High-profile acquisitions Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon each scored touchdowns Sunday as the visiting Houston Texans started the season with a 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Mixon rushed 30 times for 159 yards and a score, while Diggs caught six passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yard pass from C.J. Stroud with 4:42 left that made it 29-20.
Houston outgained Indianapolis 417-303 in total offense and possessed the ball for 40 minutes.
Stroud completed 24 of 32 passes for 234 yards, while wide receiver Nico Collins continued his mastery of the Colts with six catches for 117 yards. Collins last year caught 341 yards worth of passes in two matchups with Indianapolis, more than any receiver gained against any team in the league.
Second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson hit a trio of big plays to supply most of the Colts’ offense. He was 9 of 19 for 212 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Richardson also ran six times for 56 yards, including a 3-yard score with 2:14 remaining that pulled Indianapolis within two points.
However, the Texans closed the game out by converting a pair of third downs. Stroud hit Collins for a 12-yard reception on the right sideline, and Mixon rushed for 9 yards on third-and-3 with 1:48 left to seal it.
Ka’imi Fairbairn initiated scoring for Houston with a 51-yard field goal at the 6:44 mark of the first quarter, then Richardson found Alec Pierce for a 60-yard touchdown strike less than two minutes later. Fairbairn’s 50-yard field goal made it 7-6 Indianapolis after one quarter.
Diggs caught a 9-yard scoring strike from Stroud with 11:31 left in the first half for a 12-7 edge that the Texans carried to halftime. Fairbairn’s third field goal, a 51-yarder, made the margin eight early in the third quarter before Jonathan Taylor ran for a 5-yard score that cut the lead to 15-13.
Mixon’s 3-yard touchdown run with 13:41 left in the game upped the Houston advantage to 22-13. Richardson, however, struck again, finding Ashton Dulin for a 54-yard TD less than 90 seconds later.
–Field Level Media
