Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans — Texans win 38-30, Jan 4, 2026

atColts at Texans

Week 18

Final

How it finished

Texans beat Colts 38–30.

Texans led 23–17 at the half and held the lead.

Texans outscored Colts 17–7 in the 2nd quarter — the swing that decided it.

The Texans sit 4th in the AFC South, 2 games back, losers of 2 straight. The Colts sit 3rd in the AFC South, 1½ games back, coming off a loss.

The Texans are up next at Panthers (Aug 28), then home vs Bills. The Colts are up next home vs Lions (Aug 29), then home vs Ravens.

Win probabilityHOU win %

K.Fairbairn 43 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-A.Brinkman, Holder-T.Townsend.HOU +27%
R.Leonard pass deep left to A.Pierce for 66 yards, TOUCHDOWN. B.Grupe extra point is GOOD, Center-L.Rhodes, Holder-R.Sanchez.IND +14%
R.Leonard pass short left intended for T.Warren INTERCEPTED by A.Huzzie (T.Togiai) at IND 33. A.Huzzie to IND 33 for no gain (T.Warren).HOU +11%

Team stats

What each side actually did with the ball.

Indianapolis Colts

Houston Texans

354Total yards339

64Total plays64

5.5Yards / play5.3

19First downs22

278Passing yards205

22/35Comp / att17/32

7.7Yards / pass6.4

11Passing 1st downs9

76Rushing yards134

28Rush attempts32

2.7Yards / rush4.2

7Rushing 1st downs10

8-153rd down4-13

1-14th down0-0

2-4Red zone2-3

1-8Sacks allowed0-0

7-81Penalties7-77

3Turnovers↓0

2Fumbles lost↓0

31:45Possession28:15

Top performers

IND

PassRiley Leonard21/34, 270 YDS · 2 TD · 1 INT
RushDJ Giddens8 CAR, 30 YDS
RecAlec Pierce4 REC, 132 YDS · 2 TD

HOU

PassC.J. Stroud14/23, 169 YDS · 1 TD
RushBritish Brooks13 CAR, 63 YDS
RecXavier Hutchinson5 REC, 84 YDS

Drive summary

Colts11 drives

4 TD3 FG2 Punt2 Turnover

Scored on 7 of 11 · 34 yds/drive · long 92

Texans11 drives

2 TD6 FG3 Punt

Scored on 8 of 11 · 32 yds/drive · long 82

Scoring summary

Every point in the order it was scored, with the running score beside it.

Q1FGKa'imi Fairbairn 51 Yd Field Goal0–3
Q1TDAlec Pierce 66 Yd pass from Riley Leonard (Blake Grupe Kick)7–3
Q1FGKa'imi Fairbairn 48 Yd Field Goal7–6
Q1FGBlake Grupe 50 Yd Field Goal10–6
Q2TDJayden Higgins 11 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)10–13
Q2TDC.J. Stroud 2 Yd Rush (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)10–20
Q2TDAlec Pierce 8 Yd pass from Riley Leonard (Blake Grupe Kick)17–20
Q2FGKa'imi Fairbairn 29 Yd Field Goal17–23
Q3TDRiley Leonard 1 Yd Rush (Blake Grupe Kick)24–23
Q3FGKa'imi Fairbairn 43 Yd Field Goal24–26
Q3FGBlake Grupe 39 Yd Field Goal27–26
Q4FGKa'imi Fairbairn 44 Yd Field Goal 27–29
Q4FGBlake Grupe 22 Yd Field Goal30–29
Q4FGKa'imi Fairbairn 43 Yd Field Goal30–32
Q4TDTommy Togiai 17 Yd Fumble Recovery30–38

Line score and box score

Points by quarter across the top, then every player who recorded a stat underneath, a table per unit. The pills switch clubs; the defensive table is the half of a football box most scoreboards leave out.

Qtr	1	2	3	4	T
INDIndianapolis Colts	10	7	10	3	30
HOUHouston Texans	6	17	3	12	38

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	QBR	RTG
Riley Leonard	21/34	270	7.9	2	1	1-8	83.9	94.0
Rigoberto Sanchez	1/1	16	16.0	0	0	0-0	--	118.8

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
DJ Giddens	8	30	3.8	0	9
Jonathan Taylor	14	26	1.9	0	8
Riley Leonard	3	21	7.0	1	11
Tyler Goodson	1	3	3.0	0	3
Ameer Abdullah	1	1	1.0	0	1
Josh Downs	1	-5	-5.0	0	-5

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Alec Pierce	4	132	33.0	2	66	7
Josh Downs	4	61	15.3	0	30	4
Tyler Warren	5	26	5.2	0	9	8
Ameer Abdullah	2	24	12.0	0	15	2
Mo Alie-Cox	3	22	7.3	0	16	4
Jonathan Taylor	2	13	6.5	0	11	2
Michael Pittman Jr.	2	11	5.5	0	16	4
Ashton Dulin	0	0	0.0	0	0	2
Riley Leonard	0	-3	0.0	0	-3	0

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Riley Leonard	2	2	0

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	TFL	PD
Zaire Franklin	12	7	2	0
Nick Cross	6	3	0	0
Adetomiwa Adebawore	6	3	1	0
Rodney Thomas II	5	4	0	0
Samson Ebukam	5	2	0	0
Germaine Pratt	5	2	0	0
Cam Bynum	5	2	0	0
Jaylon Jones	4	3	0	1
Mekhi Blackmon	3	3	0	0
Neville Gallimore	3	1	0	0
Chris Wormley	2	2	0	0
Cameron Mitchell	2	2	0	2

Kick returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Ashton Dulin	2	59	29.5	30	0
Ameer Abdullah	2	53	26.5	30	0

Punt returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Josh Downs	1	13	13.0	13	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Blake Grupe	3/3	100.0	50	3/3	12

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Rigoberto Sanchez	2	90	45.0	0	0	49

League standings

The full ladder, with both clubs marked.

AFC East

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Buffalo Bills2-01.000W2

2New England Patriots1-0.750W1

3New York Jets1-1.500W1

4Miami Dolphins0-2.000L2

AFC North

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Cincinnati Bengals2-01.000W2

2Baltimore Ravens2-01.000W2

3Pittsburgh Steelers1-1.500L1

4Cleveland Browns0-2.000L2

AFC South

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Tennessee Titans2-01.000W2

2Jacksonville Jaguars1-1.500L1

3Indianapolis Colts0-1.250L1

4Houston Texans0-2.000L2

AFC West

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Los Angeles Chargers1-1.500L1

2Las Vegas Raiders1-1.500W1

3Denver Broncos1-1.500L1

4Kansas City Chiefs0-2.000L2

NFC East

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Dallas Cowboys2-01.000W2

2Washington Commanders1-1.500L1

3New York Giants1-1.500W1

4Philadelphia Eagles0-2.000L2

NFC North

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Detroit Lions1-1.500W1

2Minnesota Vikings1-1.500L1

3Green Bay Packers1-1.500W1

4Chicago Bears1-1.500L1

NFC South

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Tampa Bay Buccaneers2-01.000W2

2Carolina Panthers2-1.667W1

3Atlanta Falcons1-1.500W1

4New Orleans Saints0-2.000L2

NFC West

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Los Angeles Rams2-01.000W2

2San Francisco 49ers1-1.500W1

3Arizona Cardinals1-2.333L1

4Seattle Seahawks0-2.000L2

Colts at Texans

Indianapolis

Colts

Houston

Texans

Post Game SummaryStat Savant

atColts at Texans

Week 18

Final

How it finished

Texans beat Colts 38–30.

Texans led 23–17 at the half and held the lead.

Texans outscored Colts 17–7 in the 2nd quarter — the swing that decided it.

The Texans sit 4th in the AFC South, 2 games back, losers of 2 straight. The Colts sit 3rd in the AFC South, 1½ games back, coming off a loss.

The Texans are up next at Panthers (Aug 28), then home vs Bills. The Colts are up next home vs Lions (Aug 29), then home vs Ravens.

Win probabilityHOU win %

K.Fairbairn 43 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-A.Brinkman, Holder-T.Townsend.HOU +27%
R.Leonard pass deep left to A.Pierce for 66 yards, TOUCHDOWN. B.Grupe extra point is GOOD, Center-L.Rhodes, Holder-R.Sanchez.IND +14%
R.Leonard pass short left intended for T.Warren INTERCEPTED by A.Huzzie (T.Togiai) at IND 33. A.Huzzie to IND 33 for no gain (T.Warren).HOU +11%

Team stats

What each side actually did with the ball.

Indianapolis Colts

Houston Texans

354Total yards339

64Total plays64

5.5Yards / play5.3

19First downs22

278Passing yards205

22/35Comp / att17/32

7.7Yards / pass6.4

11Passing 1st downs9

76Rushing yards134

28Rush attempts32

2.7Yards / rush4.2

7Rushing 1st downs10

8-153rd down4-13

1-14th down0-0

2-4Red zone2-3

1-8Sacks allowed0-0

7-81Penalties7-77

3Turnovers↓0

2Fumbles lost↓0

31:45Possession28:15

Top performers

IND

PassRiley Leonard21/34, 270 YDS · 2 TD · 1 INT
RushDJ Giddens8 CAR, 30 YDS
RecAlec Pierce4 REC, 132 YDS · 2 TD

HOU

PassC.J. Stroud14/23, 169 YDS · 1 TD
RushBritish Brooks13 CAR, 63 YDS
RecXavier Hutchinson5 REC, 84 YDS

Drive summary

Colts11 drives

4 TD3 FG2 Punt2 Turnover

Scored on 7 of 11 · 34 yds/drive · long 92

Texans11 drives

2 TD6 FG3 Punt

Scored on 8 of 11 · 32 yds/drive · long 82

Scoring summary

Every point in the order it was scored, with the running score beside it.

Q1FGKa'imi Fairbairn 51 Yd Field Goal0–3
Q1TDAlec Pierce 66 Yd pass from Riley Leonard (Blake Grupe Kick)7–3
Q1FGKa'imi Fairbairn 48 Yd Field Goal7–6
Q1FGBlake Grupe 50 Yd Field Goal10–6
Q2TDJayden Higgins 11 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)10–13
Q2TDC.J. Stroud 2 Yd Rush (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)10–20
Q2TDAlec Pierce 8 Yd pass from Riley Leonard (Blake Grupe Kick)17–20
Q2FGKa'imi Fairbairn 29 Yd Field Goal17–23
Q3TDRiley Leonard 1 Yd Rush (Blake Grupe Kick)24–23
Q3FGKa'imi Fairbairn 43 Yd Field Goal24–26
Q3FGBlake Grupe 39 Yd Field Goal27–26
Q4FGKa'imi Fairbairn 44 Yd Field Goal 27–29
Q4FGBlake Grupe 22 Yd Field Goal30–29
Q4FGKa'imi Fairbairn 43 Yd Field Goal30–32
Q4TDTommy Togiai 17 Yd Fumble Recovery30–38

Line score and box score

Qtr	1	2	3	4	T
INDIndianapolis Colts	10	7	10	3	30
HOUHouston Texans	6	17	3	12	38

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	QBR	RTG
Riley Leonard	21/34	270	7.9	2	1	1-8	83.9	94.0
Rigoberto Sanchez	1/1	16	16.0	0	0	0-0	--	118.8

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
DJ Giddens	8	30	3.8	0	9
Jonathan Taylor	14	26	1.9	0	8
Riley Leonard	3	21	7.0	1	11
Tyler Goodson	1	3	3.0	0	3
Ameer Abdullah	1	1	1.0	0	1
Josh Downs	1	-5	-5.0	0	-5

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Alec Pierce	4	132	33.0	2	66	7
Josh Downs	4	61	15.3	0	30	4
Tyler Warren	5	26	5.2	0	9	8
Ameer Abdullah	2	24	12.0	0	15	2
Mo Alie-Cox	3	22	7.3	0	16	4
Jonathan Taylor	2	13	6.5	0	11	2
Michael Pittman Jr.	2	11	5.5	0	16	4
Ashton Dulin	0	0	0.0	0	0	2
Riley Leonard	0	-3	0.0	0	-3	0

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Riley Leonard	2	2	0

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	TFL	PD
Zaire Franklin	12	7	2	0
Nick Cross	6	3	0	0
Adetomiwa Adebawore	6	3	1	0
Rodney Thomas II	5	4	0	0
Samson Ebukam	5	2	0	0
Germaine Pratt	5	2	0	0
Cam Bynum	5	2	0	0
Jaylon Jones	4	3	0	1
Mekhi Blackmon	3	3	0	0
Neville Gallimore	3	1	0	0
Chris Wormley	2	2	0	0
Cameron Mitchell	2	2	0	2

Kick returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Ashton Dulin	2	59	29.5	30	0
Ameer Abdullah	2	53	26.5	30	0

Punt returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Josh Downs	1	13	13.0	13	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Blake Grupe	3/3	100.0	50	3/3	12

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Rigoberto Sanchez	2	90	45.0	0	0	49

League standings

The full ladder, with both clubs marked.

AFC East

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Buffalo Bills2-01.000W2

2New England Patriots1-0.750W1

3New York Jets1-1.500W1

4Miami Dolphins0-2.000L2

AFC North

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Cincinnati Bengals2-01.000W2

2Baltimore Ravens2-01.000W2

3Pittsburgh Steelers1-1.500L1

4Cleveland Browns0-2.000L2

AFC South

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Tennessee Titans2-01.000W2

2Jacksonville Jaguars1-1.500L1

3Indianapolis Colts0-1.250L1

4Houston Texans0-2.000L2

AFC West

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Los Angeles Chargers1-1.500L1

2Las Vegas Raiders1-1.500W1

3Denver Broncos1-1.500L1

4Kansas City Chiefs0-2.000L2

NFC East

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Dallas Cowboys2-01.000W2

2Washington Commanders1-1.500L1

3New York Giants1-1.500W1

4Philadelphia Eagles0-2.000L2

NFC North

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Detroit Lions1-1.500W1

2Minnesota Vikings1-1.500L1

3Green Bay Packers1-1.500W1

4Chicago Bears1-1.500L1

NFC South

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Tampa Bay Buccaneers2-01.000W2

2Carolina Panthers2-1.667W1

3Atlanta Falcons1-1.500W1

4New Orleans Saints0-2.000L2

NFC West

#ClubW-LPCTStreak

1Los Angeles Rams2-01.000W2

2San Francisco 49ers1-1.500W1

3Arizona Cardinals1-2.333L1

4Seattle Seahawks0-2.000L2