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C.J. Stroud threw for 285 yards and a touchdown Sunday as the Houston Texans took a commanding lead in the AFC South with a 23-20 win over the visiting Indianapolis Colts.

One week after compiling only 86 passing yards in a loss at Green Bay, Stroud was back in form, completing 25 of 37 passes and directing five scoring drives. Houston (6-2) took a two-game lead on second-place Indianapolis and also earned a season sweep, gaining the tiebreaker advantage.

While Stroud was his usually accurate self, Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson struggled from the start. He completed only 2 of 15 passes in the first half and finished 10-of-32 passing for 175 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Still, Indianapolis (4-4) drew within three points with 8:32 left in the game when Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries, scored on a 1-yard run. The Colts had two chances to tie or win the game but had to punt with two minutes left on their first opportunity after facing fourth-and-23 from their 5.

They reached the 49 with one second left, but Richardson was strip-sacked as time expired.

Joe Mixon rushed for 102 yards on 25 carries for Houston, while Stefon Diggs added five catches for 81 yards. Josh Downs hauled in four passes for the Colts for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Indianapolis got off to a fast start despite Richardson’s inaccuracy, taking a 10-3 first-quarter advantage. After the teams swapped field goals in the game’s first five minutes, Richardson mixed in a deep pass that Downs took 69 yards to the end zone with 50 seconds remaining in the period.

Mixon tied the score at 10 with a 14-yard touchdown run at the 10:04 mark of the second quarter. It appeared the game would be even at the half until Richardson tossed an interception to Jalen Pitre that was returned to the Colts’ 7.

On the next play, Stroud connected with Tank Dell for the score that enabled the Texans to take a 17-10 lead to halftime.

–Field Level Media