The Texans were winning this game 27-10 with only 8:18 left in the game before the roof fell in.  Peyton Manning led the Colts on a 11 play, 81 yard TD drive cut the Texans’ lead to 27-17.  Then it really turned sour as Sage Rosenfels lost two fumbles that led to the final 14 points the Colts scored in this football game.  This game really hurts as the Texans’ executed the perfect gameplan for the first 3 1/2 quarters.  The Texans rushed for 156 yards on 32 carries (4.9 ypc) with rookie Steve Slaton being the standout carrying the ball 16 times for 93 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Andre Johnson also had a huge game with 9 grabs for 131 yards (14.6 avg) with a TD grab.  Sage Rosenfels appeared ready to steal the starting job from Matt Schaub until his implosion late in the game.  He completed 21 of 33 passes for 246 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc) but lost two fumbles.  The Texans are now 0-4 on the season.

This should be a interesting football game that should be very high scoring.  The Colts are now healthy on the offensive line and that should give Peyton Manning more confidence in the pocket.  The Texans might be playing without both of their starting safeties so look for Manning to throw deep a lot to Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez.  If the Texans’ safeties start to cheat covering deep the Colts will then throw the ball underneath to Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai out of the backfield.  DE Mario Williams must have a good game to give the DBs a decent chance of hanging with the receivers of the Colts.  The Colts would also like to get the running game into gear this week as Joseph Addai (142 yards, 3.3 ypc) has had a tough time running the ball this season.  The Texans are allowing 160.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 ypc.

The Texans will have Ahman Green back this week but he will be backing up rookie Steve Slaton who should have a big game against the Colts who are allowing 199.3 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry.  The Texans will attempt to keep the ball on the ground and throw short passes to Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter to keep the clock running and the football away from the Colts’ high powered offense.

PREDICTION:  INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 34, HOUSTON TEXANS 30

The Texans have signed fullback Cecil Sapp as the Broncos’ pipeline continues to flow to Houston.  The 29-year old Sapp played in 16 games (8 starts) with the Broncos last season and he carried the ball 18 times for 59 yards (3.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 14 passes for 51 yards (3.6 avg) with a TD grab last season.  Sapp has played in 49 games (9 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 49 times for 223 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 24 passes for 102 yards (4.2 ypc) with a TD grab.  Look for Sapp to back up Vonta Leach at fullback and he could get some carries at halfback if the Texans’ suffer some injuries there.

The Texans have lost starting strong safety C.C. Brown for the remainder of the season due to a broken arm.  Brown finishes this year with 15 tackles.  Nick Ferguson (3 tackles) and Brandon Harrison (1 tackle) will split time replacing Brown but this will no doubt hurt the defense of the Texans.

The Texans played a great game on offense but it wasn’t enough to beat the Jaguars last Sunday.  Matt Schaub had an outstanding game completing 29 of 40 passes for 307 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the football 5 times for 24 yards (4.8 ypc).  Steve Slaton also had a solid game as he rushed for 33 yards on 10 carries (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 83 yards (10.4 avg) with a TD (30 yarder).  WR Kevin Walter also had a huge game for the Texans as he caught 8 passes for 76 yards (9.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs (5, 8 yarders).  TE Owen Daniels was busy in this game catching 7 passes for 87 yards (12.4 avg).  The Texans finished up with 79 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 40 passes for 307 yards.

The only word that comes to mind about the Texans’ defense is putrid.  CB Jacques Reeves and LB Zach Diles led the way on defense for Houston with 6 tackles apiece.  The Jaguars finished up with 139 yards rushing on 25 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 32 passes for 236 yards.  The Texans are now 0-3 on the season.