Those Texans free agents on offense paid off in a big way in the season opener.
Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown and Stefon Diggs caught two touchdowns, leading Houston to a 29-27 win over the Colts. It was the Texans’ ninth consecutive division win on the road.
In a game of big plays, the biggest arguably was made by Nico Collins, showing why the Texans rewarded him with a three-year, $72.75 million deal in the offseason. On third-and-11 at the Houston 29 with two minutes remaining, Collins somehow caught a 12-yard pass from C.J. Stroud that he probably never saw.
Rookie cornerback Jaylon Jones got a finger on the pass, but Collins still caught it along the sideline and got a knee down inbounds. That deflated the Colts and the crowd, and three Mixon runs later, Stroud took two kneel downs. Collins caught six passes for 117 yards as Stroud went 24-of-32 for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
In his first game with Houston, Mixon had the third-most rushing yards in his career and his most since 2021 when he rushed for 161 for the Bengals against the Steelers. Mixon had only one 100-yard game for Cincinnati last season, rushing for 111 in Week 17.
Diggs had six receptions for 33 yards, with his touchdowns covering 9 and 2. His final touchdown came on fourth down and gave the Texans a 29-20 lead with 4:42 left.
But Anthony Richardson kept making big plays to bring the Colts back. He completed only 9 of 19 passes but for 212 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for a fourth-down touchdown and had 56 rushing yards on six carries.
Alec Pierce had three catches for 125 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown.