Indianapolis Notes

The Colts fall to 11-4 with their loss to the Broncos and now have to hold off the Titans in order to win the AFC South. They must win this week. Last week showed how to beat the Colts - just never let them have the ball. That will not likely matter much this week but will rear its' head again in the playoffs.

Peyton Manning comes off his worst game of the season when he only threw 12 of 23 for 146 yards and no scores. In his last game against the Texans he had 269 yards and three touchdowns. Manning is now the only quarterback in the history of the NFL that has thrown for at least 4000 yards in five consecutive seasons.

Edgerrin James had 104 yards on 23 carries the last time he played against the Texans and should be good for at least that much this week. Marcus Pollard had 55 yards on four catches last week and scored one of his three touchdowns this season when he played against Houston in week 13.

Marvin Harrison had eight catches for 100 yards in the last meeting with Houston.

Match against the Defense: The Colts already beat the Texans 31-20 in their previous meeting and the Texans no longer have CB Aaron Glenn (IR) and just lost his backup Kenny Wright who tore the PCL in his knee. That side matches on Marvin Harrison who should manage at least one score here and more if Manning so chooses.

The Texans defense has been hit by injuries and can give up big games to either runners or passers and sometimes both. This could end up as a sort of shoot-out as it did in Indy earlier this year which only bodes better for the Colts offensive production.

Houston Notes

The Texans fall to 5-10 and have lost their last three games.

David Carr started his first game in four weeks against the Titans and ended with 242 yards and one touchdown. The team is convinced that Carr will develop into a top quarterback and this season he had several good performances once the rushing game demanded respect. Carr had only 62 yards and one score in the last meeting with the Colts when he was injured and Banks finished the game with 88 yards passing.

Domanick Davis scored his sixth touchdown last week against the Titans though he only gained 51 yards on 14 carries. Davis has only gained 70 or more yards rushing one time in the past four games but had 109 yards and two scores in his last meeting against the Colts.

Carr's return to the field was enjoyed by Andre Johnson who turned in 108 yards on five catches last week. Johnson had disappeared during the games with Banks and Ragone. He only had 29 yards on four catches in the previous matchup with Indianapolis since Davis was running well.

Match against the Defense: The Colts will be scoring early and often against a soft defense in a game they need to win. That means less chances that Davis gets a lot of carries and for some reason the Texans are not throwing to him much since his two big games in weeks six and seven of the season.

The Texans will have reason to play well at home and finally with Carr and Davis back on the field. The Colts have allowed good yardage and scores in most of their away games this season and since the Colts will likely be ahead, the Texans will have to throw.

There could be nice yardage and scores here for the Texans even if it is only trash time.

* Fantasy point rankings calculated using standard Huddle fantasy points