HOUSTON, Tex., Sporting Alert – Matt Hasselbeck filled in very well again for the injured Andrew Luck, and the Indianapolis Colts win three in a row.
Luck was forced out of Thursday night’s NFL Week 5 opener against Houston, so Hasselbeck, as he did against the Jacksonville Jaguars, stepped in to pilot the Colts to a 27-20 win over the Texans on the road.
Making his second successive start this season, Hasselbeck, who battled through illness, completed 18 of 29 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for Indianapolis, and had a 92.1 Total QBR.
The experienced ball distributor became the first 40-year-old quarterback to pass for two touchdowns in a game since Mark Brunell in 2010.
Thursday night’s win sees the Colts (3-2) picking up its third successive win, while the Texans (1-4) were condemned to their second straight defeat and the fourth in the five games this season.
Frank Gore carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards for the Colts, with 73 of them coming through the middle. He also ran for a touchdown from 3-yards in the third quarter.
Andre Johnson caught his first two touchdown passes this season for Indianapolis and finished with six catches from seven targets for 77 yards.
T.Y. Hilton took five catches for 88 yards.
Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett shared the quarterback duties for the Texans in the defeat, but head coach Bill O’Brien is apparently considering sticking with the former after he threw for 300-plus yards in three-quarters on Thursday night.
Against Indianapolis, Hoyer passed for 312 yards on 24-of-31 and two touchdowns with one interception, while Mallett, who started the game before making way, finished with 7-of-10 for 50 yards and one pick.
DeAndre Hopkins caught 11 of his 14 targets for 169 yards, while Jaelen Strong took both his targets for 53 yards and two scores in the defeat for Houston, which led 13-10 at halftime.
The Texans had possession of the ball for 32:27 and tallied 444 total yards – 362 of which were passing yards.
With the victory, the Colts extended its lead at the top of the 2015 AFC South Standings, while Houston, which has given up 135 yards so far this season, sits at the bottom with .200 overall winning percentage.
Sunday, October 11:
Week 5 Remaining Fixtures
Chicago at Kansas City 12:00 PM
Seattle at Cincinnati 12:00 PM
Washington at Atlanta 12:00 PM
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay 12:00 PM
New Orleans at Philadelphia 12:00 PM
Cleveland at Baltimore 12:00 PM
St. Louis at Green Bay 12:00 PM
Buffalo at Tennessee 12:00 PM
Arizona at Detroit 3:05 PM
New England at Dallas 3:25 PM
Denver at Oakland 3:25 PM
San Francisco at New York Giants 7:30 PM
Monday, October 12
Pittsburgh at San Diego 7:30 PM
