The Colts–Texans rivalry is a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL)

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. While being one of the newest rivalries in the NFL due to the Texans' formation in 2002 and the Colts' reallocation to the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 200 ...

division that year, this rivalry has increased in intensity over the late 2010s despite being lopsided in favor of Indianapolis during the 2000s. Though Colts fans generally view the Texans simply as a divisional opponent, many Texans fans see the Colts as their top rival due to their long period of dominance in the series. Indianapolis won the first nine games in the series as they were a perennial Super Bowl contender under quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

while the Texans struggled in their first years in the NFL, finally attaining their first winning season in 2009 and becoming a playoff contender through much of the 2010s. Since then, the Colts and Texans have often squared off for the top spot in their division. The Colts lead the overall series, 33–13–1. The two teams have met once in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, with the Colts holding a 1–0 record.

History

Formation of the Texans and the AFC South

Houston's first NFL Team was the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

, who had moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

and later

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

to become the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Bob McNair Robert C. McNair (January 1, 1937 – November 23, 2018) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and the founding owner of the National Football League's Houston Texans. Early life and education McNair grew up in Forest City, North ...

then spearheaded an effort to get the NFL to create an expansion team in Houston to replace the Oilers and even out the league's teams at 32. In 1999, the NFL officially awarded the 32nd franchise to McNair. The Texans began playing in 2002. The formation of the Texans necessitated the reorganization of the league's divisions. The

was created with the Texans joining as an expansion team, the Titans and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

joining from the former

AFC Central The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realigned its divisions u ...

, and the Colts joining from the

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in th ...

. The Titans and Jaguars were already

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

coming into the division, but the Colts and Texans would have to develop new divisional rivalries, as Indianapolis would leave behind its old rivalries from the AFC East, including a developing rivalry with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

2002–2010

Efforts for Houston to develop any heated rivalries in the 2000s were for naught, as the Texans were one of the NFL's bottom tier teams for much of their first nine years of playing. Indianapolis, on the other hand, was one of the NFL's powerhouses, featuring a stellar offense with quarterback

and receivers

Marvin Harrison Marvin Darnell Harrison Sr. (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played his entire 13 year career for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for ...

and

Reggie Wayne Reginald Wayne (born November 17, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...

. The Colts won the division 7 out of 9 years during this period and managed to make the playoffs each time. The Colts and Texans first met on September 22, 2002, at

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium (previously known as Reliant Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to h ...

in Houston, with Manning passing for 272 yards and two touchdowns while Texans rookie quarterback David Carr struggled, only amassing 99 yards, an interception, and a 47.3 passer rating as the Colts routed the Texans 23–3. The Colts wound up winning each of the first nine meetings between the teams, including a 49–14 victory at the

RCA Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons (1984–2007). It was completed at a cost of $77.5 million, as part of the Indiana Convention ...

in 2004, before Houston finally beat Indianapolis in week 16 of the 2006 season. Peyton Manning wound up having a 16–2 record against the Texans while with the Colts before being released and signing with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

after sitting out the 2011 season due to injury.

2011–2020: Fight for AFC South supremacy

The Texans routed the Manning-less Colts 34–7 in Houston in during opening day of the 2011 season, but were upset during the rematch in Indianapolis after Colts backup quarterback

Dan Orlovsky Dan Orlovsky (born August 18, 1983) is an American American football, football analyst for ESPN and former professional football player. He played as a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily as a backup. Or ...

completed a last-minute pass to Reggie Wayne for a touchdown, allowing Indianapolis to win 19–16. By the second game, both starting quarterbacks had been placed on injured reserve for the teams; in addition to Manning missing the whole season, Texans starter

Matt Schaub Matthew Rutledge Schaub (; born June 25, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was selecte ...

had been sidelined with a

Lisfranc injury A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecolog ...

, forcing rookie

T. J. Yates Taylor Jonathan Yates (born May 28, 1987) is an American football coach and former player who is the passing game coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played professionally as a quarterback in the NFL. Af ...

to play in his stead. Nonetheless, the Colts suffered a 2–14 season without Manning, while the Texans still made the playoffs despite Schaub missing the last six games of the season, winning the AFC South for their first division title and playoff berth in franchise history. The Colts then obtained the first overall pick in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, which they then used to select

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

quarterback and Houston native

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is an American football executive and former professional quarterback who is the general manager of the Stanford Cardinal. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons ...

to fill in the void left by Manning. The Texans dominated the Colts during Luck's first game in the rivalry, clinching a second consecutive divisional title with the 29–17 win in week 15 of 2012. However, this would be Indianapolis' last divisional loss until 2015, as the Colts would win the next six in a row against Houston. Houston broke the streak with a 16–10 win at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...

on October 8, 2015, which was the first time the Texans beat the Colts on the road, ironically with longtime Texans receiver

Andre Johnson Andre Lamont Johnson (born July 11, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football for the Mi ...

on the Colts. The following year, quarterback

Brock Osweiler Brock Alan Osweiler (born November 22, 1990) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and was selecte ...

led the Texans to their first ever season sweep of the Colts in his only season with Houston. Despite the growing animosity between the two teams, many players and executives from the Colts organization helped the Texans with donations and fundraising in the aftermath of

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

at the start of the 2017 season. After both teams struggled in 2017, they met in the playoffs for the first time the following season. Houston had won the division thanks to strong play from quarterback

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, leading the team to a national ...

and the defense, while Indianapolis had overcome a 1–5 start, including a 37–34 overtime loss to the Texans in which new head coach

Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach at Stanford University. He played 14 seasons as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He became a coac ...

called a failed fourth-down conversion that ultimately led to Houston's game-winning field goal, to clinch a wild-card berth at 10–6. The Colts won the game thanks to effective play from Luck, running back

Marlon Mack Marlon Devon Mack (born March 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the South Florida Bulls football, South Florida Bulls and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the f ...

, and their defense, keeping Houston scoreless until the fourth quarter with a 21–7 win. Prior to the playoff game, there had been some banter between Colts receiver

T. Y. Hilton Eugene Marquis "T. Y." Hilton (born November 14, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the FIU Panthers and was selected by the Indi ...

and several members of the Texans defensive secondary, as Hilton was called a "clown" after making disparaging comments about the Texans. In 2019, the Texans and Colts were both in position to contend for the AFC South title, despite Indianapolis losing Andrew Luck to a sudden retirement prior to the season. The Colts won the first meeting 30–23 thanks to four touchdown passes from new quarterback

Jacoby Brissett Jacoby JaJuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Florida Gators, he played college football for the NC Sta ...

, but the Texans won 20–17 in week 12 thanks to two touchdown passes from Watson to receiver

DeAndre Hopkins DeAndre Rashaun Hopkins (born June 6, 1992), nicknamed "DHop" and "Nuk", is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cle ...

2021–present

After a disappointing 2020 season for Houston, which included two close losses to the Colts and Hopkins being traded prior to the season, the Texans released star defensive end J. J. Watt per his request, leading to him joining Hopkins with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, and Watson requested a trade before being accused by several women of sexual assault, leading to his deactivation throughout the 2021 season and eventual trade to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. While the Texans struggled again in 2021, the Colts, however, maintained a level of success playing with veteran quarterbacks

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football for the ...

and

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS national championships as the starter. Wentz was s ...

in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The two teams met in week 1 of the 2022 season, with Matt Ryan now under center for Indianapolis and

Davis Mills Davis Compton Mills (born October 21, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal football, Stanford ...

entering his second year as the Texans' starting quarterback. Houston jumped to a 20–3 lead in the third quarter, but Ryan led Indianapolis back to tie the game by the end of regulation. The game would end in a 20–20 tie as Colts kicker

Rodrigo Blankenship Rodrigo John Blankenship (born January 29, 1997), nicknamed "Hot Rod", is an American professional football placekicker for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, w ...

missed the potential game-winning field goal, leading to his release after the game. This was the first tie in the series and the first tie in Texans history. The next meeting that year saw the Texans pull off a last minute rally to beat the Colts in an otherwise awful season of three wins. The two teams each entered a new era in quarterbacks and coaches in 2023, with the Texans drafting

C. J. Stroud Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV (born October 3, 2001) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes f ...

and the Colts drafting Anthony Richardson. Indianapolis won the first game in Week 2 despite losing Richardson to injury, but the Texans won the, winner-take-all rematch for both teams, in Week 18 by a final score of 23–19, eliminating Indianapolis to clinch their first playoff appearance in four years. They won the

the next day after the

lost to their

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

, the

Season-by-season results

, - , , style=", , style=", Colts
19–3 , style=", Colts
23–3 , Colts
2–0 , Texans join the

(NFL) as an expansion team. During the NFL realignment, the Colts and Texans are placed in the newly formed

, resulting in two meetings annually. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
30–21 , style=", Colts
20–17 , Colts
4–0 , , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
49–14 , style=", Colts
23–14 , Colts
6–0 , In Indianapolis, Colts record their largest victory against the Texans with a 35–point differential and score their most points in a game against the Texans. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
31–17 , style=", Colts
38–20 , Colts
8–0 , , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Colts
43–24 , style=", Texans
27–24 , Colts
9–1 , Starting with their win, Colts go on a 13-game home winning streak.
Colts win 9 straight meetings (2002–2006).
Colts win

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...

. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
38–15 , style=", Colts
30–24 , Colts
11–1 , , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
33–27 , style=", Colts
31–27 , Colts
13–1 , , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
20–17 , style=", Colts
35–27 , Colts
15–1 , Colts lose

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...

. , - , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Colts
30–17 , style=", Texans
34–24 , Colts
16–2 , Final start in the series for Colts' QB

. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Colts
19–16 , style=", Texans
34–7 , Colts
17–3 , In Houston, Texans record their largest victory over the Colts with a 27–point differential. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Colts
28–16 , style=", Texans
29–17 , Colts
18–4 , Following their loss, the Colts would go on a 16–game winning streak in division play, an NFL record. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
25–3 , style=", Colts
27–24 , Colts
20–4 , Colts complete a sweep of the AFC South division. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
17–10 , style=", Colts
33–28 , Colts
22–4 , Colts win 13 straight home meetings (2002–2014).
Colts complete a sweep of the AFC South division. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
16–10 , style=", Colts
27–20 , Colts
23–5 , Texans record their first road win against the Colts. , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
22–17 , style=", Texans
26–23 (OT) , Colts
23–7 , First overtime result in the series.
Texans record their first season series sweep against the Colts. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
22–13 , style=", Colts
20–14 , Colts
25–7 , Only season from 2009 to 2019 that neither team won the

. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
37–34 (OT) , style=", Colts
24–21 , Colts
26–8 , In Indianapolis, Texans capitalized on the Colts' failed fourth-down conversion in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal. They also score their most points in a game against the Colts and snapped their 9-game losing streak. Later in the season, the Colts’ win snapped the Texans’ 9-game winning streak. , - style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" , 2018 Playoffs , style=", , , style=", Colts
21–7 , Colts
27–8 , AFC Wild Card. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Colts
30–23 , style=", Texans
20–17 , Colts
28–9 , , - , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
27–20 , style=", Colts
26–20 , Colts
30–9 , Both games ended with the Texans driving to tie or win in the closing seconds, yet the Colts forced fumbles to secure both victories. , - , , style=", , style=", Colts
31–3 , style=", Colts
31–0 , Colts
32–9 , , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
32–31 , Tie
20–20 (OT) , Colts
32–10–1 , In Houston, Colts overcame a 20–3 fourth-quarter deficit. In overtime, Colts' K

missed a potential game-winning 42-yard field goal and was waived two days later. The result marked the first tie in Texans franchise history. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
23–19 , style=", Colts
31–20 , Colts
33–11–1 , In the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, QBs

and Anthony Richardson are drafted by the Texans and Colts, respectively.
Texans clinch a playoff berth and eliminate the Colts from playoff contention with their win. , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
29–27 , style=", Texans
23–20 , Colts
33–13–1 , , - , Regular season , style=", Colts 32–13–1 , Colts 17–6 , Colts 15–7–1 , , - , Postseason , style=", Colts 1–0 , ''no games'' , Colts 1–0 , AFC Wild Card:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, - , Regular and postseason , style=", Colts 33–13–1 , Colts 17–6 , Colts 16–7–1 , , -

Connections between the teams

Brian Hoyer Axel Edward Brian Hoyer (born October 13, 1985) is an American professional American football, football quarterback. Since joining the NFL in 2009 as an undrafted free agent, he has started for eight different teams, the second-most in league hi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colts-Texans rivalry NFL rivalries Indianapolis Colts rivalries Houston Texans rivalries 2002 establishments in Texas