HOUSTON -- Observations from the Indianapolis Colts' locker room after their 33-28 victory over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
The quarterback-center relationship between Andrew Luck and undrafted free agent rookie Jonotthan Harrison continues to be a work in progress. Harrison snapped the ball right off Luck's chest. The ball fell to the ground, and Texans defensive end J.J. Watt scooped it up and went in for a 45-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. "It was really loud; it was deafening," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "Play clock was running down, and I think Andrew was looking at that and when the ball was snapped, from a communication standpoint, you can't pin it on the quarterback, you can't pin it on the center." Luck added, "Yeah, it was miscommunication on my part. Thankful we survived that and got the win, but yeah, my fault there." Harrison and Luck had issues in the Oct. 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Colts looked like they would coast to the victory when they went up 24-0 at the end of the first quarter. But the Texans held Indianapolis to only nine more points the rest of the game. They say it wasn't a matter of relaxing. "We definitely weren't as focused as we wanted to be, but no one was relaxed," tight end Dwayne Allen said. "We kept our foot on the pedal. We just didn't execute the same way we were when we went up 24-0."
The Colts were without their two starting guards, but they came out of the game injury-free. With nine days until their next game, the Colts are hoping to have guards Hugh Thornton and Jack Mewhort back in the lineup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 19.
