totaling 155 net yards of offense to the Texans’ 39. The yardage also allowed Indianapolis to set the tone, which the Coltsaccomplished by punching the Texans in the mouth during a nine-play, 70-yard opening drive. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton clowned the Texans by converting two third-down attempts into first downs, and quarterback Andrew Luck capped off the first possession by finding tight end Eric Ebron for a 6-yard scoring pass. The Colts then took their next possession and utilized a methodical nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive, which running back Marlon Mack finished with a 2-yard run, to go up 14-0. By the time the dust had settled in the first period, the Colts were averaging 8.1 yards per offensive play and had taken command of the game.