Late heroics and a chaotic final snap decided the thrilling Week 18 matchup, with a clutch kick and defensive scoop sealing the Texans' victory.
The Houston Texans closed the regular season with a 38-30 win over the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium in a game that never really settled into one script. Early on, it looked like it might be a slow burn game headlined by field goals, and that’s exactly what ended up happening.
Kai Fairbairn drilled a pair of long field goals (51, 48) to get Houston on the board, but Indianapolis landed the first haymaker when Riley Leonard found Alec Pierce for a 66-yard touchdown that flipped the mood and put the Colts up 10-6 after one.
From there, the Texans offense responded with its cleanest stretch of the day. Stroud hit Jayden Higgins for a score, then capped another short-field opportunity with a two-yard keeper, giving Houston a 20-10 cushion. The Colts kept punching back behind Pierce, who scored again on an 8-yard catch, and the game stayed tight into halftime with Houston holding a 23-17 lead thanks to another Fairbairn make.
The third quarter was all momentum swings. Leonard powered in from a yard out to give Indy the lead, then both teams traded field goals as the Colts carried a 27-26 edge into the fourth. Indianapolis briefly extended it to 30-29, setting up a finish that came down to nerves and a right leg. With time winding down, Fairbairn stayed perfect and drilled the go-ahead 43-yarder with 12 seconds left.
The final snap was pure chaos. The Colts put the ball on the ground, and Tommy Togiai scooped it and scored to put the game away for good. Fairbairn finished 6-for-6 and was the MVP of the game, while Stroud went 14-of-23 for 169 yards with a passing TD and a rushing TD, and Leonard’s 270-yard, two-score day was undone by turnovers, including the last-play fumble that sealed it.
It wasn’t a pretty win, but the Texans pulled it off and will officially be the No. 5 seed in the AFC Playoffs.