2015 Five Worst Moments In Houston Sports
By Yoni Pollak
Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) scrambles out of the pocket against Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
3. Week Five: Texans Lose To Colts
Confused. Humiliated. Disgusted.
How could a team as talented as the Texans, lose to a team as terrible as the Colts?!?
Andrew Luck hadn’t played in week four and wasn’t expected to play week five. Matthew Hasslebeck (somehow) led the Colts to victory over the Jaguars in week four, so the Texans did have some tape on how the Colts play with Hasslebeck.
The game was a Thursday night game so injury reports came out early. By Thursday we heard that Hasslebeck was sick, spent most of the night in the hospital, and was virtually on his deathbed. Yes, Hasslebeck was on his deathbed.
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Still Curtain
The numbers all lined up for the Texans here. They were at home, facing a backup quarterback who couldn’t even talk in team meetings and was in the hospital the night before. Couple that with the Colts not being particularly talented outside of Luck and this should have been an easy win, right?!?
WRONG.
Houston’s defense stunk. The same defense that somehow went on to keep Drew Brees off the scoreboard, couldn’t get a sack or force a turnover on a 40-year old Hasslebeck. The same Andre Johnson, who only has 37 receptions this entire season, scored two of his three touchdowns that night.
The memories of that night still haunt me. The terrible playcalling, the welcome-mat defense and the non-existent effort still scare me. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it show up again.
I doubt it will be as bad as it was that night. That night was the worst I’ve ever felt about the Texans as a franchise. I wrote, and still believe, that the loss against the Colts was the most pathetic loss in franchise history.
Had they won that stupid game then this division would have been locked up weeks ago. Instead, we have to wait until this Sunday to finally clinch.
But it’s all good. The coaching staff made some changes to the lockerroom and the players started executing. They’ve rebounded from their putrid 2-5 start to win seven of their last nine.
They’re headed for the playoffs and that’s all I care about.
Next: From Western Conference Finalists To Nightly WTFs